What is a good IQ score?

A 'good' IQ score depends entirely on the question being asked. Statistically, an IQ of 100 is the population median: half of all adults score above it, half below. So 100 is, in a literal sense, perfectly average — not a deficient result. Roughly 68% of the adult population scores between 85 and 115, defining the broad range that practitioners call 'average'. Scores above 115 are above average; scores above 130 are in the gifted range used by most school placement programs (the 98th percentile and above). For most everyday purposes, a score anywhere in the 90 to 120 range is consistent with reliable functioning across the cognitive demands of modern life. Scores below 70 may warrant clinical evaluation, especially if accompanied by adaptive-functioning concerns. The most important framing is that IQ is a population-relative measure — a single number says where you fall relative to other test-takers, not whether you are 'good enough' for any particular task or role.

This question comes up frequently from users of free online IQ tests and from people considering whether to pursue a clinical evaluation. The full answer depends on context — what the score will be used for, how recently the test was administered, and what other information is available. The brief answer above captures the broad consensus from the published research literature; the linked deep-dive articles cover the underlying evidence in more detail.

Related considerations include the standard error of measurement on the relevant test, the population the test was normed against, and the specific cognitive abilities the test samples. A score is much more informative when interpreted alongside these contextual variables than when reported as a bare number.

If this answer raises further questions, see the related FAQ entries listed in the sidebar and the longer-form articles on the same topic in the article library. The site is designed to provide layered depth: the FAQ entries offer concise answers, the deep-dive articles offer the underlying research, and the score-interpretation pages tie the abstract concepts to specific result bands.