The tolist() method should do what you want. If you have a numpy array, just call tolist():

In [17]: a
Out[17]: 
array([ 0.        ,  0.14285714,  0.28571429,  0.42857143,  0.57142857,
        0.71428571,  0.85714286,  1.        ,  1.14285714,  1.28571429,
        1.42857143,  1.57142857,  1.71428571,  1.85714286,  2.        ])

In [18]: a.dtype
Out[18]: dtype('float64')

In [19]: b = a.tolist()

In [20]: b
Out[20]: 
[0.0,
 0.14285714285714285,
 0.2857142857142857,
 0.42857142857142855,
 0.5714285714285714,
 0.7142857142857142,
 0.8571428571428571,
 1.0,
 1.1428571428571428,
 1.2857142857142856,
 1.4285714285714284,
 1.5714285714285714,
 1.7142857142857142,
 1.857142857142857,
 2.0]

In [21]: type(b)
Out[21]: list

In [22]: type(b[0])
Out[22]: float

If, in fact, you really have python list of numpy.float64 objects, then @Alexander's answer is great, or you could convert the list to an array and then use the tolist() method. E.g.

In [46]: c
Out[46]: 
[0.0,
 0.33333333333333331,
 0.66666666666666663,
 1.0,
 1.3333333333333333,
 1.6666666666666665,
 2.0]

In [47]: type(c)
Out[47]: list

In [48]: type(c[0])
Out[48]: numpy.float64

@Alexander's suggestion, a list comprehension:

In [49]: [float(v) for v in c]
Out[49]: 
[0.0,
 0.3333333333333333,
 0.6666666666666666,
 1.0,
 1.3333333333333333,
 1.6666666666666665,
 2.0]

Or, convert to an array and then use the tolist() method.

In [50]: np.array(c).tolist()
Out[50]: 
[0.0,
 0.3333333333333333,
 0.6666666666666666,
 1.0,
 1.3333333333333333,
 1.6666666666666665,
 2.0]

If you are concerned with the speed, here's a comparison. The input, x, is a python list of numpy.float64 objects:

In [8]: type(x)
Out[8]: list

In [9]: len(x)
Out[9]: 1000

In [10]: type(x[0])
Out[10]: numpy.float64

Timing for the list comprehension:

In [11]: %timeit list1 = [float(v) for v in x]
10000 loops, best of 3: 109 µs per loop

Timing for conversion to numpy array and then tolist():

In [12]: %timeit list2 = np.array(x).tolist()
10000 loops, best of 3: 70.5 µs per loop

So it is faster to convert the list to an array and then call tolist().

Answer from Warren Weckesser on Stack Overflow
Top answer
1 of 3
32

The tolist() method should do what you want. If you have a numpy array, just call tolist():

In [17]: a
Out[17]: 
array([ 0.        ,  0.14285714,  0.28571429,  0.42857143,  0.57142857,
        0.71428571,  0.85714286,  1.        ,  1.14285714,  1.28571429,
        1.42857143,  1.57142857,  1.71428571,  1.85714286,  2.        ])

In [18]: a.dtype
Out[18]: dtype('float64')

In [19]: b = a.tolist()

In [20]: b
Out[20]: 
[0.0,
 0.14285714285714285,
 0.2857142857142857,
 0.42857142857142855,
 0.5714285714285714,
 0.7142857142857142,
 0.8571428571428571,
 1.0,
 1.1428571428571428,
 1.2857142857142856,
 1.4285714285714284,
 1.5714285714285714,
 1.7142857142857142,
 1.857142857142857,
 2.0]

In [21]: type(b)
Out[21]: list

In [22]: type(b[0])
Out[22]: float

If, in fact, you really have python list of numpy.float64 objects, then @Alexander's answer is great, or you could convert the list to an array and then use the tolist() method. E.g.

In [46]: c
Out[46]: 
[0.0,
 0.33333333333333331,
 0.66666666666666663,
 1.0,
 1.3333333333333333,
 1.6666666666666665,
 2.0]

In [47]: type(c)
Out[47]: list

In [48]: type(c[0])
Out[48]: numpy.float64

@Alexander's suggestion, a list comprehension:

In [49]: [float(v) for v in c]
Out[49]: 
[0.0,
 0.3333333333333333,
 0.6666666666666666,
 1.0,
 1.3333333333333333,
 1.6666666666666665,
 2.0]

Or, convert to an array and then use the tolist() method.

