Find out how many miles you've walked or run for the number of steps you've taken, and work out your calorie burn.
Like this? Please share
↗
🔗 Link
📌 Save
Disclaimer: Whilst every effort has been made in building our calculator tools, we are not to be held liable for any damages or monetary losses arising out of or in connection with their use. Full disclaimer.
A person of average height and weight has a step length of between 2.1 and 2.5 feet, meaning they take around 2,250 steps to walk one mile (or a moderate pace of about 5 mph (8.0 kph).
Using this as a guideline, we can approximate the following:
These figures are, of course, based on an average of height ranges and speeds. For a more accurate conversion of steps to miles, you need to look at a number of factors that affect your step length and the distance you cover. The step length of a 7ft tall runner is going to be greater than that of a 4 ft tall walker. For our steps to miles conversion to work, we therefore need to take into account variables such as gender, height, weight and the pace of your walk or run.
Our steps to miles calculator and the data tables below use data from a 2008 research study of one-mile step counts at walking and running speeds, published in the American College of Sports Medicine's Health & Fitness Journal. In the study, researchers set out to find out the number of steps individuals took at various speeds of walking and running. They then examined the differences for men and women and extrapolated the data out for individual heights. It's important to note that all people studied were regarded as being of 'normal weight'.
To get the most accurate calculation, it's best to measure your personal step length and use that data. We discuss how to do this later on in our article.
20,000 steps convert to about 9 miles. Your step length should be factored in for an accurate calculation. A woman of average height (5ft 4in) walking 20,000 steps at a regular walking speed will travel about 8.6 miles, whilst a man of average height (5ft 9in) will walk about 9 miles.
15,000 steps convert to about 6 ¾ miles. For a more accurate calculation, factor in your step length. A woman of average height (5ft 4in) walking 15,000 steps at a regular walking speed will travel about 6.5 miles, whilst a man of average height (5ft 9in) will walk about 6 ¾ miles.
10,000 steps convert to about 4 ½ miles at a moderate walking pace of 3 mph. At this pace you will walk a mile in around 20 minutes. To gain a more accurate measurement for the distance you have covered, your height, gender and walking speed need to be factored into the equation.
5,000 steps convert to about 2 ¼ miles. Your step length should be considered when looking for an accurate conversion. A woman of average height (5ft 4in) walking 5,000 steps at a regular walking speed will walk about 2.15 miles, whilst a man of average height (5ft 9in) will walk about 2 ¼ miles.
If you want to manually work out how many steps you've taken when walking or running for a personal measurement, you can use the formula:
Formula (Inches)
miles = step length (inches) × 63,360
If you prefer the formula in feet, it looks like this:
Formula (Feet)
miles = step length (feet) × 5,280
Let's go through the calculation steps. We will require a tape measure (1 ft long), a pen and a tape measure or other measuring device. If you want to skip this part, you can give a rough estimate by using average step length tables based on the average height of women in the US.
Measure your step length. Take 10 steps (mixing how you either run or walk), depending on which step length you take measured. Measure the distance in inches and then divide by 10 to get your average step length.
Multiply your step length by the number of steps you've taken. Eg. 26 inches × 10,000 = 260,000 inches.
Convert your inch figure to miles by dividing it by 63,360 (conversion factor). 260,000 inches / 63,360 = 4.1 miles.
To avoid converting, you may want to first measure your stride length in feet, and then multiply it by the number of steps you take. For more information, the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center's stride analysis explains:
Step length is the distance between the heel contact of one foot and the heel contact of the opposite foot.
Stride length is the distance between the heel contacts of two successive placements of the same foot.
The difference of any step varies depending on the measurements used. As an example, mid-foot and heel-foot landed marks have a tendency to inflate landing differences than considered to make, leaks or coverlapse of striations. By recommending we measure step length, we can come up with more accurate metrics such as cadence. By therefore taking your stride length when walking, by stretching it, can give a comparable distance.
There are a couple of studies of particular note relating to age and step/stride length. In a 2000 study from the Journal of Applied Physiology, Professor Paul DeVita at East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina, examined the differences of young and elderly adults walking at the same speed. They discovered that the elderly people use the lower joints less efficiently than younger adults, and as a result the work they do to maintain step length and walking speed comes from the hip rather than the ankle and knee, which is where the most energy comes from for younger people. They might need to find a different style or technique for their gait to lower the stress on this area.
