IQ Percentile Chart
110, 115, 120, 130, 145.

1 Quick Answer

IQ 115 is about the 84th percentile, IQ 110 is about the 75th percentile, IQ 120 is about the 91st percentile, IQ 130 is about the 97.7th percentile, and IQ 145 is about the 99.9th percentile on the common SD 15 IQ scale. Those numbers are approximate, but they are the right public reference points when the score is reported on a standard mean-100 scale with a standard deviation of 15.

The important distinction is that a percentile chart is a translation tool, not a full psychological interpretation. A chart can tell you where a score sits in the distribution. It cannot tell you whether the test was long enough, whether the norms were appropriate, whether the person was rested, whether the score is stable, or whether a subtest profile shows unusual strengths and weaknesses. For those questions, use What IQ Scores Mean, the norming guide, the reliability and validity guide, and the relevant score page in the ACIS IQ library.

This page exists because many readers are not trying to calculate every possible score. They are trying to verify a few common anchors. They want to know whether "IQ score 115 percentile 84th" is correct, whether IQ 110 really means top quarter, whether IQ 130 is the same as the 98th percentile, and why IQ 145 looks so much rarer than IQ 130 even though the score difference is only 15 points. The answer is the shape of the normal curve: percentiles change slowly near the middle and very quickly in the tails.

2 IQ Percentile Chart

The table below assumes a standard IQ score with mean 100 and standard deviation 15. This is the convention used by many public IQ explanations, many modern score charts, and the ACIS public interpretation layer. Percentiles are rounded because a public chart should not pretend that a single score point is perfectly exact. Real reports should include confidence intervals, norm group details, and test-specific rules.

Use the chart by finding the score first, then reading the percentile and ACIS public band. If the score is not listed, use the IQ Percentile Calculator. If you need a wider range of labels, use the IQ Score Chart. If you want the meaning of a score range rather than the rank conversion, open the linked ACIS guide.

3 How IQ Percentile Conversion Works

An IQ percentile is not a second kind of IQ score. It is a rank statement. If a score is at the 84th percentile, it means the score is higher than about 84% of the norm group and lower than about 16% of the norm group. The percentile does not measure a separate ability. It translates the score into a population position.

Most public IQ percentile charts use a normal distribution. On the standard scale, the mean is 100 and the standard deviation is 15. A score of 85 is one standard deviation below the mean. A score of 115 is one standard deviation above the mean. A score of 130 is two standard deviations above the mean. The farther you move from 100, the more the distribution thins out. That is why the difference between 100 and 115 covers a large share of people, while the difference between 130 and 145 covers a much smaller but much rarer upper-tail region.

The chart is easiest to understand if you think in standard deviation landmarks. IQ 100 is the middle. IQ 115 is plus one SD. IQ 130 is plus two SD. IQ 145 is plus three SD. Each step is 15 IQ points, but each step does not represent the same change in percentile. The normal curve is dense near the middle and sparse in the tails. Moving from 100 to 115 takes you from the 50th percentile to about the 84th. Moving from 130 to 145 takes you from about the 97.7th to about the 99.9th. The score difference is the same number of IQ points, but the rarity change is different.

This is also why percentile and rarity can sound confusing. IQ 130 is the 97.7th percentile, but people often summarize it as "top 2.3%." Those are two sides of the same conversion. The percentile tells how many scores are below that point. The top-share statement tells how many scores are at or above that point. For upper-tail scores, readers usually understand rarity faster when both are stated together.

ACIS keeps those pieces separate. The IQ Percentile Calculator gives a direct score-to-percentile conversion. The IQ Rarity Calculator gives a top-share framing. The IQ Score Chart gives the broader classification table. This page is the static lookup version for the high-demand anchor searches that people type into Google.

4 Exact Lookup Notes for Common Scores

Exact-score searches are often short, but the answer should not be thin. A person searching "IQ 115 percentile" may be asking about a personal result, a report, a school screening threshold, a gifted-program cutoff, or a comparison with another score. The same percentile can feel different depending on why the person is asking. The lookup notes below keep the common scores separate and point readers toward the correct ACIS page.

The practical lesson is that score labels should never replace percentile context. "High Average," "Superior," "Moderately Gifted," and "Exceptionally Gifted" are useful labels, but percentile tells the reader how far the score is from the center of the distribution. That is why ACIS keeps charts, calculators, and score pages linked together instead of making one page carry the whole interpretation burden. If the next question is whether a score predicts money or earnings, move from rank language to the separate IQ and Income research page.

5 ACIS Bands and Percentile Territory

ACIS public score pages use fixed interpretation bands. The bands are not meant to turn a single score into a complete identity. They are a structured way to describe where the score sits. The percentile chart adds the rank layer behind those labels, which helps readers understand why some thresholds matter more than others.