In [50]: np.array(c).tolist()
Out[50]: 
[0.0,
 0.3333333333333333,
 0.6666666666666666,
 1.0,
 1.3333333333333333,
 1.6666666666666665,
 2.0]

If you are concerned with the speed, here's a comparison. The input, x, is a python list of numpy.float64 objects:

In [8]: type(x)
Out[8]: list

In [9]: len(x)
Out[9]: 1000

In [10]: type(x[0])
Out[10]: numpy.float64

Timing for the list comprehension:

In [11]: %timeit list1 = [float(v) for v in x]
10000 loops, best of 3: 109 µs per loop

Timing for conversion to numpy array and then tolist():

In [12]: %timeit list2 = np.array(x).tolist()
10000 loops, best of 3: 70.5 µs per loop

So it is faster to convert the list to an array and then call tolist().

2 of 3
11

You could use a list comprehension:

floats = [float(np_float) for np_float in np_float_list]
Top answer
1 of 3
8

Yes, actually when you use Python's native float to specify the dtype for an array , numpy converts it to float64. As given in documentation -

Note that, above, we use the Python float object as a dtype. NumPy knows that int refers to np.int_, bool means np.bool_ , that float is np.float_ and complex is np.complex_. The other data-types do not have Python equivalents.

And -

float_ - Shorthand for float64.

This is why even though you use float to convert the whole array to float , it still uses np.float64.

According to the requirement from the other question , the best solution would be converting to normal float object after taking each scalar value as -

float(new_array[0])

A solution that I could think of is to create a subclass for float and use that for casting (though to me it looks bad). But I would prefer the previous solution over this if possible. Example -

In [20]: import numpy as np

In [21]: na = np.array([1., 2., 3.])

In [22]: na = np.array([1., 2., 3., np.inf, np.inf])

In [23]: type(na[-1])
Out[23]: numpy.float64

In [24]: na[-1] - na[-2]
C:\Anaconda3\Scripts\ipython-script.py:1: RuntimeWarning: invalid value encountered in double_scalars
  if __name__ == '__main__':
Out[24]: nan

In [25]: class x(float):
   ....:     pass
   ....:

In [26]: na_new = na.astype(x)


In [28]: type(na_new[-1])
Out[28]: float                           #No idea why its showing float, I would have thought it would show '__main__.x' .

In [29]: na_new[-1] - na_new[-2]
Out[29]: nan

In [30]: na_new
Out[30]: array([1.0, 2.0, 3.0, inf, inf], dtype=object)
2 of 3
3

You can create an anonymous type float like this

>>> new_array = my_array.astype(type('float', (float,), {}))
>>> type(new_array[0])
<type 'float'>
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YouTube
youtube.com › codetube
Convert list of numpy float64 to float in Python quickly - YouTube
In Python, you might need to convert a list of numpy.float64 elements to regular Python float type for various purposes. This tutorial will guide you through...
Published: November 4, 2023
Views: 73
🌐
Jasonblog
jasonblog.github.io › note › python › convert_list_of_numpyfloat64_to_float_and_converti.html
Convert list of numpy.float64 to float and Converting strings to floats in a DataFrame | Jason note
import pandas as pd h = pd.Series(['15', '21.0', '33.0']) l = pd.Series(['1', '2.0', '3.0']) # Converting strings to floats in a DataFrame using to_numeric h = pd.to_numeric(h) l = pd.to_numeric(l) s = h - l print type(s) print s # Convert list of numpy.float64 to float using tolist s = s.tolist() print type(s) print s
🌐
GeeksforGeeks
geeksforgeeks.org › python › using-numpy-to-convert-array-elements-to-float-type
Using NumPy to Convert Array Elements to Float Type - GeeksforGeeks
July 15, 2025 - Explanation: Here, a string list is directly converted to a NumPy float array a by specifying dtype=float during array creation, eliminating the need for separate type conversion. np.float64() is a NumPy universal function (ufunc) that converts ...
🌐
YouTube
youtube.com › hey delphi
Array : How to convert a numpy array from 'float64' to 'float' - YouTube
Array : How to convert a numpy array from 'float64' to 'float'To Access My Live Chat Page, On Google, Search for "hows tech developer connect"So here is a se...
Published: May 1, 2023
Views: 79
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IncludeHelp
includehelp.com › python › how-to-convert-numpy-array-type-and-values-from-float64-to-float32.aspx
Python - How to convert NumPy array type and values from Float64 to Float32?
# Import numpy import numpy as np # Creating a numpy array arr = np.ones(4,dtype="float64") # Display original array print("Original Array:\n",arr,"\n") # Display type of original array print("type of Original Array:\n",arr.dtype,"\n") # Converting array into float32 arr = np.float32(arr) # Display type of modified array print("type of modified array:\n",arr.dtype,"\n")
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w3resource
w3resource.com › python-exercises › numpy › basic › numpy-basic-exercise-41.php
NumPy: Convert numpy dtypes to native python types - w3resource
August 28, 2025 - This problem involves writing a NumPy program to convert NumPy data types (dtypes) to native Python types. The task requires using NumPy's type conversion functions to transform NumPy-specific data types, such as numpy.int32 or numpy.float32, into their equivalent native Python types, like int or float.
Find elsewhere
🌐
Medium
medium.com › @amit25173 › understanding-numpy-float64-a300ac9e096a
Understanding numpy.float64. If you think you need to spend $2,000… | by Amit Yadav | Medium
February 8, 2025 - You might be wondering: “Can I convert an existing array into float64?” · Absolutely! You can convert any NumPy array (or even a regular list) into float64 using the astype() method.
🌐
Codegive
codegive.com › blog › numpy_convert_to_float.php
Numpy convert to float
For converting individual elements from a NumPy array (or any compatible Python object) to a Python float (which is usually a float64), you can use the built-in float() function.
Top answer
1 of 13
574

