Quick Answer
1 page single-spaced comes to around 500 words (12pt Times New Roman, 1-inch margins, about 500 words a page). Reformat it double-spaced and you are looking at roughly 250 words instead.
1 page in Words: Quick Table
| Format | Words |
|---|---|
| 1 page, single-spaced, 12pt Times New Roman | ~500 |
| 1 page, 1.5-spaced, 12pt Times New Roman | ~333 |
| 1 page, double-spaced, 12pt Times New Roman | ~250 |
Use our Words to Pages Converter to match your exact font and spacing.
Why Spacing Changes the Word Count
The same 1 page can hold very different word counts. Double-spaced it is around 250 words; single-spaced it nearly doubles to about 500. Most schools expect double spacing, so size your draft to the lower number unless told otherwise.
What 1 page Is Typically Used For
1 page single-spaced (about 500 words) is roughly the length of a one-page single-spaced cover letter or memo. A one-page single-spaced document is dense; keep paragraphs short so it stays scannable.
Nearby lengths: 20 pages double-spaced and 2 pages single-spaced.
Reading Time for 1 page
At single spacing (500 words), 1 page takes about 2 minutes to read at 200-250 WPM. Keep your draft on target with our Word Counter.
Sources
- American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.), Chapter 2: Paper Elements and Format.
- Modern Language Association. (2021). MLA Handbook (9th ed.), Section 1.1: Formatting the Paper.
- Microsoft Corporation. (2024). Word document formatting.
- Brysbaert, M. (2019). How many words do we read per minute? A review and meta-analysis of reading rate. Journal of Memory and Language, 109.