IQ Score Ranges Explained: What Every Number on the Scale Means

One of the most common questions after taking an IQ test is: "Is my score good?" The answer depends entirely on where that score sits on the IQ distribution. This guide breaks down every range on the IQ scale with percentiles, classifications, and real-world context.

Quick answer: On the standard scale (mean 100, standard deviation 15), 90–109 is average, 110–119 is high average, 120–129 is superior, and 130+ is very superior or "gifted" — the top 2% and Mensa's threshold. Scores of 80–89 are low average and below 80 is below average. Each 15-point step equals one standard deviation from the mean. For the exact percentile of any single score, see the full percentile chart below.

How the IQ Scale Works

IQ scores are designed so that 100 is always the average for any given age group. The scale has a standard deviation of 15 — meaning each 15-point step represents one standard deviation from the mean. This matters because:

• IQ 115 = 1 standard deviation above average = 84th percentile
• IQ 130 = 2 standard deviations above average = 98th percentile
• IQ 85 = 1 standard deviation below average = 16th percentile

The scale doesn't have a hard ceiling. Clinically, scores above 145 are rarely reliable due to ceiling effects in test instruments. Scores below 70 are considered diagnostically significant for intellectual disability assessment.

IQ Score Range Chart (Quick Reference)

The table below maps every IQ band to its classification, percentile, and rough rarity in the general population. Percentiles assume the standard deviation-15 scale used by the Wechsler tests.

IQ range	Classification	Percentile	How common
145+	Exceptionally gifted	99.9th+	~1 in 1,000
130–144	Very superior / gifted	98th–99.9th	~1 in 40
120–129	Superior	91st–97th	~1 in 11
110–119	High average	75th–90th	~1 in 6
90–109	Average	25th–74th	~1 in 2
80–89	Low average	9th–24th	~1 in 6
70–79	Borderline	2nd–8th	~1 in 15
Below 70	Extremely low	Below 2nd	~1 in 40

Treat this as a map, not a verdict. Every score carries a margin of error, and the classification labels describe test performance on one day — not a person's worth, character, or ceiling.

IQ Percentile Chart: Every Score From 55 to 160

Looking for one exact number — what percentile a 124 is, or how rare a 133 is? The chart below lists every whole score from 55 to 160 on the standard scale (mean 100, standard deviation 15). "Scores higher than" is the share of people who score below that number. "How rare" counts how many people there are for each one who scores at least that high — or, below 100, at most that low.

• IQ 119 scores higher than about 90% of people.
• IQ 124 scores higher than about 95% of people.
• IQ 133 scores higher than about 98.6% of people — 1 in 70 score that high or higher.