Use val.item() to convert most NumPy values to a native Python type:

import numpy as np

# for example, numpy.float32 -> python float
val = np.float32(0)
pyval = val.item()
print(type(pyval))         # <class 'float'>

# and similar...
type(np.float64(0).item()) # <class 'float'>
type(np.uint32(0).item())  # <class 'int'>
type(np.int16(0).item())   # <class 'int'>
type(np.cfloat(0).item())  # <class 'complex'>
type(np.datetime64(0, 'D').item())  # <class 'datetime.date'>
type(np.datetime64('2001-01-01 00:00:00').item())  # <class 'datetime.datetime'>
type(np.timedelta64(0, 'D').item()) # <class 'datetime.timedelta'>
...

(A related method np.asscalar(val) was deprecated with 1.16, and removed with 1.23).


For the curious, to build a table of conversions of NumPy array scalars for your system:

for name in dir(np):
    obj = getattr(np, name)
    if hasattr(obj, 'dtype'):
        try:
            if 'time' in name:
                npn = obj(0, 'D')
            else:
                npn = obj(0)
            nat = npn.item()
            print('{0} ({1!r}) -> {2}'.format(name, npn.dtype.char, type(nat)))
        except:
            pass

There are a few NumPy types that have no native Python equivalent on some systems, including: clongdouble, clongfloat, complex192, complex256, float128, longcomplex, longdouble and longfloat. These need to be converted to their nearest NumPy equivalent before using .item().

2 of 13
45

If you want to convert (numpy.array OR numpy scalar OR native type OR numpy.darray) TO native type you can simply do :

converted_value = getattr(value, "tolist", lambda: value)()

tolist will convert your scalar or array to python native type. The default lambda function takes care of the case where value is already native.

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GitHub
github.com › samuelcolvin › pydantic › issues › 1879
numpy.float64 is not converted to float · Issue #1879 · pydantic/pydantic
August 28, 2020 - In the code below, I would expect the numpy.float64 to be converted to a float by the Foo pydantic object.
Author: pydantic
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w3resource
w3resource.com › python-exercises › numpy › python-numpy-exercise-7.php
NumPy: Array converted to a float type - w3resource
August 29, 2025 - x = np.asfarray(a): The np.asfarray() function converts the given list ‘a’ into a one-dimensional NumPy array with a floating-point data type (by default, it uses float64).
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Python Forum
python-forum.io › thread-2181.html
pandas convert to tuple & float to float64
Dear Pandas Experts, I got two question on my Introduction to Python homework. The jupiter auto-grader expects in case 1 a float64 and in case 2 a tuple, not a list. case 1 newfour_2=np.subtract(newfo
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Stack Overflow
stackoverflow.com › questions › 42597289 › python-converting-numpy-float64-to-float
json - Python: converting numpy.float64 to float - Stack Overflow
March 4, 2017 - Thank you very much for your answer! I solved my dictionary problem by dictResults = ['KeyA' : KeyA,...]. It was kindof obvious, I just didn't see it... float(KeyA) won't work in my program, unfortunately. When I do type(KeyA) afterwards, I still get "numpy.float64" as output.
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Runebook.dev
runebook.dev › en › docs › numpy › reference › arrays.scalars › numpy.float64
Python vs. NumPy Floats: A Guide to numpy.float64
To avoid these headaches, the best ... NumPy-specific context. You can easily convert a numpy.float64 to a Python float using the built-in float() function....
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Vultr Docs
docs.vultr.com › python › third party › numpy › array › astype()
Python Numpy array astype() - Convert Data Type
November 8, 2024 - Such conversion can reduce memory usage, important for handling large datasets. The astype() function in NumPy makes it possible to convert the data type of array elements seamlessly.