Average IQ
What 100 means and who it is measured against
What is IQ? Meaning, average scores and how it is tested
IQ, short for intelligence quotient, is a score from a reasoning test, scaled so the average is 100 and the standard deviation is 15. About 68% of people score between 85 and 115, and about 2% score 130 or higher.
Where do you sit on the curve?
See where you sit on the curve
25 questions · about 12 minutes
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New to IQ? Read these three first
- 01
What is the average IQ?
What 100 means, and who you are being compared with.
- 02
Standard deviation in IQ
Why 15 points is one step, and how to read any score.
- 03
What is a good IQ?
Where above average, high and gifted start, with percentiles.
What IQ measures
An IQ test samples reasoning skills: spotting patterns, holding information in mind, working with words, numbers and shapes. The results combine into one number that shows how you compare with people of your own age. Researchers call the shared factor behind those skills general intelligence, or g.
IQ does not measure creativity, character or every kind of smarts. It is also not exact. Any single test has a margin of error of several points, and a short online test has a wider one, so a range is more honest than one number. The standard deviation of 15 is what makes the scale comparable from one test to the next.
What is a good IQ?
An average IQ is 100, and anything above it is above average. A score of 115 puts you in the top 16%, and 130 in the top 2%. Most tests treat 85 to 115 as the average range.
For the longer answers, see what the average IQ is and what counts as a good IQ. The IQ classifications page lists every range.
How IQ works
The ideas behind the number.
What is a good IQ?
Where good, high and gifted start
Standard deviation in IQ
Why 15 points is one step on the scale
The g factor
The shared factor behind different reasoning skills
The Flynn effect
Why raw scores rose through the 20th century
IQ heritability
How much of the variation is genetic, and what that does not mean
IQ and income
What the research links, and what it does not
How IQ is calculated
Raw score to IQ, with a calculator to try
WAIS index scores explained
Read an adult IQ report, index by index
WISC-V scores for parents
Your child's report, decoded
Levels of giftedness
Mildly to profoundly gifted, and why schemes disagree
High-IQ societies
Mensa, Intertel, Triple Nine and their cut-offs
What affects IQ
Education, lead, iodine, sleep and more, graded
IQ myths, checked
Twelve popular beliefs against the research
What a score means
Every score from 70 to 200 has a page with its percentile and rarity. The tools turn any number into a position on the curve.
- IQ scores explainedEvery score from 70 to 200 as a percentile
- IQ 115 percentileAbove average, the top 16%
- IQ 130 percentileThe usual line for gifted and Mensa
- IQ 140 percentileThe classic "genius" threshold
- IQ classificationsEvery range from below average to profoundly gifted
- IQ chartScore ranges and what they mean on one page
- IQ bell curveSee any score on the distribution
- IQ percentile calculatorScore in, percentile out
- IQ rarity calculatorHow many people score as high as you
- Percentile to IQ converterWork backwards from a percentile
- SAT, ACT and GRE to IQ convertersEstimate a range from a score you already have
IQ by age and audience
The average is 100 at every age, because tests compare you with people your own age. These pages cover each age group and who the test suits.
- Average IQ by ageWhy the average stays at 100 across life
- IQ in childrenAges 5 to 12
- IQ in teenagersAges 13 to 17
- IQ in adultsAges 18 to 65
- IQ over 65What changes and what holds steady
- IQ tests by audienceTeens, seniors, students and other groups
- IQ by age calculatorAge-adjusted norms for your score
- Mental age testHow your reasoning compares by age
Famous people and characters
Historical and fictional IQs are estimates, so each page shows its evidence and a range, not a single number.
- IQ of historical figuresEinstein, Newton, Da Vinci and more
- Napoleon's IQEstimate, evidence and sources
- Einstein's IQ testCompare yourself with the estimate
- IQ of modern public figuresProfiles built on documented evidence
- IQ of fictional charactersEstimates for characters from film and TV
- Compare two peopleSide-by-side IQ estimates
- Highest IQ historical figuresRanges, confidence and data
IQ by group
Averages describe populations. They say little about any one person in them.
- IQ statisticsCountry, state and university averages
- IQ by professionWhat each job asks of your reasoning
- IQ by college majorAverage scores by field of study
- IQ by universityEstimates for 32 universities
- Career demand indexCognitive demands by field
IQ tests and how to take one
Real IQ tests range from a psychologist-led battery to a 12-minute online reasoning test. These pages explain each one and how ours differs.
- IQ tests explainedRaven's, WAIS, Stanford-Binet, Cattell and Mensa
- Raven's Progressive MatricesThe best-known picture reasoning test
- WAIS testThe test psychologists use most
- Mensa practice testWhat Mensa accepts and how to prepare
- Best IQ tests comparedHow the main options differ
- How accurate are online IQ tests?Reliability, norms and margin of error
- What is on an IQ testThe question types, with examples
Ways to take the LifeScore IQ test
The same 25-question visual reasoning test, explained from eight angles. It takes about 12 minutes and you can start without an account.
- Hard IQ testQuestions that climb from easy to very hard
- Visual IQ testEvery question is a picture, with no words to read
- Quick IQ test25 questions in about 12 minutes, and why that length
- IQ test with no sign-upWhat you are and are not asked for
- Fluid intelligence testReasoning with rules you have not seen before
- Culture fair IQ testPicture puzzles with no language or trivia
- IQ test for geniusesThe top end, and how far a short test can reach
- IQ test questions and answersTen worked examples of every question type
- What is my IQ?Four ways to find out, and what your number will mean
Signs, puzzles and practice
Behaviours that go with high reasoning ability, plus quick ways to practise.
- Signs of high IQEvidence-based indicators
- Am I gifted?A self-check with honest limits
- Daily IQ puzzleOne new puzzle every day
- Are you smarter than AI?Compare yourself with AI models
- How to boost IQWhat the evidence supports
IQ guides from the blog
Longer reads on the questions people ask most.
- IQ meaningWhat the letters and the number stand for
- Is 130 a high IQ?What the line means in practice
- At what age is IQ highest?When reasoning peaks
- Fluid vs crystallized intelligenceTwo kinds of ability, explained
- Why are my IQ scores different?Why two tests give two numbers
- How to find out your IQEvery route compared
Where do you sit on the curve?
Scores, percentiles and age norms make more sense next to your own result. The test is 25 visual puzzles. It is an online estimate, not a clinical assessment.
Get your IQ score
25 questions · about 12 minutes