This IQ percentile chart lists every score from 55 to 160 with its percentile rank, the percentage of people who score higher, and how rare it is. All values are computed from the normal distribution that IQ tests are scaled to: mean 100, standard deviation 15. For example, IQ 115 is the 84th percentile, 130 the 97.7th and 145 the 99.87th.
How to read the IQ percentile table
Percentile is the share of people of the same age expected to score at or below that IQ on the ideal normal curve (we use the score as the point value, z = (IQ − 100) / 15). % higher is simply 100 minus the percentile. Rarity expresses the tail as “1 in N”: for scores above 100, how many people you would need to meet to find one who scores that high or higher; for scores below 100, one who scores that low or lower. Highlighted rows mark each standard deviation from the mean (55, 70, 85, 100, 115, 130, 145, 160).
Published test manuals give percentiles from their own norm tables and often treat a score as an interval (e.g. 119.5–120.5), so they may differ from this chart by a few tenths of a percentile. Some tests (and some high-IQ societies) also use an SD of 16 or 24, where the same percentile maps to a different number — always check which scale a score is on.
Full IQ percentile chart, 55–160
| IQ | Percentile | % higher | Rarity | WAIS-IV label |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 55 | 0.13 | 99.87 | 1 in 741 below | Extremely Low |
| 56 | 0.17 | 99.83 | 1 in 596 below | Extremely Low |
| 57 | 0.21 | 99.79 | 1 in 482 below | Extremely Low |
| 58 | 0.26 | 99.74 | 1 in 391 below | Extremely Low |
| 59 | 0.31 | 99.69 | 1 in 319 below | Extremely Low |
| 60 | 0.38 | 99.62 | 1 in 261 below | Extremely Low |
| 61 | 0.47 | 99.53 | 1 in 215 below | Extremely Low |
| 62 | 0.56 | 99.44 | 1 in 177 below | Extremely Low |
| 63 | 0.68 | 99.32 | 1 in 147 below | Extremely Low |
| 64 | 0.82 | 99.18 | 1 in 122 below | Extremely Low |
| 65 | 0.98 | 99.02 | 1 in 102 below | Extremely Low |
| 66 | 1.2 | 98.8 | 1 in 85 below | Extremely Low |
| 67 | 1.4 | 98.6 | 1 in 72 below | Extremely Low |
| 68 | 1.6 | 98.4 | 1 in 61 below | Extremely Low |
| 69 | 1.9 | 98.1 | 1 in 52 below | Extremely Low |
| 70 | 2.3 | 97.7 | 1 in 44 below | Borderline |
| 71 | 2.7 | 97.3 | 1 in 38 below | Borderline |
| 72 | 3.1 | 96.9 | 1 in 32 below | Borderline |
| 73 | 3.6 | 96.4 | 1 in 28 below | Borderline |
| 74 | 4.2 | 95.8 | 1 in 24 below | Borderline |
| 75 | 4.8 | 95.2 | 1 in 21 below | Borderline |
| 76 | 5.5 | 94.5 | 1 in 18 below | Borderline |
| 77 | 6.3 | 93.7 | 1 in 16 below | Borderline |
| 78 | 7.1 | 92.9 | 1 in 14 below | Borderline |
| 79 | 8.1 | 91.9 | 1 in 12 below | Borderline |
| 80 | 9.1 | 90.9 | 1 in 11 below | Low Average |
| 81 | 10.3 | 89.7 | 1 in 9.7 below | Low Average |
| 82 | 11.5 | 88.5 | 1 in 8.7 below | Low Average |
| 83 | 12.9 | 87.1 | 1 in 7.8 below | Low Average |
| 84 | 14.3 | 85.7 | 1 in 7.0 below | Low Average |
| 85 | 15.9 | 84.1 | 1 in 6.3 below | Low Average |
| 86 | 17.5 | 82.5 | 1 in 5.7 below | Low Average |
| 87 | 19.3 | 80.7 | 1 in 5.2 below | Low Average |
