Is a 118 IQ Good? What the Score Means

A 118 IQ is a little above the average of 100. About 88 in 100 people score lower than 118. Clinical reports using the WISC-V or the traditional WAIS-IV wording would call 118 High Average.

Percentile: 88.49
How rare: 1 in 9 score 118 or higher
WISC-V wording: High Average
Traditional wording (WAIS-IV): High Average
Distance from 100: 1.20 SD above
On an SD 16 test: about 119
On an SD 24 test: about 129
Our test's usual range here: 106 to 130 (90%)

What does a 118 IQ mean?

A score of 118 is 1.20 standard deviations above the average of 100. On most IQ tests one standard deviation, the typical distance from the average, is 15 points, so 118 is 18 points away.

118 sits near the top of the 110 to 119 band, 2 points below the next band up. About 17 in 100 people score from 110 to 119, the band just above average that holds 118.

What percentile is an IQ of 118?

A score of 118 is at the 88.49th percentile. That percentile is the share of people who score lower than 118, not the share of questions right. Five points higher, 123 is at the 93.74th percentile. Five points lower, 113 is at the 80.69th percentile. Across those ten points around 118, the percentile moves by 13.05.

How rare is an IQ of 118?

About 1 in 9 people score 118 or higher. In a town of 100,000 people, about 12,000 would score 118 or higher.

For every 100 people who score exactly 100, about 49 score exactly 118. These figures for 118 come from the normal curve that IQ scales are built on, and the IQ calculator works out any other score.

What would 118 be on other tests?

Not every test would print 118 for this position. Older Stanford-Binet forms and many school tests use a standard deviation of 16; there, the same position as 118 is about 119. On a scale with a standard deviation of 24, used by the Cattell test, it is about 129. 118, 119 and 129 all mean the same percentile.

Is 118 a good IQ score?

The scale does not grade the person behind a 118; it places one result among other people’s results. As a position, 118 is a little above the average of 100. What a 118 is useful for depends on the purpose, and a single online result is too rough for decisions about school, work or support. A 118 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 118 gifted?

There is no single gifted cutoff that a 118 either meets or misses; each school or program sets its own rule. Many programs use the top 10 percent as a guide, and a 118 is in the top 11.51 percent of people, outside that guide. A child’s 118 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 118 from the average?

118 is 18 points above the average of 100, or 1.20 of a standard deviation. About 38.5 percent of people score between 100 and 118. About 11.5 percent score higher than 118. Our average IQ guide explains why the middle sits at 100 rather than at 118.

What does an online result of 118 mean?

An online result of 118 is an estimate. When our test shows 118, the estimated range next to it is usually about 106 to 130. That range for 118 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 118 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 118 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 118, take the free IQ test. It has 30 questions and shows an estimated range with every result.

Scores near 118

116 IQ: 2 points lower, at the 85.69th percentile.
117 IQ: 1 point lower, at the 87.15th percentile.
119 IQ: 1 point higher, at the 89.74th percentile.
120 IQ: 2 points higher, at the 90.88th percentile.

Look up any score from 70 to 160, not only those near 118, in the score explorer.

FAQ

What percentile is 118 IQ?

A score of 118 is at the 88.49th percentile. That means about 88.49 percent of people score lower.

Is 118 IQ gifted?

Whether 118 counts as gifted depends on the program. Many use the top 10 percent as a guide, and 118 is in the top 11.5 percent.

How many people have an IQ of 118?

On a whole-number scale, about 1.3 percent of people score exactly 118. About 1 in 9 people score 118 or higher.

Can an online test show 118?

Yes, as an estimate with a range: on our test a 118 usually comes with an estimated range of about 106 to 130.