High Average IQ: 110 to 119

An IQ of 110 to 119 is high average. About 16% of people score in this range, roughly 1 in 6, and an IQ of 110 is higher than about 75% of people.

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74.8th to 90.9th
Percentile
1 in 6
16.1% of people
High average
WAIS-IV label
70100130averageIQ 110 to 119
High Average: 16.1% of people

What an IQ of 110 to 119 means

The range runs from the 75th to the 91st percentile. The WAIS-IV, WISC-V and WAIS-5 all call it high average.

In practice it means picking up new ideas a little faster than most and handling university-level work comfortably.

Common characteristics

  1. Learns new material readily

    New subjects and skills usually take less repetition than average.

  2. Practical problem solver

    Good at turning a problem into workable steps and seeing them through.

  3. Comfortable with complexity

    Handles detailed written information, rules and procedures without much strain.

Work and everyday life

High average scores are common among university graduates and in skilled trades, administration, teaching, nursing and sales, as well as in many professional roles.

Experience and effort matter at least as much as the score in nearly every one of these jobs.

What the label does not tell you

Once measurement error is allowed for, 110 to 119 overlaps with both average and superior. Most tests report a confidence interval of about 5 points either side of a score.

IQ classifications are statistical bands on a scale with a mean of 100 and a standard deviation of 15. Individual abilities vary a lot within each band, and intelligence is one factor among many in how life turns out.

What the research says

Gottfredson (1997) reviewed occupational data and found that typical scores rise with job complexity, with professional and managerial jobs often averaging in this range and above. The spread within every occupation is wide.

Labels differ between tests. This range is called high average on the WAIS-IV, high average on the WISC-V and high average on the Stanford-Binet 5. The classifications overview compares the systems, and the IQ chart lists each score range with its percentile.

High Average IQ: common questions

What does an IQ of 110 to 119 mean?

An IQ of 110 to 119 is high average. About 16% of people score in this range, roughly 1 in 6, and an IQ of 110 is higher than about 75% of people. In practice it means picking up new ideas a little faster than most and handling university-level work comfortably.

What jobs suit people with an IQ of 110 to 119?

Skilled trades, administration, teaching, nursing, sales and many professional roles. Most university courses are well within reach.

How rare is an IQ of 110 to 119?

About 16.1% of people score 110 to 119, or roughly 1 in 6. In a room of 100 random people you would expect about 16 in this range.

What are the characteristics of High Average intelligence?

Common markers include: learns new material readily, practical problem solver, comfortable with complexity. These describe tendencies across groups of people, not rules for any one person.

Can IQ in the 110 to 119 range be improved?

Not by much, for most adults. Scores are fairly stable after childhood. Each extra year of education adds roughly 1 to 5 points on average (Ritchie and Tucker-Drob, 2018), and practising one test raises scores on that test, but no method reliably raises general intelligence by a large amount. Sleep, health, stress and testing conditions all move a single result by a few points.

What are the limitations of an IQ of 110 to 119?

Once measurement error is allowed for, 110 to 119 overlaps with both average and superior. Most tests report a confidence interval of about 5 points either side of a score.

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Sources

  1. Wechsler, D. (2008). Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, Fourth Edition (WAIS-IV). Pearson.
  2. American Psychiatric Association (2022). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, Text Revision (DSM-5-TR).
  3. Gottfredson, L. S. (1997). Why g matters: The complexity of everyday life. Intelligence, 24(1), 79-132.
  4. Hunter, J. E., & Schmidt, F. L. (1996). Intelligence and job performance: Economic and social implications. Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, 2(3-4), 447-472.
  5. Schmidt, F. L., & Hunter, J. E. (1998). The validity and utility of selection methods in personnel psychology. Psychological Bulletin, 124(2), 262-274.
  6. Lubinski, D. (2009). Cognitive epidemiology: With emphasis on untangling cognitive ability and socioeconomic status. Intelligence, 37(6), 625-633.
  7. Terman, L. M., & Oden, M. H. (1959). The Gifted Group at Mid-Life. Stanford University Press.
  8. Lubinski, D., & Benbow, C. P. (2006). Study of Mathematically Precocious Youth after 35 years. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 1(4), 316-345.
  9. Ritchie, S. J., & Tucker-Drob, E. M. (2018). How much does education improve intelligence? A meta-analysis. Psychological Science, 29(8), 1358-1369.

Percentages use a normal distribution with mean 100 and standard deviation 15. Methodology