IQ Score Guide / 70
Is 70 a Good IQ Score?
What an IQ of 70 means, where it ranks, and what it reveals about cognitive ability.
Where IQ 70 sits on the scale
An IQ of 70 is higher than 2% of people
In a room of 100 people, about 98 would score 70 or higher.
What an IQ of 70 means
An IQ of 70 is well below average, around the 2th percentile. Exam-style tasks that lean on abstract reasoning are likely to feel demanding, and the right support makes a real difference. Early, structured help has a well-documented positive effect on both scores and everyday skills.
IQ 70 in context
IQ 70 sits 30 points below the average of 100. Most people score higher than this, though the gap matters far less in everyday life than it sounds.
Frequently asked questions
Is 70 a good IQ score?
It is below average. Formal, exam-style learning is likely to feel demanding, but practical skills and the right support go a long way. A single score does not decide what a person is capable of.
What percentile is an IQ of 70?
An IQ of 70 is at about the 2th percentile. In plain terms, you score higher than around 2 out of every 100 people. The average score is 100.
What jobs suit an IQ of 70?
Practical, hands-on careers are a good fit, and many hard-working people in this range build solid careers in trades and services. Real-world success depends on far more than one number.
Can you improve an IQ of 70?
Often, yes, especially at a young age. Scores in this range tend to respond more to better sleep, nutrition, learning and support than higher scores do. Steady effort has been shown to move scores by several points.
Careers that commonly score in this range
Famous people near IQ 70
Reported or estimated figures from third-party sources, none are clinically verified.
Muhammad Ali
Estimated around 75, 5 points above 70
Three-time world heavyweight boxing champion, reportedly scored 78 on his US Army induction test in 1964, a score Ali discussed publicly, noting it reflected poor schooling rather than lack of ability. He went on to become one of the most strategically intelligent fighters in history.
Andy Warhol
Estimated around 75, 5 points above 70
Pioneering pop artist and filmmaker, school records cited in multiple biographies suggest a score in the upper-70s range. Warhol described difficulty in conventional academic settings and later credited his success to visual and associative thinking rather than verbal or abstract reasoning.
From the IQScore blog
Further reading selected for this score range.
What Is a Good IQ Score? →
Where every score lands, and what counts as good, average, or gifted.
IQ Score Ranges Explained →
Every band from below average to genius, and what each one means.
IQ Score by Age →
How scores shift with age, and what stays fixed over a lifetime.
Can You Improve Your IQ? →
What the evidence says about moving scores in this range.
The Role of Education in IQ →
How structured learning affects measured cognitive ability.
What Sleep Deprivation Does to Your IQ →
Sleep has a bigger short-term effect on scores than most interventions.
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