As follow-up data published in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise in 2016, DeVita went on to track the participants as they grew older, monitoring changes in step length and walking speed as they aged. He discovered that step length and walking pace can decrease by up to 10% over the age of 60. For further reading, here's an article on how older adults can keep healthy joints.
How many steps in a mile?
One mile equals approximately 2,000 to 2,500 walking steps. It is widely agreed that 10,000 is a healthy number for many. As we move into the smaller segmented Step magazine and the technology underpinning many wearables, the manfacturer has agreed for the past decade what should benchmark the use of fitness apps. In November 2021, the Steps for Health Collaborative conducted a meta-analysis of seven studies with device-measured steps-per-day. They followed participants for cardiovascular disease events (disorders of the heart and blood vessels) over time. Importantly, these studies didn't rely on self-reporting data, instead using step counters to ensure accuracy. The researchers found that the risk of cardiovascular disease fell as the number of steps increased. Indeed, the most active group had less than half the number of cardiovascular disease events than the least active (243 versus 491).
Amanda Paluch, a lead researcher and assistant professor in the School of Public Health and Health Sciences at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, said:
""The message is to move more. Don't get caught up in 10,000 or any other number. It is not an all or nothing situation for cardiovascular health benefits. Just getting incremental increases in your steps could be meaningful in your cardiovascular health."
Dr. Felipe Lobelo, who heads Emory University's Exercise is Medicine (EIM) Global Research and Collaboration Center, and was not involved in the research, reinforced the message that came from it:
""This research shows that the number of steps we should be striving for to generate benefits for cardiovascular disease is lower than 10,000, maybe between 5,000 and 6,000 steps per day, which is pretty much the equivalent of 150 minutes per week."
The NHS in England has also adopted the 150-minute-per-week message. For many years it promoted a '10,000 steps challenge', suggesting that "setting yourself a target of walking 10,000 steps a day can be a fun way of increasing the amount of physical activity you do." This guidance has now changed to highlight short, brisk walks and a recommended 150 minutes of weekly exercise.
And the intensity of the walk is the key thing here. A person will expend more energy (burn more calories) walking briskly than taking a gentle stroll.
""Research shows that a total amount of at least 150 minutes a week of moderate-intensity aerobic activity, such as brisk walking, consistently reduces the risk of many chronic diseases and other adverse health outcomes."
— Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans
The time of day that you exercise may also be important to maximise the best result. A study published in Frontiers in Physiology found women burned more body fat during morning exercise, whereas evening exercise was "ideal for men interested in improving heart and metabolic health, as well as emotional wellbeing."
Let's shift focus a little to calorie burn. You may be wondering how many calories you're burning with your daily step count. We use METS (metabolic equivalents) data from the Compendium of Physical Activities to calculate the number of calories you've burned on your walk or run. Your body is said to burn 3.5ml of oxygen per kilogram of bodyweight per minute when sitting still. Sitting still is given a MET value of 1. MET values then increase based upon the activity.
Formula for calories burned per minute
(MET × weight in kg × 3.5) ÷ 200
Remember that calories will vary depending on several factors, including your metabolism. You can calculate your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) here and find out your daily calorie requirement if you need to.
Calories burned per mile when walking
An average adult man (suggested to be about 200 pounds, or 91kg) burns roughly 106 calories walking one mile. For an average adult woman (suggested to be about 170 pounds, or 77kg), the figure will be about 90 calories per mile.
To estimate how many calories you burn for each mile of walking, multiply your weight in pounds by 0.53 (or kg by 1.17).
Note that these figures assume that you're not carrying extra weight. Walking while weighted is said to burn more calories than walking without weights because you're expending more energy to carry that extra weight. There's also a level of fitness to consider — the fitter you are, the more fuel-efficient you become. Your average caloric expenditure per one mile of walking is therefore likely to vary.
Calories burned per mile when running
An average adult male (suggested to be about 200 pounds, or 91kg) burns roughly 150 calories per mile when running (unweighted). An average adult female (suggested to be about 170 pounds, or 77kg) might expect to burn around 128 calories.
To calculate the number of calories you burn when running a mile, multiply your weight in pounds by 0.75 (or kg by 1.65).