IQ Scale and Chart: Every IQ Range and What It Means

What each band actually means in plain words

Below the chart, here is how each range reads for a real person, without the clinical shorthand.

• Average (90–109): The center of the scale. Half of all adults land here. Nothing about this range limits everyday work, learning, or life. It is, by design, where most people are.
• High Average (110–119): Above the middle but not rare. About 1 in 6 people is in this band. It tends to correlate with picking up new material a bit faster than average.
• Superior (120–129): Roughly the top 9%. Clearly above typical, but still short of the "gifted" cutoff.
• Very Superior / Gifted (130–144): The top ~2%. This is the standard threshold for gifted programs and Mensa. See what counts as gifted for how programs define it.
• Genius range (145+): The top 0.1% — about 1 person in 1,000. "Genius" is a popular label, not a formal test category; the test manuals simply extend "very superior" upward.
• Low Average (80–89): Below the middle but still common — another 1 in 6 people. Not a clinical concern on its own.
• Borderline (70–79): The band between typical and the clinical floor. Sometimes called "borderline" because it borders the range used in disability assessment.
• Extremely Low (below 70): About 2% of people. This is the range clinicians examine alongside daily-living skills when assessing intellectual disability — a score alone is never the whole picture.

Wechsler vs Stanford-Binet: same scale, different labels

The confusion over what to call a score comes from the two big test families using different words for the same numbers. Both use a mean of 100 and a spread of 15, so the underlying scale is identical — only the labels differ.

Note that the newest Wechsler edition (the WAIS-5, published in 2024) keeps the same 100/15 scale and the same band boundaries, though clinicians increasingly favor more neutral descriptive wording over older terms. If a report hands you a label instead of a number, this table tells you which range it points to.

SD 15 vs SD 16: why an old score reads differently

Not every test spreads scores the same way, and that changes what a number means. The "standard deviation" (SD) is how far apart the steps on the scale are. Modern tests — the Wechsler scales and the current Stanford-Binet — use SD 15. Some older tests, and the historical Stanford-Binet and Cattell scales, used SD 16, which stretches the high end.

The practical effect: a score of 132 on an SD-16 test sits at the same rarity as 130 on an SD-15 test — both mark roughly the top 2%. This is exactly why Mensa accepts 130 on the Wechsler scale but 132 on the older Cattell scale. If you are comparing two scores, always check which spread the test used before deciding one is higher than the other. A raw number with no scale attached cannot be read.

How to read where your score falls

Start with the number, then work outward. First, find your score's row in the classification chart above — that gives you the label and the band. Second, read the percentile column: that is the honest answer to "how do I compare to other people," and it is far more meaningful than the label. Third, confirm the scale (SD 15 on any modern test); if it is an older SD-16 result, shift the "gifted" line up to 132.

One caution worth keeping: a single IQ number is a snapshot, not a fixed trait. Test conditions, sleep, language, and the specific test all move the result by several points, which is why a professional report gives a confidence interval (a small range around the score) rather than one exact figure. Treat your band as approximate — a score of 118 and a score of 122 are the same thing in practice, even though one reads "high average" and the other "superior." For more on that margin of error, see how accurate IQ tests really are.

Our own test reports your result on this same 100/15 scale and shows the percentile directly, so you see the band and the ranking together. The test is free to take; a full breakdown of your result across the four question types is the paid part — no subscription and no auto-renewal, just a one-time unlock.

FAQ

Q: What is a good score on the IQ scale?

A: Anything from 90 to 109 is squarely average and completely normal — that band holds half of all people. 110 to 119 is high average, 120 to 129 is superior, and 130 and above is the "gifted" range that only about 2% of people reach. There is no single "good" number; the percentile tells you more than the label does.

Q: What IQ range is considered genius?

A: 145 and above is the range popularly called "genius," and it covers about the top 0.1% — roughly 1 person in 1,000. "Genius" is not an official test category, though. Test manuals simply extend the "very superior" label upward past 130, and the 130 line is where most gifted programs and high-IQ societies set their cutoff.

Q: Why do different charts show different labels for the same IQ score?

A: Because the two main test families use different words for identical numbers. The Wechsler scales call 130+ "very superior," while the Stanford-Binet calls the same range "gifted." Both use a mean of 100 and a spread of 15 points, so the scale is the same — only the naming differs. Match the number, not the label.

Q: Is an IQ scale based on SD 15 or SD 16?

A: Modern tests use a standard deviation of 15; some older tests used 16, which stretches the high end. A score of 130 on an SD-15 test equals about 132 on an SD-16 test in rarity. Always check which spread a test used before comparing two scores — this is why Mensa lists 130 for the Wechsler scale but 132 for the older Cattell scale.

References

• IQ classification — Wikipedia — WAIS-IV and Stanford-Binet Fifth Edition classification labels and score ranges.
• Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale — Wikipedia — scale structure, mean of 100 and standard deviation of 15, and edition history including the WAIS-5 (2024).
• Stanford–Binet Intelligence Scales — Wikipedia — SB5 classification bands and the five cognitive factors.

Last updated: July 13, 2026