What is a good IQ score?
On the standard IQ scale — average 100, standard deviation 15 — most scores between 85 and 115 are considered average, while 130+ places a result in the top 2%.
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The IQ scale in one minute
IQ scales are built so that the average score is 100 and about two-thirds of people score between 85 and 115. The scale is normed: your score says how you compare with other test-takers of a similar reference group, not how many questions you answered correctly.
A score of 115 is one standard deviation above the mean, which corresponds to roughly the 84th percentile. A score of 130 is two standard deviations above the mean — about the 98th percentile.
Classic IQ ranges
The table below shows the traditional descriptive bands used for IQ scores. Treat the labels as broad descriptions, not strict categories: differences of a few points are not meaningful on any single test.
| IQ range | Common label | Approx. percentile |
|---|---|---|
| 130+ | Very superior | 98+ |
| 120–129 | Superior | 91–97 |
| 110–119 | High average | 75–90 |
| 90–109 | Average | 25–74 |
| 80–89 | Low average | 9–24 |
| 70–79 | Borderline | 2–8 |
| Below 70 | Very low | Below 2 |
So what counts as a good score?
For most everyday purposes — school placement, job screening, curiosity — a score above 115 is often described as above average, and anything above 130 as well above average. But "good" always depends on context: a 110 is a solid result for someone taking their first timed test, while a 110 after months of deliberate practice may frustrate a high performer.
Keep in mind that every test has measurement error. Retaking the same test a few weeks later typically shifts results by several points, so treat a single score as a range rather than an exact number.
How to interpret your result on this site
Our test reports your score on the classic 100/15 scale and also shows the percentile among the test-takers in our dataset. Because scoring is percentile-based, your result reflects how you performed relative to a large group of real submissions rather than a set of hand-picked thresholds.
You can compare your score with the wider dataset on the statistics pages — for example average IQ by age group or by country — to see where you stand.
Frequently asked questions
Yes — 120 is about the 91st percentile, meaning you scored higher than roughly nine out of ten test-takers in the reference group.
Yes. 100 is the center of the scale by definition, and about half of all scores fall above it and half below it.
Scores drift with age, education, and test familiarity. Relative standing within your age group is usually more stable than the raw number.
Theoretical scales are open-ended, but scores above roughly 145 become very imprecise — few tests contain enough hard items to differentiate reliably at that level.