Every IQ range,
honestly explained

The word “good” is relative, but by standard psychometric benchmarks, any score above 100 is above the population mean. Scores above 115 place you in the top 15%, and scores above 130 place you in the top 2%.

The more useful question is what score is adequate for your goals. Most professional careers have average IQs in the 105–120 range. Academic research and medicine skew higher (120–130). Trades and skilled manual work tend to average 95–110.

By definition, IQ tests are normed so that the population mean is 100 and the standard deviation is 15. This means “average” is defined as a range, typically 90–109, which covers about 50% of the population.

Global IQ averages differ by country due to factors including nutrition, healthcare, education access, and test norming methodology. Cross-country comparisons should be treated with significant caution.

There is no universal threshold for “genius” and the term is not used in clinical or psychometric literature. Different scales use different cutoffs: some place genius at 140+, others at 145+, and some at 160+.

On our scale, we use 140+ as the upper range. At this level you are in the top 0.4% — approximately 1 in 261 people. The word “genius” in common usage describes creative output and achievement, not just IQ score.

Mensa requires a score in the top 2% of the population on a standardised, proctored IQ test. On the standard scale (mean 100, SD 15), that corresponds to approximately IQ 130 or above.

Importantly, Mensa does not accept self-administered or online tests. Acceptable tests include the Cattell Culture Fair, Stanford-Binet, and Wechsler (WAIS/WISC) series administered by a licensed psychologist. AurorIQ results cannot be used for Mensa applications.

Yes. IQ is not fixed. Test scores are known to vary by 5–10 points day-to-day based on factors including sleep quality, stress, nutrition, and test familiarity. Over longer periods, IQ generally rises through adolescence, stabilises in early adulthood, and shows gradual decline in fluid intelligence after age 50–60.

The Flynn Effect — the documented rise in average IQ scores across generations — also demonstrates that environmental factors significantly affect population-level performance.

Most online IQ tests are not accurate. The majority use a small number of simple pattern questions and produce inflated scores to encourage social sharing. Tests that report scores of 130+ to most users are by definition miscalibrated.

AurorIQ uses Item Response Theory (IRT) scoring calibrated against a large norm group. Our results are honest and will typically be lower than what other free online tests report. If you want a clinically validated IQ score, consult a licensed psychologist for a WAIS-IV or Stanford-Binet assessment.

IQ is the single best-validated predictor of academic and occupational performance in the research literature, with correlations typically around 0.4–0.5 for job performance. However, these are population-level correlations — they say little about any individual.

Non-cognitive factors — conscientiousness, persistence, social intelligence, emotional regulation, and luck — contribute substantially to real-world success. High IQ is neither necessary nor sufficient for achievement in most domains.