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Is a 116 IQ Good? What the Score Means

A 116 IQ is a little above the average of 100. About 86 in 100 people score lower than 116. Clinical reports using the WISC-V or the traditional WAIS-IV wording would call 116 High Average.

Percentile
85.69
How rare
1 in 7 score 116 or higher
WISC-V wording
High Average
Traditional wording (WAIS-IV)
High Average
Distance from 100
1.07 SD above
On an SD 16 test
about 117
On an SD 24 test
about 126
Our test's usual range here
104 to 128 (90%)
Where 116 sits on the IQ curveA bell curve with a marker at 116. The shaded area to the left is the share of people who score lower; 116 is at the 85.69th percentile.70100130116

What does a 116 IQ mean?

A score of 116 is 1.07 standard deviations above the average of 100. On most IQ tests one standard deviation, the typical distance from the average, is 15 points, so 116 is 16 points away.

116 sits near the top of the 110 to 119 band, 4 points below the next band up. About 17 in 100 people score from 110 to 119, the band just above average that holds 116.

What percentile is an IQ of 116?

A score of 116 is at the 85.69th percentile. That percentile is the share of people who score lower than 116, not the share of questions right. Five points higher, 121 is at the 91.92nd percentile. Five points lower, 111 is at the 76.83rd percentile. Across those ten points around 116, the percentile moves by 15.09.

How rare is an IQ of 116?

About 1 in 7 people score 116 or higher. In a town of 100,000 people, about 14,000 would score 116 or higher.

For every 100 people who score exactly 100, about 57 score exactly 116. These figures for 116 come from the normal curve that IQ scales are built on, and the IQ calculator works out any other score.

What would 116 be on other tests?

Not every test would print 116 for this position. Older Stanford-Binet forms and many school tests use a standard deviation of 16; there, the same position as 116 is about 117. On a scale with a standard deviation of 24, used by the Cattell test, it is about 126. 116, 117 and 126 all mean the same percentile.

Is 116 a good IQ score?

The scale does not grade the person behind a 116; it places one result among other people’s results. As a position, 116 is a little above the average of 100. What a 116 is useful for depends on the purpose, and a single online result is too rough for decisions about school, work or support. A 116 describes some kinds of reasoning on one test, on one day, and leaves out a great deal that matters, such as effort, knowledge and character.

Is a score of 116 gifted?

There is no single gifted cutoff that a 116 either meets or misses; each school or program sets its own rule. Many programs use the top 10 percent as a guide, and a 116 is in the top 14.31 percent of people, outside that guide. A child’s 116 counts for a program only when it comes from a supervised test given by a psychologist or the school. Our guide for parents explains how that works.

How far is 116 from the average?

116 is 16 points above the average of 100, or 1.07 of a standard deviation. About 35.7 percent of people score between 100 and 116. About 14.3 percent score higher than 116. Our average IQ guide explains why the middle sits at 100 rather than at 116.

What does an online result of 116 mean?

An online result of 116 is an estimate. When our test shows 116, the estimated range next to it is usually about 104 to 128. That range for 116 is provisional: it comes from our scoring model and a simulation, not yet from real test takers. Our methodology shows how the range is made.

An unsupervised online 116 may also run a little high: a large review found a gap of about 3 IQ points. Taking the same kind of test again usually raises a score like 116 a little, mostly on the first retakes. Our guide are IQ tests accurate covers this in depth.

To see where your own result falls next to 116, take the free IQ test. It has 30 questions and shows an estimated range with every result.

Scores near 116

  • 114 IQ: 2 points lower, at the 82.47th percentile.
  • 115 IQ: 1 point lower, at the 84.13th percentile.
  • 117 IQ: 1 point higher, at the 87.15th percentile.
  • 118 IQ: 2 points higher, at the 88.49th percentile.

Look up any score from 70 to 160, not only those near 116, in the score explorer.

FAQ

What percentile is 116 IQ?

A score of 116 is at the 85.69th percentile. That means about 85.69 percent of people score lower.

Is 116 IQ gifted?

Whether 116 counts as gifted depends on the program. Many use the top 10 percent as a guide, and 116 is in the top 14.3 percent.

How many people have an IQ of 116?

On a whole-number scale, about 1.5 percent of people score exactly 116. About 1 in 7 people score 116 or higher.

Can an online test show 116?

Yes, as an estimate with a range: on our test a 116 usually comes with an estimated range of about 104 to 128.