| 88 | 21.2 | 78.8 | 1 in 4.7 below | Low Average |
| 89 | 23.2 | 76.8 | 1 in 4.3 below | Low Average |
| 90 | 25.2 | 74.8 | 1 in 4.0 below | Average |
| 91 | 27.4 | 72.6 | 1 in 3.6 below | Average |
| 92 | 29.7 | 70.3 | 1 in 3.4 below | Average |
| 93 | 32.0 | 68.0 | 1 in 3.1 below | Average |
| 94 | 34.5 | 65.5 | 1 in 2.9 below | Average |
| 95 | 36.9 | 63.1 | 1 in 2.7 below | Average |
| 96 | 39.5 | 60.5 | 1 in 2.5 below | Average |
| 97 | 42.1 | 57.9 | 1 in 2.4 below | Average |
| 98 | 44.7 | 55.3 | 1 in 2.2 below | Average |
| 99 | 47.3 | 52.7 | 1 in 2.1 below | Average |
| 100 | 50.0 | 50.0 | — | Average |
| 101 | 52.7 | 47.3 | 1 in 2.1 above | Average |
| 102 | 55.3 | 44.7 | 1 in 2.2 above | Average |
| 103 | 57.9 | 42.1 | 1 in 2.4 above | Average |
| 104 | 60.5 | 39.5 | 1 in 2.5 above | Average |
| 105 | 63.1 | 36.9 | 1 in 2.7 above | Average |
| 106 | 65.5 | 34.5 | 1 in 2.9 above | Average |
| 107 | 68.0 | 32.0 | 1 in 3.1 above | Average |
| 108 | 70.3 | 29.7 | 1 in 3.4 above | Average |
| 109 | 72.6 | 27.4 | 1 in 3.6 above | Average |
| 110 | 74.8 | 25.2 | 1 in 4.0 above | High Average |
| 111 | 76.8 | 23.2 | 1 in 4.3 above | High Average |
| 112 | 78.8 | 21.2 | 1 in 4.7 above | High Average |
| 113 | 80.7 | 19.3 | 1 in 5.2 above | High Average |
| 114 | 82.5 | 17.5 | 1 in 5.7 above | High Average |
| 115 | 84.1 | 15.9 | 1 in 6.3 above | High Average |
| 116 | 85.7 | 14.3 | 1 in 7.0 above | High Average |
| 117 | 87.1 | 12.9 | 1 in 7.8 above | High Average |
| 118 | 88.5 | 11.5 | 1 in 8.7 above | High Average |
| 119 | 89.7 | 10.3 | 1 in 9.7 above | High Average |
| 120 | 90.9 | 9.1 | 1 in 11 above | Superior |
| 121 | 91.9 | 8.1 | 1 in 12 above | Superior |
| 122 | 92.9 | 7.1 | 1 in 14 above | Superior |
| 123 | 93.7 | 6.3 | 1 in 16 above | Superior |
| 124 | 94.5 | 5.5 | 1 in 18 above | Superior |
| 125 | 95.2 | 4.8 | 1 in 21 above | Superior |
| 126 | 95.8 | 4.2 | 1 in 24 above | Superior |
| 127 | 96.4 | 3.6 | 1 in 28 above | Superior |
| 128 | 96.9 | 3.1 | 1 in 32 above | Superior |
| 129 | 97.3 | 2.7 | 1 in 38 above | Superior |
| 130 | 97.7 | 2.3 | 1 in 44 above | Very Superior |
| 131 | 98.1 | 1.9 | 1 in 52 above | Very Superior |
| 132 | 98.4 | 1.6 | 1 in 61 above | Very Superior |
| 133 | 98.6 | 1.4 | 1 in 72 above | Very Superior |
| 134 | 98.8 | 1.2 | 1 in 85 above | Very Superior |
| 135 | 99.02 | 0.98 | 1 in 102 above | Very Superior |
| 136 | 99.18 | 0.82 | 1 in 122 above | Very Superior |
| 137 | 99.32 | 0.68 | 1 in 147 above | Very Superior |
| 138 | 99.44 | 0.56 | 1 in 177 above | Very Superior |
| 139 | 99.53 | 0.47 | 1 in 215 above | Very Superior |
| 140 | 99.62 | 0.38 | 1 in 261 above | Very Superior |
| 141 | 99.69 | 0.31 | 1 in 319 above | Very Superior |
| 142 | 99.74 | 0.26 | 1 in 391 above | Very Superior |
| 143 | 99.79 | 0.21 | 1 in 482 above | Very Superior |
| 144 | 99.83 | 0.17 | 1 in 596 above | Very Superior |
| 145 | 99.87 | 0.13 | 1 in 741 above | Very Superior |
| 146 | 99.89 | 0.11 | 1 in 924 above | Very Superior |
| 147 | 99.914 | 0.09 | 1 in 1,160 above | Very Superior |