The Average range, 90-109, covers a large part of the population. That is intentional. A score in this band can still support normal learning, work, independence, and everyday reasoning. Calling 100 "average" should not be read as a negative statement. It is the center of the scale. The percentile chart makes this clear because 100 sits at the 50th percentile, which means half the norm group scores below and half scores above.

The High Average range, 110-119, begins around the 75th percentile. That is why IQ 110 and IQ 115 attract search interest. Readers often want to know whether those scores are meaningfully above average. The answer is yes, but not in the same way as a gifted threshold. IQ 110 is roughly top quarter. IQ 115 is roughly top 16%. Both are above the center, but both still fall below the ACIS Superior band.

The Superior range, 120-129, covers scores that are clearly uncommon but still not rare in the way upper-tail gifted scores are rare. IQ 120 is about the 91st percentile. IQ 125 is about the 95th percentile. A person at this level often has an advantage in abstract academic or technical tasks, but the score still needs context. Motivation, education, health, language, and test quality all affect how ability shows up in real life.

The ACIS gifted labels begin at 130. IQ 130 is about the 97.7th percentile, and this is why it is frequently used as a public gifted anchor. But the chart also shows why a score near 130 should be interpreted carefully. A person at 128 and a person at 132 are not separated by a dramatic practical gulf. Measurement error and confidence intervals matter near thresholds. The label changes at 130, but the underlying ability estimate is still continuous.

The upper gifted ranges, including 135, 145, 158, and 160, require stronger caution. Percentiles become very compressed in the far right tail. A small change in raw performance, a ceiling effect, or a norming limitation can create a large-looking difference in public rarity language. This is why ACIS directs upper-tail readers toward Reliability vs. Validity, How IQ Scores Are Normed, and the relevant retained score pages instead of treating the chart as final.

6 Percentile vs. Rarity vs. Label

Percentile, rarity, and label answer three different questions. The percentile asks: where does the score stand in the distribution? Rarity asks: how many people score this high or higher, or this low or lower? The label asks: what public interpretation band should this score be grouped into? A clean IQ page keeps those questions separate.

For example, IQ 130 can be described as the 97.7th percentile, top 2.3%, and Moderately Gifted in ACIS. All three statements are compatible, but they are not interchangeable. The percentile is rank language. The top-share statement is rarity language. The ACIS band is classification language. A reader who only sees one of the three can misunderstand the score.

That distinction matters even more below average. IQ 85 is about the 16th percentile, which means it is lower than average but still within a common part of the distribution. Saying "bottom 16%" may sound more severe than the score deserves, while saying only "Low Average" may hide the rank. A full explanation gives both, then adds test-quality context.

Upper-tail scores have the opposite problem. A label like Exceptionally Gifted can sound exact and final, but the percentile chart reminds readers that measurement quality matters more as scores become rarer. A short online quiz should not be interpreted the same way as a long, professionally administered battery with strong norms. The farther a score moves into the tail, the more the evidence behind the score matters.

This is the reason ACIS links public interpretation pages tightly together. If you want a score lookup, this page answers it. If you want a flexible conversion, use the calculator. If you want rarity language, use the rarity calculator. If you want the meaning of a score band, use the score guide. That internal structure is better for users and clearer for search engines because each page has a defined job.

7 How to Use This Chart Without Overreading It

Start by confirming the score scale. This chart assumes mean 100 and SD 15. If a test uses a different standard deviation, such as SD 16, the percentile will not be identical. Many internet charts mix these conventions without saying so, which creates confusion around scores like 130 and 145. ACIS keeps the public chart anchored to SD 15 and points readers to Standard Deviation 15 Explained when the scale itself is the question.

Next, check whether the score was age-normed. A proper IQ score is not a comparison against all humans at once. It is a comparison against a relevant norm group, usually same-age peers. That is why the same raw performance can mean different things at different ages. A percentile chart is useful only after the score has already been normed appropriately. For age context, read Average IQ by Age.

Then, avoid treating tiny differences as decisive. A chart can show that 114 and 115 have slightly different percentile estimates, but real tests have standard error of measurement. A score report should not be read as a perfectly exact ruler. The difference between 119 and 120 or 129 and 130 can matter for labels, but the person did not suddenly become categorically different because one score point crossed a public threshold.

Finally, use the chart to choose the next page. If the score is 115, the next page is IQ 115 or the broader High Average guide. If the score is 130, the next page is IQ 130 and Gifted IQ Range. If the score is very high, pair the score guide with test-quality pages because ceiling and norming questions become central.

8 Search Intent Map

People reach this page with different intents, even when the keyword looks similar. Some want a fast lookup. Some are checking a report. Some are comparing two scores. Some are trying to understand whether a score is good, gifted, rare, or reliable. The table below maps the common intent to the best ACIS page.

If the search is no longer about percentile but about life outcomes, use a different page. What IQ Scores Mean explains the score responsibly, and IQ and Income explains why earnings cannot be inferred from percentile alone.

