How often do these Poople stats change?

Only when words are added to or removed from the list. On November 15, 2026, 26 common words that had been missing, such as BLEW, DOES and FEET, were added, and every figure on this page updated with them.

Where do these Poople stats come from?

From the PoopleLadder word list only. A breadth-first search from POOP measures how many steps every word needs. The figures update whenever the word list changes and say nothing about how many people play.

Are the hardest words ever daily puzzles?

No. Daily start words are picked from common words that are 3 to 6 steps from POOP. The longest ladders on this page show up in the Hard level of Poople Unlimited instead.

Do these numbers match other Poople games?

Not necessarily. Other games use their own word lists, so the distance from a word to POOP, and which words count, can differ there.

Poople Stats: Hardest Words and Ladder Facts

These Poople stats describe the 2,059-word PoopleLadder list: how far each word is from POOP, which start words are hardest, and which words the ladders keep passing through. 1,925 words can reach POOP, and the average one needs 5.1 steps.

Poople Stats at a Glance

2,059 four-letter words in the list.
1,925 of them have a ladder to POOP; 133 have none.
10 words are one step from POOP and 43 are two steps away.
The longest shortest ladder is 11 steps, from AMEN.
71 words have no neighbor at all, and the list splits into 91 separate groups.

How Far Words Are From POOP

Each bar counts the words that need exactly that many steps. Most words sit four to six steps away, which is why daily puzzles use that range.

Steps to POOP	Words
1	10
2	43
3	135
4	342
5	652
6	537
7	133
8	43
9	21
10	8
11	1

Hardest Start Words

These words are furthest from POOP. Try one in the Poople solver to see the whole ladder.

AMEN: 11 steps
ANTE: 10 steps
ANTI: 10 steps
CHUM: 10 steps
IMPS: 10 steps
OMEN: 10 steps
OPEN: 10 steps
ORBS: 10 steps
UMPS: 10 steps
ACTS: 9 steps

Words Most Ladders Pass Through

Counting the ladder the solver shows for every word, these are the stepping stones that come up most often. COOP alone appears on 525 of them, so it is worth aiming for.

COOP: 525 ladders
COOS: 329 ladders
POOL: 322 ladders
POLL: 273 ladders
PLOP: 200 ladders
POOR: 175 ladders
LOOP: 169 ladders
HOOP: 128 ladders
POMP: 123 ladders
PROP: 117 ladders

Most Connected Words

A word with many neighbors gives you lots of choices on the next step. These have the most words one letter away.

PATS: 24 neighbors
WARE: 23 neighbors
PAPS: 22 neighbors
CARE: 21 neighbors
CORE: 21 neighbors
MALE: 21 neighbors
MARE: 21 neighbors
PANS: 21 neighbors
BARE: 20 neighbors
CAPS: 20 neighbors

Using Poople Stats to Play Better

The figures above turn into a simple plan for any start word:

Check how far you are. An average word needs 5.1 steps, so a par of 3 is a gift and a par of 6 is a real test. The Poople solver tells you the distance for any word in the list.
Aim for a stepping stone. COOP (1 step from POOP), COOS (2 steps from POOP), POOL (1 step from POOP) show up on more ladders than any other words. Reach one of them and the end is in sight.
Stay out of dead ends. 133 words can never reach POOP, and 71 of them have no neighbor at all. If every move from your word feels like a step backwards, Undo and try a different letter.
Prefer busy words. PATS has 24 neighbors. Words like it leave many ways forward, while a word with two or three neighbors can trap you.

What Each Unlimited Level Draws From

Poople Unlimited picks random start words by distance. Easy deals from 477 words that are three or four steps away, Medium from 1,189 words five or six steps away, and Hard from 206 words seven or more steps away. Daily puzzles stay between three and six steps and use only common start words.

Put the numbers to work in the daily Poople game, or read the strategy tips in how to play Poople. For ladders between any two words, use the word ladder solver, or play the word ladder game with three to five letters.

Poople Stats