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Is a 142 IQ Good? What the Score Means

A 142 IQ is far above the average of 100. Only about 1 in 391 people score this high or higher. Clinical reports would call 142 Extremely High in WISC-V wording and Very Superior in the traditional WAIS-IV wording.

Percentile
99.74
How rare
1 in 391 score 142 or higher
WISC-V wording
Extremely High
Traditional wording (WAIS-IV)
Very Superior
Distance from 100
2.80 SD above
On an SD 16 test
about 145
On an SD 24 test
about 167
Our test's usual range here
our test cannot show this score
Where 142 sits on the IQ curveA bell curve with a marker at 142. The shaded area to the left is the share of people who score lower; 142 is at the 99.74th percentile.70100130142

What does a 142 IQ mean?

A score of 142 is 2.80 standard deviations above the average of 100. On most IQ tests one standard deviation, the typical distance from the average, is 15 points, so 142 is 42 points away.

142 is 12 points above the start of the top band, which begins at 130 and has no upper end. About 2.5 in 100 people score anywhere in the top band that holds 142.

What percentile is an IQ of 142?

A score of 142 is at the 99.74th percentile. That percentile is the share of people who score lower than 142, not the share of questions right. Five points higher, 147 is at the 99.91st percentile. Five points lower, 137 is at the 99.32nd percentile. Across those ten points around 142, the percentile moves by 0.60.

How rare is an IQ of 142?

About 1 in 391 people score 142 or higher. In a town of 100,000 people, about 256 would score 142 or higher.

For every 100 people who score exactly 100, about 2 score exactly 142. These figures for 142 come from the normal curve that IQ scales are built on, and the IQ calculator works out any other score.

What would 142 be on other tests?

Not every test would print 142 for this position. Older Stanford-Binet forms and many school tests use a standard deviation of 16; there, the same position as 142 is about 145. On a scale with a standard deviation of 24, used by the Cattell test, it is about 167. 142, 145 and 167 all mean the same percentile.

Is 142 a good IQ score?

The scale does not grade the person behind a 142; it places one result among other people’s results. As a position, 142 is far above the average of 100. What a 142 is useful for depends on the purpose, and a single online result is too rough for decisions about school, work or support. A 142 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 142 enough for Mensa?

Only if the 142 comes from a supervised test that Mensa accepts. American Mensa accepts scores at or above the 98th percentile, and 142 is at the 99.74th percentile. On the Wechsler scales the line is a full-scale IQ of 130, so 142 is 12 points above it. A 142 from an unsupervised internet test, ours included, is not accepted. Our Mensa IQ test guide explains the supervised routes to showing a 142.

Is 142 a genius IQ?

No test or psychology dictionary calls 142 a genius score, or defines one at all. The often quoted 140 goes back to a long-term study that selected children scoring above 140; by that line, 142 is 2 points over it. What a person with a 142 achieves depends on far more than a test number, as what IQ is considered genius explains.

What does an online result of 142 mean?

Our test rarely shows a 142. A perfect score currently shows about 140, so results near the top are uncommon and less precise. Our methodology shows how the range is made.

An unsupervised online 142 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 142 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 142, take the free IQ test. It has 30 questions and shows an estimated range with every result.

Scores near 142

  • 140 IQ: 2 points lower, at the 99.62nd percentile.
  • 141 IQ: 1 point lower, at the 99.69th percentile.
  • 143 IQ: 1 point higher, at the 99.79th percentile.
  • 144 IQ: 2 points higher, at the 99.83rd percentile.

Look up any score from 70 to 160, not only those near 142, in the score explorer.

FAQ

What percentile is 142 IQ?

A score of 142 is at the 99.74th percentile. That means about 99.74 percent of people score lower.

Is 142 IQ genius?

No test defines genius, so no test calls 142 genius. 142 is in the top band of the scale. Only about 1 in 391 people score this high or higher.

How many people have an IQ of 142?

On a whole-number scale, about 0.053 percent of people score exactly 142. About 1 in 391 people score 142 or higher.

Can an online test show 142?

Not reliably for 142. Our test shows anything above 145 as “145 or higher”, and a perfect score currently shows about 140.