Average IQ of a civil engineer: about 110

No published study measures the IQ of civil engineers on their own. In the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study, the engineering groups closest to civil engineering had a median IQ of about 109 to 110, with the middle half roughly 99 to 120.

Civil engineers: about 110. What's yours?

Take the IQ test

25 questions · about 12 minutes

What would you score? Try question 1.

A
B
C
D
E

Which option completes the grid? One tap, no sign-up.

Key facts

Closest figure
109, closest group: other engineers (WLS)
Middle 50% (closest group)
99 to 120 (25th to 75th percentile)
Main source
Hauser 2002. Proxy group, not civil only.

Studies of all engineers together put the average at about 116 to 120.

On the standard scale, where 100 is the average, a proxy figure of 109 is higher than about 73% of people. See what an IQ of 109 means, or check any score with the IQ percentile calculator or the IQ chart.

Your score next to similar engineers

Inside the typical range for similar engineers, 1 points above the middle.

In the general population, 110 is higher than about 75% of people. Shaded band: middle 50% (closest group) (99 to 120).

What the studies show

Civil engineers do not have their own row in any source we could verify. In the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study, engineers outside electrical engineering fall into "materials and design" (median about 110) and "miscellaneous engineers" (median about 109) groups. We could not confirm which group civil engineers were coded to, so we show the miscellaneous group's range.

Sources covering all engineers come out higher: about 116 for engineer applicants in Wonderlic data, and about 120 for engineers in the 1944 US Army test.

The Wisconsin study is one US state, one generation born around 1939, and almost entirely white. Its IQ scale is anchored to Wisconsin high-school juniors in 1951, not to a national norm. Treat every figure as an estimate within a few points.

Published figures relevant to civil engineers

  1. Median 109 (middle half 99 to 120)

    Hauser (2002), WLS. Men: miscellaneous engineers (closest group). Proxy group.

  2. Median 110 (middle half 99 to 123)

    Hauser (2002), WLS. Men: materials and design engineers. Proxy group.

  3. 86th percentile of adults, about IQ 116

    Wonderlic (1992), in Gottfredson (1997). Engineer applicants, all fields. People applying.

Civil engineers next to other jobs

Best estimates from the same sources, so the jobs can be compared. Ranges overlap a lot: every job has people well above and well below its average.

JobMedianMiddle 50%
DentistsClosest group120112 to 127
Doctors120112 to 127
SurgeonsClosest group120112 to 127
Professors116106 to 125
Electrical engineers113103 to 121
Lawyers113109 to 124
Mechanical engineersClosest group11099 to 123
Software developers110102 to 120
Software engineers110102 to 120
ActuariesClosest group10999 to 117
Civil engineersClosest group10999 to 120
Nurses10799 to 117

Medians from Hauser (2002), Wisconsin Longitudinal Study. “Closest group” rows have no study of their own and use the nearest published group.

What the job demands

Cognitive load is Medium. That means sustained reasoning is required, not occasional cleverness.

LifeScore role ratings, 1 to 10. Editorial, not measured.

Logic and analysis
10
Stress
6
Social contact
9
Structure and routine
5
Creativity
4

Making the career sustainable

If your raw cognitive speed is below the median for this field, you can still succeed by using systems: checklists, templates, code reuse, deliberate practice, and tight feedback loops.

General reasoning affects how fast people learn a role, but it is not a gate. Qualifications, practice, domain knowledge, tools, teamwork and job design all change performance.

Average IQ of a civil engineer: questions people ask

What is the average IQ of a civil engineer?

There is no direct figure. The closest published engineering groups have medians of about 109 to 110; studies of all engineers give about 116 to 120.

Is being a civil engineer stressful?

Stress demand is rated 6/10 with burnout risk Moderate. If you don’t build recovery (sleep, boundaries, exercise), stress compounds.

What personality traits help a civil engineer?

Roles with high structure demand (5/10) reward conscientiousness; roles with high social demand (9/10) reward social energy and emotional regulation.

Can I succeed as a civil engineer if I’m below the “recommended” IQ?

Yes. There is no valid IQ cutoff for this occupation. Qualifications, deliberate practice, experience, support and role specialization are more useful career decisions than comparing yourself with an estimated benchmark.

Next in Careers and IQ

Up next

Career guides

Find work that fits how you think

More in Careers and IQ

Related tools

Civil engineers: about 110. What's yours?

Treat your score as one data point next to your skills, interests and experience. It is never a reason to rule a career in or out.

Take the IQ test

25 questions · about 12 minutes

Sources

  1. Hauser, R. M. (2002). Meritocracy, cognitive ability, and the sources of occupational success. CDE Working Paper 98-07, University of Wisconsin-Madison (Figures 11 and 12).
  2. Gottfredson, L. S. (1997). Why g matters: The complexity of everyday life. Intelligence, 24(1), 79-132 (Figure 1, from the Wonderlic Personnel Test User's Manual, 1992).
  3. Harrell, T. W., & Harrell, M. S. (1945). Army General Classification Test scores for civilian occupations. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 5, 229-239. Reproduced in Schmidt & Hunter (2004), Table 1.
  4. Schmidt, F. L., & Hunter, J. E. (2004). General mental ability in the world of work: Occupational attainment and job performance. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 86(1), 162-173.
  5. O*NET OnLine. Occupational tasks, skills and work context. US Department of Labor.

Reviewed October 2026 by the LifeScore Editorial Team. Editorial policy