Average IQ in the United States

The average IQ in the United States is estimated at 98 on the UK-normed scale used by the most-cited national dataset (Lynn and Vanhanen, 2012), or 97.5 once school results are folded in. On American test norms the US average is 100 by definition.

The average IQ in the US is about 98. What's yours?

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463
PISA 2025 maths (OECD 463)
490
PISA 2025 reading (OECD 461)
502
PISA 2025 science (OECD 482)
249
Adult numeracy, 2023 (OECD 263)

Two in three Americans score between 85 and 115.

Where the figure comes from

There are two honest answers. On any modern American IQ test, such as the WAIS or WISC, the US average is 100, because those tests are normed on American samples. The 98 figure comes from international compilations that put every country on a scale where British norms equal 100.

Lynn and Vanhanen list the US at 98 from test data and 97.5 when school achievement is included. A two-point gap from the UK is well inside the uncertainty of these datasets.

CountryMeasured IQFinal IQ
UK10099.1
US9897.5
Canada100100.4
Australia9899.2
Finland97100.9

Lynn and Vanhanen (2012), Table 2.1. Measured IQ uses IQ test results only; final IQ also folds in school achievement. Scale: UK norms = 100.

The United States in PISA 2025: what 15-year-olds can do

PISA tests 15-year-olds in maths, reading and science. It is not an IQ test, but it is the most current international comparison. In PISA 2025, US students matched the OECD average in maths and scored above it in reading and science. The OECD flags that the US did not fully meet PISA's sampling standards, so read the US figures with care.

CountryMathsReadingScience
UK488−1494511
US463−2490502
Canada485−12490510
Australia478−9491509
Finland469−15474504
OECD463−9461482

PISA 2025 mean scores. The small figure under maths is the change since PISA 2022. The OECD flags that the US and Canada did not fully meet its 2025 sampling standards. Source: OECD (2026), PISA 2025 Results, Volume I, Table I.1.

Adult skills: the OECD Survey of Adult Skills

The OECD Survey of Adult Skills tests adults aged 16 to 65. In the 2023 round, US adults scored around the OECD average in literacy and below it in numeracy and adaptive problem solving.

CountryLiteracyNumeracySolving
Finland296294276
England272268259
Canada271271259
US258249247
OECD260263251

Survey of Adult Skills 2023 (PIAAC cycle 2), mean scores for adults aged 16 to 65. Solving is adaptive problem solving. Source: OECD (2024), Do Adults Have the Skills They Need to Thrive?

Is the average IQ in the United States rising or falling?

American scores rose through most of the 20th century, by about 3 points a decade on many tests (Flynn, 1987). That is why US tests are re-normed every 10 to 15 years.

More recent data point to a reversal on some skills. In a large online sample of 394,378 US adults, scores on matrix reasoning and letter and number series fell between 2006 and 2018, while three-dimensional rotation rose and verbal reasoning showed no clear trend (Dworak, Revelle and Condon, 2023). The sample was self-selected, so this is a signal, not a settled finding.

Why national IQ figures are contested

  1. Different tests

    National figures combine different instruments, such as Raven's matrices, Wechsler scales and school assessments like PISA, taken in different years and converted to one scale. The 98 for the United States inherits every step of that conversion.

  2. Sampling

    Some national estimates rest on small or unrepresentative samples, such as one city, school or age group. Reviews such as Wicherts, Dolan and van der Maas (2010) found that sample choices can move a country figure by many points.

  3. Education and health

    Scores rise with years of schooling, nutrition, health care and familiarity with timed tests, so a national average partly measures those conditions rather than a fixed trait.

  4. The Flynn effect

    Raw scores on many tests rose by roughly 3 points a decade during the 20th century (Flynn, 1987), and some countries have since seen plateaus or declines. The year a sample was tested changes the number.

  5. Not about individuals or ethnicity

    The spread of scores inside the United States, as in any country, is far wider than the gap between countries. A national estimate says nothing about any person, and it is not evidence about ethnicity or genetics.

Average IQ in the United States: questions people ask

What is the average IQ in the US?

100 on American test norms, by definition. On the UK-normed international scale used to compare countries, the US is estimated at 98, or 97.5 including school results.

Is American IQ declining?

Some evidence says yes for certain skills. A large online study found falling matrix and series reasoning scores between 2006 and 2018, alongside rising spatial rotation scores. The sample was self-selected, so the evidence is suggestive, not conclusive.

How does the US compare with the UK and Canada?

In Lynn and Vanhanen's data the UK is 100, Canada 100 and the US 98. In PISA 2025 the US scored lower than both in maths. All of these gaps are small next to the spread within each country.

What is a good IQ score in the US?

The same as anywhere. Modern IQ tests are scaled so the average is 100 and two in three people score between 85 and 115. A score of 115 is higher than about 84% of people, and 130 is the top 2%.

Can a country average tell me my IQ?

No. The spread of scores inside any country is far wider than the gaps between countries. The only way to know your own score is to take a test.

What's your IQ?

Put your own number next to the US estimate of 98.

Take the IQ test

25 questions · about 12 minutes

Sources

  1. Lynn, R., & Vanhanen, T. (2012). Intelligence: A Unifying Construct for the Social Sciences. Ulster Institute for Social Research (Table 2.1).
  2. OECD (2026). PISA 2025 Results, Volume I (Table I.1).
  3. OECD (2023). PISA 2022 Results, Volume I: The State of Learning and Equity in Education.
  4. OECD (2024). Do Adults Have the Skills They Need to Thrive in a Changing World? Survey of Adult Skills 2023.
  5. Flynn, J. R. (1987). Massive IQ gains in 14 nations: What IQ tests really measure. Psychological Bulletin, 101(2), 171-191.
  6. Dworak, E. M., Revelle, W., & Condon, D. M. (2023). Looking for Flynn effects in a recent online U.S. adult sample: Examining shifts within the SAPA Project. Intelligence, 98, 101734.
  7. Wicherts, J. M., Dolan, C. V., & van der Maas, H. L. J. (2010). A systematic literature review of the average IQ of sub-Saharan Africans. Intelligence, 38(1), 1-20.
  8. Sear, R. (2022). "National IQ" datasets do not provide accurate, unbiased or comparable measures of cognitive ability worldwide. PsyArXiv.

Reviewed October 2026 by the LifeScore Editorial Team. Country averages say nothing about any individual.