- A score of 120 or higher is generally considered a good IQ, because it places you in roughly the top 10% of the population.
- The average IQ score is exactly 100, by design.
- Yes, an IQ of 120 is good and places you in approximately the top 10% of the population.
- An IQ of 130 or higher is the threshold most commonly used for 'gifted', and it represents roughly the top 2% of people.
- On the standard curve, 110 is around the 75th percentile, 115 is about the 84th, 120 reaches roughly the top 10%, and 130 marks roughly the top 2%.
What is considered a good IQ score?
A score of 120 or higher is generally considered a good IQ, because it places you in roughly the top 10% of the population. On the standard scale (mean 100, SD 15), 110-119 is 'above average', 120-129 is 'superior', and 130+ is 'gifted'. There's no single official threshold, but most psychologists treat anything clearly above 115 (the top ~16%) as a strong result.
What is the average IQ score?
The average IQ score is exactly 100, by design. IQ tests are normed so that the mean of the population sits at 100 with a standard deviation of 15, which means about 68% of people score between 85 and 115. Roughly half of all people fall between 90 and 109, the band usually labeled simply 'average'.
Is an IQ of 120 good?
Yes, an IQ of 120 is good and places you in approximately the top 10% of the population. It sits in the 'superior' range (120-129) and is about 1.3 standard deviations above the mean. People in this band typically learn quickly and handle abstract reasoning well, though IQ alone never determines real-world success.
What IQ score is considered genius or gifted?
An IQ of 130 or higher is the threshold most commonly used for 'gifted', and it represents roughly the top 2% of people. The popular word 'genius' has no formal cutoff, but 130+ is the level required to join Mensa, and scores around 145+ (top 0.1%) are exceptionally rare. Above 130, small differences in score become statistically less meaningful.
Where do scores like 110, 120, and 130 actually sit?
On the standard curve, 110 is around the 75th percentile, 115 is about the 84th, 120 reaches roughly the top 10%, and 130 marks roughly the top 2%. Each 15-point step equals one full standard deviation, so the gap from 100 to 115 covers far more people than the gap from 130 to 145. This is why high scores get rarer very quickly as the number climbs.
| IQ range | Classification | Percentile | % of population |
|---|---|---|---|
| 130+ | Very Superior / Gifted | 98β99.9 | ~2% |
| 120β129 | Superior | 91β97 | ~8% |
| 110β119 | High Average | 75β90 | ~16% |
| 90β109 | Average | 25β73 | ~50% |
| 80β89 | Low Average | 9β24 | ~16% |
| 70β79 | Borderline | 2β8 | ~7% |
| <70 | Extremely Low | <2 | ~2% |
β People also ask
IQ Percentile Chart: What Percentile Is My IQ?
Your IQ percentile tells you the share of people you scored higher than: an IQ of 100 is the 50th percentile, 115 is about the 84th, 120 is roughly the top 10%, and 130 is roughly the top 2%. The table below maps every major IQ band to its classification, percentile, and share of the population.
IQ Percentile Chart: What Percentile Is My IQ? βAre Online IQ Tests Accurate?
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Average IQ by Age: Why It's Always 100 β