Is an IQ of 117 good?
Yes. An IQ of 117 is high average: higher than about 87% of people, and about 1 in 8 people score higher.
How rare is an IQ of 117?
In a room of 100 people, someone with an IQ of 117 would be smarter than 87 of them.
- Outscored: 87
- Would score higher: 13
Only about 12.9% of people score higher than 117. Here is what that looks like in groups of different sizes:
| In a group of | People scoring above 117 |
|---|---|
| A classroom of 30 | about 4 |
| A room of 100 | about 13 |
| A school of 1,000 | about 130 |
| A town of 10,000 | about 1,300 |
| A packed football stadium (70,000) | about 9,000 |
| A city of 1 million | about 129,000 |
| The United States (about 340 million) | about 44 million |
What an IQ of 117 means
An IQ of 117 is 17 points above the average of 100, or 1.13 standard deviations above the mean. It falls in the high average band.
Scores from 110 to 119 are above average, higher than roughly 75–90% of people. This is a comfortable range for university study and analytical work.
What an IQ score predicts, and what it doesn’t
IQ is one of the strongest single predictors of school grades: a meta-analysis of 240 samples put the correlation at about .54 (Roth et al., 2015). For job performance the estimate depends on the statistical corrections used: .51 in the classic review (Schmidt & Hunter, 1998) and .31 in a 2022 re-analysis (Sackett et al.). Either way, most of the differences between people come from other things: knowledge, effort, personality and opportunity.
How a 117 does on our test
On our free 30-question test, an IQ of 117 takes about 23 correct answers out of 30. Here is how 23 correct answers usually split across the four areas:
- Pattern reasoning 8 of 10
- Numerical reasoning 6 of 7
- Verbal reasoning 4 of 6
- Logical reasoning 5 of 7
Worked out from our scoring model, assuming the easier questions are the ones you get right. Harder questions count for more, so two people with the same number correct can score a few points apart. We’ll replace this with real results once enough people have taken the test. How scoring works
Jobs where the typical worker scored about 117
In a study that followed Wisconsin men from high school into their 50s, these job groups had a typical (median) score closest to 117. 55 of the 56 groups had a median below 117.
-
Natural scientists and mathematicians 111
Median 111. Middle half of workers 101.5 to 121. Middle 80% 93 to 133. -
Legal occupations 113
Median 113. Middle half of workers 109 to 124. Middle 80% 99 to 133. -
Electrical engineers 113
Median 113. Middle half of workers 103 to 121. Middle 80% 95 to 129. -
College professors 115
Median 115. Middle half of workers 104 to 124. Middle 80% 97 to 133. -
Physicians (MD or equivalent) 120.5
Median 120.5. Middle half of workers 112 to 127. Middle 80% 106 to 133.
- Middle 80% of workers
- Middle half
- Median (the number on the right)
- IQ 117
Source: Hauser (2002), Wisconsin Longitudinal Study, Figure 12. The study covers men who finished high school in Wisconsin in 1957 and their brothers, with IQ measured in high school (Henmon-Nelson test, group average 102) and jobs held in 1992–94. Groups with fewer than 30 people are left out, and people who left school early aren’t in the study, so low scores are under-represented. Every job spans a wide range: 27 to 42 points between its 10th and 90th percentile.
Famous people near IQ 117
Published test results and estimates within 5 points of 117. The presidents’ figures come from a 2006 study that worked them out from biographies, not tests, on an older IQ scale. Each is the average of four estimates. Eight presidents have estimates based on records of their childhood and youth, the method Catharine Cox used for historical geniuses in 1926; the rest were imputed statistically and are rougher still.
-
Estimated: about 120
Ulysses S. Grant
18th US president (1869–77)
Four estimates from 110 to 130, based on records of his childhood and youth.
Sources: Simonton (2006), Political Psychology .
IQ 117 on other scales
Not every test uses the same scale. The same performance that earns 117 on a modern test with a standard deviation of 15 produces a different number on tests with a wider spread:
| Scale | Spread | Equivalent |
|---|---|---|
| Standard IQ (Wechsler, Stanford-Binet 5) | SD 15 | 117 |
| Older Stanford-Binet and some online tests | SD 16 | 118 |
| Cattell Culture Fair | SD 24 | 127 |
| z-score | mean 0, SD 1 | +1.13 |
| T-score | mean 50, SD 10 | 61 |
| Stanine | 1 to 9 | 7 |
| Percentile | 0 to 100 | 87th |
Scores near 117
| IQ | Percentile | Score higher | Band |
|---|---|---|---|
| 112 | 79 | 1 in 5 | High average |
| 113 | 81 | 1 in 5 | High average |
| 114 | 82 | 1 in 6 | High average |
| 115 | 84 | 1 in 6 | High average |
| 116 | 86 | 1 in 7 | High average |
| 117 | 87 | 1 in 8 | High average |
| 118 | 88 | 1 in 9 | High average |
| 119 | 90 | 1 in 10 | High average |
| 120 | 91 | 1 in 11 | Superior |
| 121 | 92 | 1 in 12 | Superior |
| 122 | 93 | 1 in 14 | Superior |
Wondering where most people land? See what the average IQ is, or every band on the IQ scale.
Do you really score 117?
Take the free 30-question IQ test: about 15 minutes, with an instant score, your percentile and your own room of 100 to share. No email, no paywall.
Take the free IQ testIQ 117: common questions
Is 117 a genius IQ?
No. “Genius” is usually used for scores of 140 or more. An IQ of 117 is high average.
Is an IQ of 117 gifted?
It is below the usual gifted cut-off of about 130. Many gifted programs also look at achievement, creativity and teacher ratings, not just IQ.
Can you join Mensa with an IQ of 117?
Not on its own. Mensa requires a top-2% score on an approved, supervised test, which is 130 or more on the standard scale.
Can an online test tell me if my IQ is 117?
It can give you an estimate, not a clinical score. Ours uses question types from established reasoning tests and a statistical scoring model, but it has not been checked against a professional IQ test. Even professional tests report a range of several points around a score.
By the MyIQTest team · Reviewed November 2026 · Figures assume the standard scale (mean 100, SD 15). Methodology