HomeStart the test
Menu
IQ scale

What Does an 81 IQ Mean?

An 81 IQ is a little below the average of 100. About 10 in 100 people score lower than 81. Clinical reports using the WISC-V or the traditional WAIS-IV wording would call 81 Low Average.

Percentile
10.26
How rare
1 in 10 score 81 or lower
WISC-V wording
Low Average
Traditional wording (WAIS-IV)
Low Average
Distance from 100
1.27 SD below
On an SD 16 test
about 80
On an SD 24 test
about 70
Our test's usual range here
up to 94 (90%)
Where 81 sits on the IQ curveA bell curve with a marker at 81. The shaded area to the left is the share of people who score lower; 81 is at the 10.26th percentile.7010013081

What does an 81 IQ mean?

A score of 81 is 1.27 standard deviations below the average of 100. On most IQ tests one standard deviation, the typical distance from the average, is 15 points, so 81 is 19 points away.

81 sits near the bottom of the 80 to 89 band, 9 points below the next band up. About 16 in 100 people score from 80 to 89, the band that holds 81. The average band starts at 90, so a retest of an 81 can easily land on the other side of that line.

What percentile is an IQ of 81?

A score of 81 is at the 10.26th percentile. That percentile is the share of people who score lower than 81, not the share of questions right. Five points higher, 86 is at the 17.53rd percentile. Five points lower, 76 is at the 5.48th percentile. Across those ten points around 81, the percentile moves by 12.05.

How rare is an IQ of 81?

About 1 in 10 people score 81 or lower. In a town of 100,000 people, about 10,000 would score 81 or lower.

For every 100 people who score exactly 100, about 45 score exactly 81. These figures for 81 come from the normal curve that IQ scales are built on, and the IQ calculator works out any other score.

What would 81 be on other tests?

Not every test would print 81 for this position. Older Stanford-Binet forms and many school tests use a standard deviation of 16; there, the same position as 81 is about 80. On a scale with a standard deviation of 24, used by the Cattell test, it is about 70. 81, 80 and 70 all mean the same percentile.

Is 81 a good IQ score?

The scale does not grade the person behind an 81; it places one result among other people’s results. As a position, 81 is a little below the average of 100. What an 81 is useful for depends on the purpose, and a single online result is too rough for decisions about school, work or support. An 81 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.

How far is 81 from the average?

81 is 19 points below the average of 100, or 1.27 of a standard deviation. About 39.7 percent of people score between 81 and 100. About 10.3 percent score lower than 81. Our average IQ guide explains why the middle sits at 100 rather than at 81.

What does an online result of 81 mean?

An online result of 81 is an estimate. When our test shows 81, the estimated range next to it usually reaches below 70, the lowest score our test reports, so it is shown as “up to 94” or close to that. That range for 81 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 81 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 81 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 81, take the free IQ test. It has 30 questions and shows an estimated range with every result.

Scores near 81

  • 79 IQ: 2 points lower, at the 8.08th percentile.
  • 80 IQ: 1 point lower, at the 9.12th percentile.
  • 82 IQ: 1 point higher, at the 11.51st percentile.
  • 83 IQ: 2 points higher, at the 12.85th percentile.

Look up any score from 70 to 160, not only those near 81, in the score explorer.

FAQ

What percentile is 81 IQ?

A score of 81 is at the 10.26th percentile. That means about 10.26 percent of people score lower.

Is 81 IQ low?

81 is below the average band. About 10.3 in 100 people score 81 or lower. A single 81 is not a diagnosis.

How many people have an IQ of 81?

On a whole-number scale, about 1.2 percent of people score exactly 81. About 1 in 10 people score 81 or lower.

Can an online test show 81?

Yes, as an estimate with a range: on our test an 81 usually comes with an estimated range shown as “up to 94” or close to that.