What Is Considered a High IQ? The Thresholds at 120, 130 and 140

The three thresholds: 120, 130 and 140

No single official cutoff defines a high IQ, but the major test manuals agree on where the language changes. Below 110, every modern scale says Average. From 120 the WAIS-IV says Superior; from 130, Very Superior. The table sets the three common thresholds side by side.

Rarity multiplies with each step, and the multiplier grows. A score of 110 is 1 in 4. A score of 120 is 1 in 11. A score of 130 is four times rarer than 120, and 140 is six times rarer than 130. WAIS-5 descriptors follow Pearson's 2024 sample reports and its WISC-V system; the full IQ classification chart shows every band.

110 to 119: above average, not yet high

The band just below the threshold is where many searchers land. The WAIS-IV and the Stanford-Binet 5 both call 110 to 119 High Average. Pearson's WAIS-5 sample reports label scores in the same band, such as 111 and 115, Above average.

An IQ of 110 beats about 75 percent of people. An IQ of 113 sits at the 81st percentile, about 1 in 5. An IQ of 115, one standard deviation above the mean, beats 84 percent. An IQ of 117 reaches the 87th percentile, about 1 in 8. These are strong scores, but the manuals still file them under average with a qualifier.

120 to 129: clearly high, not yet rare

At 120 the vocabulary changes. The WAIS-IV and the Stanford-Binet 5 both say Superior; the WAIS-5 says Very high. About 6.8 percent of people score in this band.

The band covers a wide span of rarity. An IQ of 121 is about 1 in 12 and an IQ of 122 about 1 in 14. At 125 the figure is 1 in 21, the top 5 percent. Scores of 126 and 127 run from 1 in 24 to 1 in 28. A 128 is about 1 in 32, and a 129, one point short of Mensa, about 1 in 38.

Put 30 random adults in a room and the odds favor at least one score of 120 or more. With 9.1 percent of people at that level, the chance that none of the 30 reaches it is about 6 percent.

130 and up: the gifted range

Thirty points above the mean, 130 is the most widely used line for a very high IQ. It marks the top 2.3 percent. The WAIS-IV calls it Very Superior, the Stanford-Binet 5 calls 130 to 144 Gifted or very advanced, and Mensa sets its Wechsler qualifying score at 130. The entry rules are in how to join Mensa.

Inside the band, rarity climbs quickly. An IQ of 131 is about 1 in 52, a 132 about 1 in 61, and a 133 about 1 in 72. The top 1 percent begins at 135, as what IQ is the top 1 percent explains. By 137 the figure is 1 in 147, and 139 reaches 1 in 215.

140 and beyond: where labels run out

Lewis Terman's 1916 scheme called scores above 140 "near genius or genius." He dropped the term by the 1937 revision, and no later major test has revived it. The Stanford-Binet 5 still separates the very top: 145 to 160 is Very gifted or highly advanced.

The numbers shrink fast. An IQ of 141 is about 1 in 319, a 145 about 1 in 741, a 147 about 1 in 1,157, a 149 about 1 in 1,838, and a 150 about 1 in 2,331. At 160, the ceiling of the WAIS-IV, it is about 1 in 31,574.

Above 160, standard adult tests run out of norms, and reports of much higher scores are widely considered dubious. The reasons are set out in IQ 200 and above and what IQ is genius.

What a high IQ predicts, and what it does not

IQ is one of the most studied predictors in psychology, and its effects are real but partial. The correlation between IQ scores and school grades is about 0.50. A meta-analysis by Tarmo Strenze put the correlation with income at about 0.23. Estimates for job performance have ranged from 0.2 to 0.6, with recent corrected estimates near 0.23.

A correlation of 0.23 leaves most of the variation in income to other factors: effort, opportunity, health, personality and luck. The American Psychological Association's task force report Intelligence: Knowns and Unknowns (1996) found that children with high test scores tend to learn more of what is taught in school than lower-scoring peers. The claim concerns group tendencies, not individual destiny.

Scholars of eminence have argued that an IQ of about 125 is necessary for genius-level work. It is a floor, not a forecast. Qualities a test does not capture are covered in emotional intelligence vs. IQ and Gardner's types of intelligence.

High-IQ people: what is verified and what is not

Lists of high-IQ people mix three kinds of numbers: scores from supervised tests, retrospective estimates for historical figures, and unsourced internet claims. Only the first kind is a measurement. There is no documented IQ score for Albert Einstein; the figures attached to him are estimates or inventions, as Einstein's IQ explains.

Retrospective estimates come mainly from Catharine Cox's 1926 study of 300 eminent figures, explained in historical IQ estimates explained. For claimed record scores, see the highest IQ ever recorded. For individual cases, John von Neumann's IQ and Isaac Newton's IQ separate estimate from evidence.

How to find out whether your IQ is high

Only a supervised, standardized test gives a score worth reporting. The benchmark is a psychologist-administered WAIS-5 or Stanford-Binet 5, or a national Mensa's proctored admission test. Expect the result to arrive with a confidence interval of several points: a 128 and a 132 can describe the same ability.

For a quick first reading, our free IQ test gives a practice estimate in minutes. It is a screener, not a clinical measurement, and why online IQ tests are only approximate covers its limits. To place any score, use the IQ rarity chart.

Editorial standard: IQ figures for historical figures are retrospective estimates and are labeled as such; scores for living people appear only when the person disclosed them or a reputable outlet reported them. Corrections: contact the editors.