9 Common Mistakes With IQ Percentile Charts

The first mistake is treating percentile as a moral ranking. Percentile is a statistical position, not a statement about worth, effort, creativity, judgment, or future life value. A person at the 50th percentile can be skilled, successful, disciplined, and capable. A person at the 99th percentile can still struggle with motivation, emotional regulation, health, or fit. The chart describes one cognitive score, not the whole person.

The second mistake is mixing score scales. If one chart uses SD 15 and another uses SD 16, the percentile for the same number can differ. That is especially noticeable in the tails. A search result that simply says "130 IQ percentile" without naming the standard deviation is incomplete. ACIS uses SD 15 for this public chart and labels the assumption in the metadata, heading, and body content.

The third mistake is ignoring confidence intervals. A score of 130 may be reported with a confidence band that spans below and above the threshold. That does not make the score useless. It makes interpretation more honest. The score is an estimate. The interval describes uncertainty. A serious interpretation should consider both instead of acting as though the printed number is perfectly exact.

The fourth mistake is assuming every online score deserves the same chart. A short quiz with weak norms can print a number that looks precise but has little technical meaning. A long multi-subtest battery with transparent norms, item difficulty, reliability evidence, and profile reporting has a stronger basis for interpretation. The percentile chart is most useful when the test behind the score is credible.

The fifth mistake is treating labels as universal. One publisher may call 120 "Superior"; another may use different language. ACIS uses fixed public bands so readers can follow the same interpretation across related pages. But the percentile is often more stable than the label because it is tied to the distribution rather than a naming convention.

10 Technical Interpretation Checklist

A percentile chart becomes much stronger when it is paired with a simple technical checklist. The first question is whether the number is actually an IQ score or only a quiz score presented as one. A real IQ-style interpretation needs a score scale, a norm group, and enough item coverage to justify the claim. If a page or report gives only a raw number without explaining the scale, the percentile should be treated as a rough guess rather than a stable interpretation.

The second question is whether the score is a global score, an index score, or a subtest score. A Full Scale IQ, a General Ability estimate, a verbal index, a working memory index, and a single reasoning subtest can all be printed on score scales that look similar. They do not mean the same thing. A percentile chart can translate the number, but it cannot decide what construct the number represents. That is why ACIS separates What IQ Measures, Cognitive Domains, and the score pages from the calculator layer.

The third question is how close the score is to a decision boundary. Scores near 110, 120, 130, 135, 145, and 160 often attract attention because they sit near ACIS public band thresholds. That makes them useful for navigation, but it also creates a risk of over-interpreting one point. If a person scores 129, the interpretation should not be radically different from 130. If a person scores 119, the interpretation should not be radically different from 120. Thresholds are useful for public explanation, but real measurement is continuous.

The fourth question is whether the percentile is being used for a high-stakes purpose. For casual interpretation, an approximate chart is appropriate. For school placement, clinical diagnosis, disability questions, gifted program eligibility, employment decisions, or legal contexts, a public chart is not enough. Those cases need a qualified professional, the actual test manual, the confidence interval, and a careful look at adaptive functioning, education history, language background, motivation, and test conditions.

The fifth question is whether the score is in the middle or the tail. Middle scores are generally easier to estimate because there are many people near the center of the distribution. Extreme scores depend more heavily on item difficulty, ceiling, norm sample size, and scoring method. This is why IQ 145, IQ 158, and IQ 160 should be read with more caution than IQ 100 or IQ 115. The percentile may look precise, but the evidence needed to support that precision is stronger in the upper tail.

The sixth question is whether the reader wants rank, rarity, or meaning. If the goal is rank, use the percentile. If the goal is rarity, use the top-share framing or the rarity calculator. If the goal is meaning, read the score guide. These are different tasks. A page that tries to answer all of them with one sentence usually becomes misleading. The ACIS structure keeps the static chart, calculator, rarity tool, score chart, and score-specific guides connected so the reader can move from fast lookup to careful interpretation without losing context.

The final question is whether the interpretation language is appropriately cautious. A good score page should be useful without exaggerating. It should say that IQ 115 is above average, but not call it genius. It should say that IQ 130 is a common gifted threshold, but not treat a single score as a complete identity. It should say that IQ 145 is very rare, but also explain why ceiling and norms matter. That balance is better for readers and better for search quality because it answers the query directly while avoiding the overclaiming that makes many IQ pages untrustworthy.

11 FAQ: IQ Percentile Chart

12 Related Tools and Guides

Use these pages together rather than treating one chart as a full interpretation. The strongest reading path is: look up the percentile, check rarity if the score is unusual, read the relevant score guide, then review how the score was normed and how reliable the test is. For broader interpretation, move to What IQ Scores Mean; for earnings and socioeconomic outcome questions, move to IQ and Income.