Wonderlic to IQ at a glance

A Wonderlic score of 30 points to an IQ of about 113, with a likely range of 102–125. A 21, the working-adult average, points to about 100, and a 40 to about 128.

The Wonderlic is a 12-minute, 50-question test, and most people do not finish it. It is a rough screen, not a precise IQ measure, and modern versions may not score the way the old paper test did, so treat any single number as approximate.

Notable Wonderlic scores and the IQ they point to
Wonderlic score	Percentile among test-takers	Estimated IQ	Likely range
10	6th	84	72 to 95
15	20th	91	79 to 103
20	44th	98	87 to 110
21	50th	100	88 to 112
25	72th	106	94 to 118
28	84th	110	99 to 122
30	90th	113	102 to 125
33	96th	118	106 to 130
35	98th	121	109 to 133
38	99th	126	114 to 137
40	100th	128	117 to 140
45	100th	135	123 to 146
50	100th	135	123 to 146

Wonderlic to IQ conversion chart

Every row below comes from the same model as the calculator. The likely range covers about four in five people at that score. The last column shows what the IQ would be if the Wonderlic were a perfect measure of IQ, which is the number many other converters publish.

Wonderlic to IQ chart (0 to 50, the number of questions answered correctly on the classic version)
Wonderlic score	Test-taker percentile	Estimated IQ	Likely range	If a perfect measure
8	3.2	80	69 to 92	74
10	5.8	84	72 to 95	78
12	9.9	87	75 to 98	82
14	15.9	90	78 to 101	86
16	23.8	92	81 to 104	90
18	33.4	96	84 to 107	94
20	44.3	98	87 to 110	98
22	55.7	102	90 to 113	102
24	66.6	104	93 to 116	106
26	76.2	108	96 to 119	110
28	84.1	110	99 to 122	114
30	90.1	113	102 to 125	118
32	94.2	116	105 to 128	122
34	96.8	120	108 to 131	126
36	98.4	123	111 to 134	130
38	99.2	126	114 to 137	134
40	99.7	128	117 to 140	138
42	99.9	131	120 to 143	142
44	99.9	134	123 to 146	146
46	100	135	123 to 146	146
48	100	135	123 to 146	146
50	100	135	123 to 146	146

IQ to Wonderlic: what score to expect

Going the other way, this table shows the Wonderlic score people at each IQ typically get. Scores at the same IQ vary widely, so the range matters more than the middle figure.

Typical Wonderlic score by IQ
IQ	Typical Wonderlic score	Likely range	How rare is this IQ
80	14	8 to 19	1 in 11 at or below
90	17	11 to 23	1 in 4 at or below
100	21	15 to 27	1 in 2 at or above
110	25	19 to 31	1 in 4 at or above
115	27	21 to 33	1 in 6 at or above
120	28	23 to 34	1 in 11 at or above
125	30	24 to 36	1 in 21 at or above
130	32	26 to 38	1 in 44 at or above
135	34	28 to 40	1 in 102 at or above
140	36	30 to 42	1 in 261 at or above

One IQ, several tests: Wonderlic next to other scores

The same IQ shows up as very different numbers on different tests. This table shows the typical score at each IQ on Wonderlic and on the tests closest to it. Read across a row to compare, for example, what an SAT and an ACT would each be for the same person.

Typical score by IQ across Wonderlic, CCAT, ASVAB, SAT, ACT
IQ	Wonderlic	CCAT	ASVAB	SAT	ACT
100	21	23	50	990	17
110	25	27	70	1140	21
120	28	32	86	1280	25
130	32	36	95	1410	30
140	36	40	98	1530	33

These are typical scores, not guarantees. Every test has its own likely range, shown on its page.

What the Wonderlic measures

The Wonderlic Personnel Test is a short employment screen. Its 50 questions run from easy to hard and mix vocabulary, arithmetic, proverb interpretation, number series and simple logic, and the 12-minute limit is the real difficulty: the average person answers around 21 correctly. Speed matters as much as reasoning.

Because it mixes speed with knowledge, it is a blunt instrument for IQ. It does relate to general ability. Studies from the 1980s, by Dodrill and by Dodrill and Warner, found correlations of about .92 with Wechsler full-scale IQ, but those samples combined clinical patients and healthy people, which stretches the range of ability and pushes the correlation up.

Where researchers looked at individual agreement, the picture was weaker. A study of head-injury referrals found the Wonderlic and the WAIS-R agreed fairly well on average but poorly for individuals, and the authors advised against using it to judge a single person's IQ.

Old scores, new scores

The number of correct answers on the paper test is what most Wonderlic tables, including the "20 is average" rule of thumb, are based on. Wonderlic now says its current employment assessments score answers using a pattern-based algorithm that weighs question difficulty and guessing, so a modern score may not equal a raw count of right answers.

If you took a recent online version through an employer, treat your number as a rough position on the scale, not a precise value. The conversion here is best suited to the classic 0 to 50 score.

The Wonderlic in football, and why "average" is 21

The test is best known from American football scouting, where scores were reported and compared by position. Averages by job are informative about what the test picks up (it favours speed of reading and arithmetic), but they are averages of small, selected groups, not IQ estimates by profession.

