Quick answer: miles = steps x step length / 5,280 feet. With a 2.5 ft (30 in) step, 10,000 steps is 4.73 miles (7.62 km) and a mile is 2,112 steps. With a 2.2 ft step a mile is 2,400 steps; with a 3.5 ft running step, about 1,509. Your own answer depends on your step, so measure it.
How to convert steps to miles
Type the steps from your phone or tracker, then your step length. If you have never measured it, leave that box and use the two boxes underneath: walk a known distance, count the steps, and the calculator divides one by the other. The result shows the miles and kilometres for your count, your steps per mile and per km, and the miles-to-steps answer for a mile and a 5K.
How to measure your step length
Find a known distance: a 400 m running track (inside lane), a football field, or 100 feet measured with a tape. Walk it at your normal pace and count every step, starting from a standstill. Do it twice and average the counts. If you also run, repeat the test at running pace, because your running step is longer.
Worked example
You walk one lap of a 400 m track in 520 steps. Step length = 400 / 520 = 0.769 m (2.52 ft). Steps per mile = 1,609.344 / 0.769 = 2,092. Steps per km = 1,000 / 0.769 = 1,300. At that step, 10,000 steps covers 4.78 miles (7.69 km).
Steps per mile by step length
Computed from the step length alone; find the row nearest your measured step.
| Step length | Steps per mile | Steps per km | 10,000 steps |
|---|---|---|---|
| 24 in (2.00 ft, 61 cm) | 2,640 | 1,640 | 3.79 mi (6.10 km) |
| 26 in (2.17 ft, 66 cm) | 2,437 | 1,514 | 4.10 mi (6.60 km) |
| 28 in (2.33 ft, 71 cm) | 2,263 | 1,406 | 4.42 mi (7.11 km) |
| 30 in (2.50 ft, 76 cm) | 2,112 | 1,312 | 4.73 mi (7.62 km) |
| 32 in (2.67 ft, 81 cm) | 1,980 | 1,230 | 5.05 mi (8.13 km) |
| 36 in (3.00 ft, 91 cm) | 1,760 | 1,094 | 5.68 mi (9.14 km) |
| 40 in (3.33 ft, 102 cm) | 1,584 | 984 | 6.31 mi (10.16 km) |
| 42 in (3.50 ft, 107 cm) | 1,509 | 937 | 6.63 mi (10.67 km) |
Miles to steps
Going the other way, multiply the miles by your steps per mile. At 2,112 steps per mile (a 30 in step), a 3-mile walk is about 6,336 steps and a 5K about 6,562. That is handy for setting a daily step target from a route you already know.
Why not use height?
Pedometer and phone apps often guess step length from your height when you have not measured it. We could not find a published study behind the factors those apps use, so this calculator works only from a step length you measure. A tape and one lap give a better number than any height formula, and a measured step is also what your device will use if you type it into its settings.
Limits
Step length changes with speed, hills, shoes and tiredness, so a count from one flat lap is a guide for similar walks, not an exact figure for every route.
Want calories for those steps? The walking calorie calculator takes a step count too. Working on running form? See the stride length calculator and the cadence calculator.
Formula and examples checked . Found a problem? Tell us.
Questions
How many steps are in a mile?
Divide 5,280 by your step length in feet. A 2.5 ft step gives 2,112 steps per mile and a 2.2 ft step gives 2,400. Running steps are longer, so a running mile takes fewer.
How do I convert steps to miles?
Multiply the steps by your step length and divide by 5,280 feet (or 63,360 inches). 8,000 steps at 30 inches is 240,000 inches, or 3.79 miles.
How many miles is 10,000 steps?
10,000 x your step length. At 2.5 ft per step it is 4.73 miles; at 2.2 ft it is 4.17 miles.
How many steps is a mile of running?
With a 3.5 ft running step, about 1,509 steps. Count your steps over one lap of a track at running pace for your own figure.
How many steps are in a kilometre?
1,000 divided by your step length in metres. A 0.769 m step gives 1,300 steps per km.