What is the average IQ?
The average IQ is 100. Here is what that really means, why it doesn’t change with age, and where the US stands.
By the MyIQTest team · Reviewed November 2026
The short answer: the average IQ is 100. Half of all people score between 90 and 109, about 68% score between 85 and 115, and about 95% score between 70 and 130.
- 100 average IQ, at every age
- 50% of people score 90–109
- 68% score 85–115
- 97–100 typical US estimate in world comparisons
In a room of 100 people, about 50 would have an average IQ (90–109).
The rest split evenly: about 25 would score above 109 and about 25 below 90.
Why the average IQ is always 100
The average isn’t a discovery, it’s a design choice. A score of 100 simply means you did as well as the typical person your age. Every major IQ test sets its average the same way:
- Test a big, representative sample, often a few thousand people matched to the population by age, sex, region and education.
- Scale the raw scores so the middle lands on 100 and each standard deviation is worth 15 points.
- Re-norm every 10 to 20 years, because average raw performance drifts over time (see the Flynn effect below).
Because scores are relative, the same raw performance can earn different IQs on different tests or in different decades.
What counts as an average IQ score?
| Range | Share of people | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 90–109 | Average: the middle half of the population | |
| 85–115 | Within one standard deviation of the mean | |
| 70–130 | Within two standard deviations | |
| 110+ | Above average | |
| 130+ | Very superior, the Mensa range |
Look up a specific score: 85, 90, 100, 110, 115, 120, or see every range on the IQ scale and chart.
Average IQ by age
The average IQ is 100 at every age. Each age group is compared only with itself, so a typical 10-year-old, 35-year-old and 70-year-old all score around 100. What changes with age is the mix of abilities underneath the number.
| Age group | Average IQ | What changes underneath |
|---|---|---|
| Children (6–16) | 100 | Compared with same-age children. Reasoning and vocabulary grow fast from year to year. |
| Young adults (17–29) | 100 | Speed and abstract reasoning (fluid intelligence) are near their lifetime peak. |
| Adults (30–49) | 100 | Knowledge and vocabulary (crystallized intelligence) keep growing; speed eases off slowly. |
| Older adults (50–69) | 100 | Vocabulary and general knowledge are often at their highest; processing speed declines gradually. |
| 70 and over | 100 | Speed and memory decline more noticeably, at very different rates from person to person. |
Fluid intelligence
Solving new problems quickly, like the pattern puzzles in our test. It tends to peak in early adulthood and slowly decline.
Crystallized intelligence
Knowledge and vocabulary built up over a lifetime. It keeps rising well into later life.
Average IQ in the United States
Most major IQ tests, including the Wechsler scales, are normed on US samples, so the US average is 100 by definition. When researchers put many countries on a single scale, the US usually comes out between about 97 and 100.
The Flynn effect: why the average keeps moving
Through much of the 20th century, raw scores on IQ tests rose by roughly 3 points per decade in many countries, a pattern named after the researcher James Flynn. A person scoring 100 against 1950 norms would score well below 100 against today’s norms. The rise was far too fast to be genetic and is usually linked to better schooling, living standards and a more abstract everyday world.
Since the 1990s, the gains have stalled or reversed in some countries, including Norway and Denmark. A 2018 study of Norwegian conscripts found the decline within families, which points to environmental causes rather than changes in who was having children.
Average IQ around the world
You will see tables ranking countries by average IQ. Treat them carefully. Many national figures come from small or unrepresentative samples, old data or estimates from school tests, and the gaps they show track schooling and living standards closely. The Flynn effect shows how much an average can move within a few decades.
Average IQ by gender and education
Men and women
No meaningful difference in average overall IQ. Some studies find slightly more spread in men’s scores at both ends.
Education
More schooling goes with higher scores, and each extra year appears to add roughly 1 to 5 IQ points (Ritchie & Tucker-Drob, 2018).
Is your IQ average?
If you scored between 90 and 109, you are right in the middle with half the population, and that is a perfectly good place to be. IQ predicts some things, like how quickly you pick up new material, but effort, knowledge, curiosity and emotional skills matter at least as much for how life turns out.
Average IQ FAQ
What is the average IQ score?
The average IQ is 100. Tests are designed that way: scores are scaled so the middle of the population lands at 100, with a standard deviation of 15.
What is a normal IQ range?
Between 90 and 109 is the average range, which covers half of all people. About 68% of people score between 85 and 115, and about 95% score between 70 and 130.
Is 100 a good IQ?
Yes. 100 is exactly typical: it beats half of all people and is the score most people get. Most jobs and courses are well within reach of an average IQ.
What is the average IQ for my age?
It is 100 at every age. IQ tests compare you only with people your own age, so a typical 20-year-old and a typical 60-year-old both score about 100, even though their raw abilities differ.
What is the average IQ in the United States?
On US-normed tests such as the Wechsler scales, the US average is 100 by definition. International comparisons that put countries on one scale usually place the US between about 97 and 100, but those datasets are debated.
Do men and women have different average IQs?
No meaningful difference has been found in average overall IQ. Some studies find slightly more spread in men’s scores, meaning a few more men at both the very high and very low ends.
Does education raise IQ?
It appears to. A 2018 meta-analysis by Ritchie and Tucker-Drob estimated that each extra year of education raises IQ by roughly 1 to 5 points.
Are you above average?
Take the free 30-question IQ test and see where you land in about 15 minutes.
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