The general-population figure of 21 comes from the test's norms for working adults, who take it as job applicants. That group is close to the general workforce in ability, which is why this converter assumes an average IQ of 100 for test-takers, the least adjusted assumption of any test here.

What a Wonderlic-to-IQ estimate is good for

A Wonderlic score is a short snapshot taken under time pressure, and an estimated IQ built on it is a rough position on a scale, not a verdict. A two or three point difference on the Wonderlic is a difference of a few IQ points at most, and less than the noise from one sitting to the next.

If you want to know whether your score reflects your reasoning or your speed, look at how many questions you attempted. Someone who finishes 35 questions and gets 30 right has a different profile from someone who finishes 50 and gets 30 right. The Wonderlic reports one number and cannot separate the two, which is one more reason to treat the IQ estimate as approximate.

What your Wonderlic score means

Percentiles come from a normal-curve approximation of the working-adult norms. The estimated IQ column shows the most likely value, with the likely range in brackets.

What Wonderlic score bands mean
Score	Estimated IQ	What it means
0 to 14	69 to 90	Well below the working-adult average of 21. Time pressure, reading in a second language and test anxiety all reduce scores here.
15 to 20	91 to 98	Slightly below average, but close to it. Many people finish fewer than 30 questions.
21 to 26	100 to 108	Around average to somewhat above. The most common range for working adults.
27 to 32	109 to 116	Clearly above average. The estimated IQ is in the 110s.
33 to 39	118 to 127	Strong. Roughly the top 10% and up, with an estimated IQ in the 120s.
40 to 50	128 to 135	Very rare on a 12-minute timed test. At this level speed and a lucky day count as much as ability.

Why a Wonderlic score is not an IQ

Speed is a big part of the scoreMost people do not finish in 12 minutes, so the score partly measures how quickly you read and calculate, which is not the same as intelligence.
Practice effects are largeThe test uses familiar question types. People who practise gain several points, which inflates estimates.
Modern versions score differentlyThe classic count-of-correct-answers norms may not apply to current employer assessments.
Individual agreement with IQ is weaker than group agreementThe high published correlations come from mixed samples. For any one person the Wonderlic and a Wechsler test can disagree by many points.

The evidence behind these numbers

Evidence grade: Limited

Older studies found a strong link between the Wonderlic and the WAIS, but they used mixed clinical and healthy samples, and later work found weaker individual-level agreement. The norms are quoted widely but hard to trace to a primary source.

Published facts we used

Wonderlic and WAIS full-scale IQ: r of about .92 to .93 in mixed clinical and normal samples (Dodrill, 1981; Dodrill and Warner, 1988), as summarised in secondary sources.
High group-level but poor individual-level agreement with the WAIS-R in a head-injury sample (Saltzman et al., 1998).
Working-adult norms with a mean near 21 and SD near 7, widely quoted from a 1992 norm group.

Assumptions we made

Mean IQ of test-takers: 100. The norm group is job applicants, close to the general workforce.
IQ spread among test-takers: SD 14.
Correlation between Wonderlic and IQ among test-takers: .75, lowered from the published figures because of the mixed samples and speeded format.

Assumed test-taker IQ: mean 100, SD 14
Assumed correlation (r): 0.75
Likely range: The score at which about 80% of people with that estimate fall, from the residual spread after regression
Norms: Widely quoted Wonderlic working-adult norms (mean about 21, SD about 7).

Wonderlic to IQ: frequently asked questions

What is a good Wonderlic score?+

The working-adult average is about 21. A score of 30 or more is well above average, at an estimated IQ near 113. What counts as good depends on the job, and most employers use it alongside other information.

What Wonderlic score is equal to an IQ of 120?+

People with an IQ of 120 typically score about 28 on the Wonderlic, with about four in five between 23–34.

Is the Wonderlic an IQ test?+

It is a short cognitive ability test. It correlates with IQ, but its speed and knowledge content make it less precise than a full IQ battery such as the WAIS.

What Wonderlic score is 100 IQ?+

A score of about 21 corresponds to an estimated IQ of 100, the middle of the working-adult norms. Scores from 15 to 27 all fall within a few points of average.

Is a 50 on the Wonderlic possible?+

Yes, but it is exceedingly rare. Finishing all 50 items correctly in 12 minutes takes very fast, accurate work, and the estimate for a 50 is about 135 with a wide range.

Do all employers use the same Wonderlic scoring?+

No. Wonderlic says its current assessments use a scoring method that weighs question difficulty, so a recent score may not be the same as a count of right answers on the old paper test.

References & Sources

Dodrill, C. B., & Warner, M. H. (1988). Further studies of the Wonderlic Personnel Test as a brief measure of intelligence. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 56(1), 145-147.
Saltzman, J., Strauss, E., Hunter, M., & Spellacy, F. (1998). Validity of the Wonderlic Personnel Test as a brief measure of intelligence in individuals referred for evaluation of head injury. Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology, 13(7), 611-616. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0887617797000772
Wonderlic (2026). Cognitive ability assessment (Wonderlic Select). Wonderlic, Inc.. https://wonderlic.com/select-hiring-assessment/cognitive/