Is 123 a Good IQ Score?

What an IQ of 123 means, where it ranks, and what it tells you about cognitive ability.

123

IQ Score

94th

Percentile

Superior

Classification

1 in 16

Rarity

What an IQ of 123 means

An IQ of 123 places you at the 94th percentile, in the top 6% of the population. Roughly 1 in 17 people score 123 or above. This is the range where elite university graduates cluster and where differentiation in demanding professional fields becomes clearly visible. High verbal and abstract reasoning combine to make demanding material feel tractable rather than effortful at this level.

IQ 123 in context

IQ 123 sits 8 points above the one-standard-deviation mark of 115 and 7 points below the Mensa threshold at IQ 130. At the 94th percentile, roughly 1 in 17 people score here or above. Research on occupational outcomes places IQ 123 solidly in the range where graduate-level academic tracks and demanding analytical careers are cognitively accessible without exceptional effort. Studies of professional performance note that in this range, cognitive ability and conscientiousness interact most productively — the combination consistently outperforms either factor alone. IQ 123 is 23 points above the population mean, a gap that becomes most visible in tasks involving novel problem-solving under time pressure.

Frequently asked questions

Is 123 a good IQ score?

Yes. IQ 123 is in the Superior range at the 94th percentile. About 1 in 17 people score here or above. Elite university graduates and senior analytical professionals cluster heavily in this band.

What percentile is an IQ of 123?

The 94th percentile. That means 94% of the population scores at or below 123. Roughly 1 in 17 people score 123 or above. The population mean is 100 with a standard deviation of 15.

What careers are associated with an IQ of 123?

Most graduate-level careers are accessible here. Medicine, law, engineering, and research roles show above-average representation from the Superior band. Senior management and analytical leadership roles cluster here too.

Can you improve an IQ of 123?

Scores in the Superior range are strongly shaped by genetics. That does not mean fixed. Sleep quality, working memory training, and nutrition all have documented effects on fluid intelligence. The realistic expectation is a few points — not large jumps.

Careers that commonly score in this range

Physician / DoctorMean ~120–125 in multiple studies

Attorney / BarristerLaw school graduate mean ~115–122

Chartered AccountantComplex financial reasoning correlates with this range

Senior EngineerStructural, electrical, and aerospace engineering roles

Notable people reportedly in this range

All figures are estimates or reported by third-party sources — none are clinically verified.

Lyndon B. Johnson

36th US President — Southwest Texas State University graduate and skilled legislative strategist. Simonton's historiometric analysis estimates his IQ at approximately 120–126, placing him solidly in the high-average range.

Bill Clinton

42nd US President, Oxford Rhodes Scholar, and Yale Law School graduate — IQ estimates range from 120 to 137 across published sources. Independent analyses using his SAT score place him at approximately 120–130.

George W. Bush

43rd US President — Yale and Harvard Business School graduate. Analysis of his 1206 SAT score (1964 scale) using the Frey-Detterman correlation estimates his IQ at approximately 120–125.

Oprah Winfrey

Media executive, actress, and philanthropist — Tennessee State University graduate and one of the most successful self-made entrepreneurs in US history. Published profiles estimate her IQ at approximately 115–120, with particular strength in emotional and interpersonal intelligence.

From the IQScore blog

Further reading selected for this score range.

Fluid vs Crystallised Intelligence →

The two cognitive systems driving your score profile.

Average IQ by Profession →

Where scores in this range cluster across careers.

How Much of IQ Is Genetic? →

What twin studies say about scores in the superior range.

Working Memory and Intelligence →

The component most closely tied to fluid IQ, and the most trainable.