Average 5K time by age, and what counts as good
The average 5K time for adults aged 18-29 is about 29:42 for men and 38:45 for women: the median of everyone that age, not just people who race. A good 5K time, the 75th percentile, is about 25:40 for men and 32:09 for women aged 18-29. The tables below cover ages 18 to 69.
5K time percentile calculator
Enter your 5K time, plus your sex and age.
No one has timed a representative sample of adults over 5K, so be clear about what this is. Derived for ages 18-29, modeled from 30. Derived from laboratory VO2max percentiles (FRIEND registry) converted to run time and calibrated to measured mile times of US Army recruits. Ages 30+ rest on the VO2max age gradient alone. Each 5K time is the site's mile time multiplied by 3.326, the same distance scaling the site already uses for the 1.5-mile run. The calculator above scores your 5K as that mile, so it gives the same percentile as the mile calculator would.
Average 5K time for men by age
Time needed to beat that share of all men in the age band. The 50th percentile column is the median man.
| Age | 25th | 50th | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18-29 | 37:38 | 29:42 | 25:40 | 23:07 |
| 30-39 | 44:54 | 35:25 | 28:33 | 24:30 |
| 40-49 | 46:33 | 40:24 | 32:22 | 27:00 |
| 50-59 | 49:03 | 46:04 | 39:08 | 32:02 |
| 60-69 | 51:13 | 48:23 | 45:30 | 38:11 |
Average 5K time for women by age
Time needed to beat that share of all women in the age band.
| Age | 25th | 50th | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18-29 | 46:10 | 38:45 | 32:09 | 28:03 |
| 30-39 | 49:13 | 46:30 | 40:24 | 33:09 |
| 40-49 | 50:33 | 47:50 | 45:00 | 37:25 |
| 50-59 | 51:23 | 49:20 | 47:00 | 44:30 |
| 60-69 | 53:19 | 51:13 | 49:03 | 47:00 |
What is a good 5K time?
Measured against everyone your age and sex, the 75th percentile is a fair line for a good 5K time, the 90th for a very good one, and the 95th puts you in the top 5%. For adults aged 18-29, with the pace per mile in brackets:
| 18-29 | Median | 75th | 90th | 95th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Men | 29:42 (9:34/mi) | 25:40 (8:16/mi) | 23:07 (7:26/mi) | 21:20 (6:52/mi) |
| Women | 38:45 (12:28/mi) | 32:09 (10:21/mi) | 28:03 (9:02/mi) | 25:23 (8:10/mi) |
Good 5K time by age: men
| Age | 75th | 90th | 95th |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18-29 | 25:40 | 23:07 | 21:20 |
| 30-39 | 28:33 | 24:30 | 23:00 |
| 40-49 | 32:22 | 27:00 | 25:06 |
| 50-59 | 39:08 | 32:02 | 28:23 |
| 60-69 | 45:30 | 38:11 | 35:18 |
Good 5K time by age: women
| Age | 75th | 90th | 95th |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18-29 | 32:09 | 28:03 | 25:23 |
| 30-39 | 40:24 | 33:09 | 29:42 |
| 40-49 | 45:00 | 37:25 | 34:02 |
| 50-59 | 47:00 | 44:30 | 39:08 |
| 60-69 | 49:03 | 47:00 | 45:50 |
Where round-number 5K times rank
Percentile among all adults aged 18-29 of the same sex.
| 5K | Men 18-29 | Women 18-29 |
|---|---|---|
| 20:00 | the 98th percentile | above the 99th percentile |
| 25:00 | the 80th percentile | the 96th percentile |
| 30:00 | the 49th percentile | the 84th percentile |
| 35:00 | the 33rd percentile | the 65th percentile |
| 40:00 | the 20th percentile | the 45th percentile |
Times slower than about 39:54 (a 12:00 mile pace) usually include walking, and that is where the conversion from mile times is least reliable. To run a 5K without walking,how to increase running endurance has a run-walk start and easy paces. The same times as speeds in mph and km/h are on average running speed by age.