IQ	Scores higher than	How rare	Classification
55	0.1%	1 in 740 at or below	Extremely low
56	0.2%	1 in 600 at or below	Extremely low
57	0.2%	1 in 480 at or below	Extremely low
58	0.3%	1 in 390 at or below	Extremely low
59	0.3%	1 in 320 at or below	Extremely low
60	0.4%	1 in 260 at or below	Extremely low
61	0.5%	1 in 210 at or below	Extremely low
62	0.6%	1 in 180 at or below	Extremely low
63	0.7%	1 in 150 at or below	Extremely low
64	0.8%	1 in 120 at or below	Extremely low
65	1.0%	1 in 100 at or below	Extremely low
66	1.2%	1 in 85 at or below	Extremely low
67	1.4%	1 in 70 at or below	Extremely low
68	1.6%	1 in 60 at or below	Extremely low
69	1.9%	1 in 50 at or below	Extremely low
70	2.3%	1 in 45 at or below	Borderline
71	2.7%	1 in 40 at or below	Borderline
72	3.1%	1 in 30 at or below	Borderline
73	3.6%	1 in 30 at or below	Borderline
74	4.2%	1 in 25 at or below	Borderline
75	4.8%	1 in 20 at or below	Borderline
76	5%	1 in 18 at or below	Borderline
77	6%	1 in 16 at or below	Borderline
78	7%	1 in 14 at or below	Borderline
79	8%	1 in 12 at or below	Borderline
80	9%	1 in 11 at or below	Low average
81	10%	1 in 10 at or below	Low average
82	12%	1 in 9 at or below	Low average
83	13%	1 in 8 at or below	Low average
84	14%	1 in 7 at or below	Low average
85	16%	1 in 6 at or below	Low average
86	18%	1 in 6 at or below	Low average
87	19%	1 in 5 at or below	Low average
88	21%	1 in 5 at or below	Low average
89	23%	1 in 4 at or below	Low average
90	25%	1 in 4 at or below	Average
91	27%	1 in 4 at or below	Average
92	30%	1 in 3 at or below	Average
93	32%	1 in 3 at or below	Average
94	34%	1 in 3 at or below	Average
95	37%	1 in 3 at or below	Average
96	39%	1 in 3 at or below	Average
97	42%	1 in 2 at or below	Average
98	45%	1 in 2 at or below	Average
99	47%	1 in 2 at or below	Average
100	50%	1 in 2 at or above	Average
101	53%	1 in 2 at or above	Average
102	55%	1 in 2 at or above	Average
103	58%	1 in 2 at or above	Average
104	61%	1 in 3 at or above	Average
105	63%	1 in 3 at or above	Average
106	66%	1 in 3 at or above	Average
107	68%	1 in 3 at or above	Average
108	70%	1 in 3 at or above	Average
109	73%	1 in 4 at or above	Average
110	75%	1 in 4 at or above	High average
111	77%	1 in 4 at or above	High average
112	79%	1 in 5 at or above	High average
113	81%	1 in 5 at or above	High average
114	82%	1 in 6 at or above	High average
115	84%	1 in 6 at or above	High average
116	86%	1 in 7 at or above	High average
117	87%	1 in 8 at or above	High average
118	88%	1 in 9 at or above	High average
119	90%	1 in 10 at or above	High average
120	91%	1 in 11 at or above	Superior
121	92%	1 in 12 at or above	Superior
122	93%	1 in 14 at or above	Superior
123	94%	1 in 16 at or above	Superior
124	95%	1 in 18 at or above	Superior
125	95.2%	1 in 20 at or above	Superior
126	95.8%	1 in 25 at or above	Superior
127	96.4%	1 in 30 at or above	Superior
128	96.9%	1 in 30 at or above	Superior
129	97.3%	1 in 40 at or above	Superior
130	97.7%	1 in 45 at or above	Very superior / gifted
131	98.1%	1 in 50 at or above	Very superior / gifted
132	98.4%	1 in 60 at or above	Very superior / gifted
133	98.6%	1 in 70 at or above	Very superior / gifted
134	98.8%	1 in 85 at or above	Very superior / gifted
135	99.0%	1 in 100 at or above	Very superior / gifted
136	99.2%	1 in 120 at or above	Very superior / gifted
137	99.3%	1 in 150 at or above	Very superior / gifted
138	99.4%	1 in 180 at or above	Very superior / gifted
139	99.5%	1 in 210 at or above	Very superior / gifted
140	99.6%	1 in 260 at or above	Very superior / gifted
141	99.7%	1 in 320 at or above	Very superior / gifted
142	99.7%	1 in 390 at or above	Very superior / gifted
143	99.8%	1 in 480 at or above	Very superior / gifted
144	99.8%	1 in 600 at or above	Very superior / gifted
145	99.9%	1 in 740 at or above	Exceptionally gifted
146	99.9%	1 in 920 at or above	Exceptionally gifted
147	99.91%	1 in 1,200 at or above	Exceptionally gifted
148	99.93%	1 in 1,500 at or above	Exceptionally gifted
149	99.95%	1 in 1,800 at or above	Exceptionally gifted
150	99.96%	1 in 2,300 at or above	Exceptionally gifted
151	99.97%	1 in 3,000 at or above	Exceptionally gifted
152	99.97%	1 in 3,800 at or above	Exceptionally gifted
153	99.98%	1 in 4,900 at or above	Exceptionally gifted
154	99.98%	1 in 6,300 at or above	Exceptionally gifted
155	99.99%	1 in 8,100 at or above	Exceptionally gifted
156	99.991%	1 in 11,000 at or above	Exceptionally gifted
157	99.993%	1 in 14,000 at or above	Exceptionally gifted
158	99.994%	1 in 18,000 at or above	Exceptionally gifted
159	99.996%	1 in 24,000 at or above	Exceptionally gifted
160	99.997%	1 in 32,000 at or above	Exceptionally gifted

These percentiles come from the normal curve, not from any one test's norm tables, so a specific test's published figures can differ by a point or two. Every measured score also carries a margin of error, and that matters most at the extremes: an online test in particular cannot reliably tell a 145 from a 155.

