What is a good IQ score?

On most standardized tests, 100 is the average and about 68 percent of people score between 85 and 115. Scores above 130 are uncommon, at roughly the top 2 percent. "Good" depends on the purpose: for most everyday questions, any score in the average range is entirely unremarkable and says little about how well someone will do at work, in study or in life.

The percentages above come from the normal curve that most tests are scaled to, so treat them as approximations rather than exact counts. Descriptive labels vary between publishers and have changed over time, partly because older terms such as 'borderline' or 'defective' carried stigma and invited self-diagnosis. They describe performance bands, not categories of people. Two people a point apart can land in different bands despite performing almost identically, which is why confidence intervals matter more than band names.

An IQ score is a relative position on a specific test. It says nothing directly about creativity, persistence, social skill, specific talents or character. Education, opportunity, health and effort also shape how people's lives go, and none of them are sampled by the test. That's why professionals interpret scores alongside history, observation and other information rather than alone.