| 148 | 99.931 | 0.07 | 1 in 1,460 above | Very Superior |
| 149 | 99.946 | 0.05 | 1 in 1,840 above | Very Superior |
| 150 | 99.957 | 0.04 | 1 in 2,330 above | Very Superior |
| 151 | 99.966 | 0.03 | 1 in 2,970 above | Very Superior |
| 152 | 99.974 | 0.03 | 1 in 3,800 above | Very Superior |
| 153 | 99.979 | 0.02 | 1 in 4,870 above | Very Superior |
| 154 | 99.984 | 0.02 | 1 in 6,290 above | Very Superior |
| 155 | 99.988 | 0.01 | 1 in 8,140 above | Very Superior |
| 156 | 99.9906 | 0.01 | 1 in 10,580 above | Very Superior |
| 157 | 99.9928 | 0.01 | 1 in 13,820 above | Very Superior |
| 158 | 99.9945 | 0.01 | 1 in 18,130 above | Very Superior |
| 159 | 99.9958 | 0.00 | 1 in 23,870 above | Very Superior |
| 160 | 99.9968 | 0.00 | 1 in 31,570 above | Very Superior |
Key IQ percentiles to remember
- IQ 85 → 16th percentile; 115 → 84th (one SD either side). About 68% of people score between 85 and 115.
- IQ 70 → 2.3rd percentile; 130 → 97.7th (two SDs). About 95% score between 70 and 130.
- IQ 55 → 0.13th; 145 → 99.87th (three SDs). About 99.7% score between 55 and 145.
- The 90th percentile is about 119; the 95th about 125; the 98th (Mensa’s top 2%) about 131; the 99th about 135.
Why the tails are less certain
The normal curve fits real IQ data well in the middle range but is an approximation in the tails. Norm samples of a few thousand people contain very few individuals below 55 or above 145, so tests extrapolate. Measurement error also matters more at the extremes: a 95% confidence interval of about ±6 points is the difference between “1 in 260” (140) and “1 in 2,330” (150). Treat the rarity figures above about 145 as orders of magnitude rather than precise counts.
Percentile vs. percentage correct
A percentile is not the percentage of questions you answered correctly. Someone at the 75th percentile (IQ 110) may have answered 60% or 85% of items correctly depending on the test’s difficulty. IQ is a rank against people of the same age, converted to a scale; the raw score is only the starting point.
Sources
- Wechsler, D. (2008). WAIS-IV Technical and Interpretive Manual. Pearson. (Descriptive classifications; FSIQ range 40–160; normative sample N = 2,200, ages 16–90.)
- Wechsler, D. (2014). WISC-V Technical and Interpretive Manual. Pearson. (Descriptors Extremely High … Extremely Low.)
- Neisser, U., et al. (1996). Intelligence: Knowns and unknowns. American Psychologist, 51(2), 77–101.
- Mensa International: admission requires a score in the top 2% on an approved, supervised intelligence test.
Frequently asked questions
What percentile is an IQ of 130?
About the 97.7th percentile; roughly 1 in 44 people score 130 or higher.
What percentile is an IQ of 115?
About the 84th percentile: one standard deviation above the mean.
What IQ is the 90th percentile?
About 119 on a scale with mean 100 and SD 15.
What IQ is the top 1%?
About 135 and above (the 99th percentile is 134.9).
Why do different charts show slightly different percentiles?
Some use the test’s own norm tables or treat each score as an interval, and some tests use SD 16 or 24 instead of 15.