Is an IQ of 89 good?
An IQ of 89 is low average: below the middle of the scale, but higher than about 23% of people.
How rare is an IQ of 89?
In a room of 100 people, someone with an IQ of 89 would be smarter than 23 of them.
- Outscored: 23
- Would score higher: 77
More than half of all people score above 89. Here is how many would score higher in groups of different sizes:
| In a group of | People scoring above 89 |
|---|---|
| A classroom of 30 | about 23 |
| A room of 100 | about 77 |
| A school of 1,000 | about 770 |
| A town of 10,000 | about 7,700 |
| A packed football stadium (70,000) | about 54,000 |
| A city of 1 million | about 768,000 |
| The United States (about 340 million) | about 261 million |
What an IQ of 89 means
An IQ of 89 is 11 points below the average of 100, or 0.73 standard deviations below the mean. It falls in the low average band.
Scores from 80 to 89 sit just below the middle of the scale. Plenty of people score here on a given day, and tiredness, distraction or unfamiliar question styles can easily pull a result down into this range.
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 an 89 does on our test
On our free 30-question test, an IQ of 89 takes about 10 correct answers out of 30. Here is how 10 correct answers usually split across the four areas:
- Pattern reasoning 4 of 10
- Numerical reasoning 2 of 7
- Verbal reasoning 2 of 6
- Logical reasoning 2 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
Every job group’s typical worker scored above 89
Every one of the 56 job groups in a study that followed Wisconsin men from high school into their 50s had a median above 89. But every job includes people who scored lower: in 42 of the 56 groups, at least 1 worker in 10 scored 89 or below.
-
Janitors and church caretakers 91.5
Median 91.5. Middle half of workers 83 to 102. Middle 80% 73 to 111. -
Precision machine operators 93
Median 93. Middle half of workers 86 to 107. Middle 80% 76 to 116. -
Machine operators, other 93
Median 93. Middle half of workers 85 to 103. Middle 80% 76 to 113. -
Semi-skilled operatives, other 93
Median 93. Middle half of workers 85 to 102. Middle 80% 75 to 109. -
Truck drivers 93
Median 93. Middle half of workers 85 to 101. Middle 80% 76 to 109.
- Middle 80% of workers
- Middle half
- Median (the number on the right)
- IQ 89
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.
IQ 89 on other scales
Not every test uses the same scale. The same performance that earns 89 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 | 89 |
| Older Stanford-Binet and some online tests | SD 16 | 88 |
| Cattell Culture Fair | SD 24 | 82 |
| z-score | mean 0, SD 1 | -0.73 |
| T-score | mean 50, SD 10 | 43 |
| Stanine | 1 to 9 | 4 |
| Percentile | 0 to 100 | 23rd |
Scores near 89
| IQ | Percentile | Score higher | Band |
|---|---|---|---|
| 84 | 14 | Over half | Low average |
| 85 | 16 | Over half | Low average |
| 86 | 18 | Over half | Low average |
| 87 | 19 | Over half | Low average |
| 88 | 21 | Over half | Low average |
| 89 | 23 | Over half | Low average |
| 90 | 25 | Over half | Average |
| 91 | 27 | Over half | Average |
| 92 | 30 | Over half | Average |
| 93 | 32 | Over half | Average |
| 94 | 34 | Over half | Average |
Wondering where most people land? See what the average IQ is, or every band on the IQ scale.
Do you really score 89?
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 89: common questions
Is 89 a genius IQ?
No. “Genius” is usually used for scores of 140 or more. An IQ of 89 is low average.
Is an IQ of 89 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 89?
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 89?
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