IQ Score Guide / 100
Is 100 a Good IQ Score?
What an IQ of 100 means, where it ranks, and what it reveals about cognitive ability.
Where IQ 100 sits on the scale
An IQ of 100 is higher than 50% of people
In a room of 100 people, about 50 would score 100 or higher.
What an IQ of 100 means
An IQ of 100 is the exact average. Half of all people score above it and half below, because the test is built that way. Nearly every career and course is realistic at this level, and things like effort and experience shape outcomes far more than the score does.
How people who score 100 actually do
We looked at the 1,839 people who have scored exactly 100 on the IQScore test. On average, their strongest area was spatial reasoning and their weakest was numerical reasoning. Here is the typical breakdown by section.
Real data from 1,839 IQScore test-takers. Section figures are the average percentage answered correctly in each area. Updated October 2026.
Frequently asked questions
Is 100 a good IQ score?
It is the exact average. Half of all people score above 100 and half below, by design. Nearly every career and course is open at this level, and effort and experience tend to count for far more than the number.
What percentile is an IQ of 100?
An IQ of 100 is at about the 50th percentile. In plain terms, you score higher than around 50 out of every 100 people. The average score is 100.
What jobs suit an IQ of 100?
The large majority of skilled jobs are well within reach. Once a score is around average, things like work ethic, people skills and experience predict success far better than the number.
Can you improve an IQ of 100?
Somewhat. The clearest short-term factor is sleep, with diet, exercise and stress also playing a part. Realistic gains are a handful of points, mostly from removing things that drag a score down rather than adding raw ability.
Careers that commonly score in this range
Occupational averages from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth. An average, not a requirement.
Famous people near IQ 100
Reported or estimated figures from third-party sources, none are clinically verified.
George Washington
Estimated around 100
First US President and commanding general of the Continental Army, historians estimate Washington's IQ at approximately 95–105 based on his extensive surviving correspondence and military and administrative decisions.
Thomas Edison
Estimated around 103, 3 points above 100
Inventor of the light bulb, phonograph, and motion picture camera, Edison's IQ is estimated at approximately 95–110 by historians. He left school at 12 and famously said genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration.
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Further reading selected for this score range.
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