IQ Score Ranges and What They Mean

IQ 145+ — Exceptionally Gifted / Profoundly Superior

Percentile: 99.9th+. Fewer than 1 in 1,000 people score in this range. This is the territory associated with prodigies and exceptional academics. Note that most online tests cannot reliably differentiate above IQ 130–135 due to ceiling effects.

IQ 130–144 — Very Superior

Percentile: 98th–99.9th. This is the threshold for membership in high-IQ societies like Mensa (which requires the 98th percentile or above). About 2–3% of the population scores here. Associated with academic excellence and fast learning across complex domains.

IQ 120–129 — Superior

Percentile: 91st–97th. Roughly 9% of people score in the superior range. Strongly associated with success in demanding academic and professional fields. Most doctoral-level academics cluster here and above.

IQ 110–119 — High Average

Percentile: 75th–90th. About 16% of the population scores in the high average range. This group consistently outperforms the majority in academic settings and excels in professional environments that reward analytical thinking.

IQ 90–109 — Average

Percentile: 25th–74th. Approximately 50% of people score in the average range. This is the cognitive "normal" — fully capable of completing standard academic work and thriving in the vast majority of occupations.

IQ 80–89 — Low Average

Percentile: 9th–24th. About 16% score here. Individuals in this range generally complete compulsory education successfully but may find certain advanced academic programs more challenging.

IQ 70–79 — Borderline

Percentile: 2nd–8th. The borderline range. Individuals here are not classified as having an intellectual disability (which requires IQ below 70 plus significant adaptive functioning deficits), but may need additional support in academic settings.

IQ Below 70 — Below Average / Intellectual Disability Range

Percentile: Below 2nd. Clinical IQ scores below 70, combined with deficits in adaptive functioning, are one of the criteria for intellectual disability diagnosis. This determination requires a comprehensive clinical evaluation — not an online test.

IQ Score vs. Percentile: What's the Difference?

People often confuse the two, but they answer different questions. Your IQ score is a standardized number on a scale with a mean of 100. Your percentile tells you the share of people your age you scored at or above. Percentile is usually the more intuitive figure:

• IQ 100 → 50th percentile (you scored higher than half of people)
• IQ 110 → ~75th percentile (higher than three-quarters)
• IQ 120 → ~91st percentile (top ~9%)
• IQ 130 → ~98th percentile (top 2%)

Because the distribution is bell-shaped, points near the middle (95–105) represent millions of people, while the same 10-point gap out at 130–140 separates far fewer. That's why a 5-point difference around 100 barely matters, but 5 points near the top can change your rarity dramatically. For a deeper walkthrough, see what counts as a good IQ score and what a genius-level IQ score means.

What Is the Average IQ Score?

By definition, the population average IQ is exactly 100. But "average" varies by country and era. The Flynn Effect — a documented rise in IQ scores across generations — means that raw scores have risen about 3 points per decade globally since the 1930s. Tests are periodically re-normed to maintain the 100 average. Average scores also shift across the lifespan, which is why age calibration matters — see average IQ by age for the full curve.

Do Online IQ Tests Use the Same Ranges?

Good ones do — a quality online test reports scores on the same mean-100, SD-15 scale so a "115" means the same thing. The catch is precision: online tests are reliable through the middle of the distribution but lose accuracy at the extremes (roughly above 130 or below 70) because there aren't enough very-hard or very-easy items to separate rare scores. So an online result of 132 is best read as "high — likely gifted range," not an exact rank. When you need an exact number for school placement or a diagnosis, that calls for a supervised test (see online vs. clinical IQ testing).

What Does a High IQ Predict?

Research consistently shows IQ is the single strongest predictor of:

• Academic achievement
• Job performance (especially in complex roles)
• Income (though the correlation is modest)
• Learning speed

But IQ is not destiny. Studies of highly successful people show that conscientiousness, emotional intelligence, and opportunity matter as much or more than raw cognitive ability. We look at that trade-off in detail in IQ vs EQ.

What Is the Mensa IQ Requirement?

Mensa International — the world's oldest and largest high-IQ society — requires members to score in the top 2% of the population. That is about 130 on scales with a standard deviation of 15 (the Wechsler tests and the Stanford-Binet 5), about 132 on older SD-16 scales, and about 148 on the Cattell scale. Qualifying evidence must come from an approved, supervised test — the Mensa IQ test guide covers the routes.

Find Out Where You Score

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