5K times among NCAA Division I athletes
Pooled across every D1 sport weighted by head-count, linemen and distance runners in the same pool, the median D1 man converts to about 20:54 and the median D1 woman to about 22:31. The calculator's D1 percentile uses that pool. Distance runners are in a different range: on the complete 2024 NCAA D1 outdoor lists, the median season-best track 5000 m was 14:53 for men (1,891 athletes) and 17:47 for women (1,915 athletes).
Average 5K race times are faster than these
Race results come from people who chose to enter, and most of them train. An analysis of 2.2 million US 5K road race results from 2024 put the median finisher at about 32:00 for men and 39:00 for women, across all ages. The tables here describe everyone, including the many adults who never run, so from age 30 on their medians are slower than race medians. A 5K that is ordinary in a race field can still rank well among all adults your age. The same method gives the average 10K time by age.
How the 5K times are calculated
The site's mile norms come from lab VO2 max percentiles (the FRIEND registry), converted to run times and calibrated against measured mile times of US Army recruits; the VO2 max by age page has those percentiles. A 5K is then the mile time × (5,000 / 1,609.34)1.06 = 3.326, the race-time model Peter Riegel published in 1981. A 2016 study of 2,303 recreational runners found the Riegel formula well calibrated for races up to the half marathon, though it was too optimistic for the marathon.
The exponent is an average, and runners differ in how much they slow down over a longer race; that study used 1.07 and checked 1.06 and 1.08. Little is known about people who never train, so read the 5K step as an estimate: if someone fades with an exponent of 1.10 instead of 1.06, their 5K is about 4.6% slower than the table says for the same mile. The tables are graded derived for ages 18-29 and modeled from 30, where the mile norm rests on the VO2 max age gradient alone.
5K time questions
What is the average 5K time?
For adults aged 18-29 the median 5K is about 29:42 for men and 38:45 for women, and it slows with every decade after that. These are medians of everyone that age, not of people who enter races, so they are slower than typical race results.
What is a good 5K time?
For a man aged 18-29, 25:40 is the 75th percentile and 23:07 the 90th; for a woman the same marks are 32:09 and 28:03. At 40-49 they are 32:22 and 27:00 for men and 45:00 and 37:25 for women.
What is the average 5K time for a man?
The median for men aged 18-29 is about 29:42, slipping to 40:24 in the 40s and 48:23 in the 60s.
What is the average 5K time for a woman?
The median for women aged 18-29 is about 38:45, 47:50 in the 40s and 51:13 in the 60s. A woman aged 18-29 running 28:03 is at the 90th percentile for her age.
Is a 30-minute 5K good?
For adults aged 18-29, a 30:00 5K is the 49th percentile for men and the 84th percentile for women. It ranks higher at every older age band.
How do D1 athletes compare?
Pooled across every NCAA Division I sport, the median man converts to about 20:54 and the median woman to about 22:31. D1 distance runners are much faster: the median season-best track 5000 m on the 2024 lists was 14:53 for men and 17:47 for women.
How accurate are these 5K times?
Derived — converted from real data on a closely related measure. Ages 18-29 are derived from lab VO2 max percentiles and measured mile times; from 30 the tables are modeled. The 5K step assumes the standard Riegel exponent of 1.06. With an exponent of 1.10 the same mile would give a 5K about 4.6% slower.
The 5K is not one of the scored tests, but the mile is. Get your overall athleticism rank across strength, power, agility and endurance. For reference, the median mile for men aged 18-29 is about 8:56.
Related
- Average mile time by age
- Average 10K time by age
- Average running speed by age
- Mile time percentile calculator
- 1.5-mile run percentile calculator
- VO2 max by age
- How to run a faster mile
- How to increase running endurance
- Hybrid athlete training program
- All standards, averages and calculators
Sources
- Kaminsky LA et al. Updated reference standards for cardiorespiratory fitness measured with cardiopulmonary exercise testing: data from the FRIEND registry. Mayo Clin Proc. 2022;97(2):285-293. The VO2 max percentiles behind the mile norms.
- Riegel PS. Athletic records and human endurance. American Scientist. 1981;69(3):285-290.
- Vickers AJ, Vertosick EA. An empirical study of race times in recreational endurance runners. BMC Sports Sci Med Rehabil. 2016;8:26.
- D1 5000 m: every performer on the 2024 NCAA Division I outdoor track lists (TFRRS), from the site's research review (see the methodology).