What Does a 99 IQ Mean?
A 99 IQ is in the average range. About 47 in 100 people score lower than 99. Clinical reports using the WISC-V or the traditional WAIS-IV wording would call 99 Average.
- Percentile
- 47.34
- How rare
- 1 in 2 score 99 or lower
- WISC-V wording
- Average
- Traditional wording (WAIS-IV)
- Average
- Distance from 100
- 0.07 SD below
- On an SD 16 test
- about 99
- On an SD 24 test
- about 98
- Our test's usual range here
- 87 to 111 (90%)
What does a 99 IQ mean?
A score of 99 is 0.07 standard deviations below the average of 100. On most IQ tests one standard deviation, the typical distance from the average, is 15 points, so 99 is 1 point away.
99 sits in the middle of the 90 to 109 band, 11 points below the next band up. About 49 in 100 people score from 90 to 109, the average band that holds 99.
What percentile is an IQ of 99?
A score of 99 is at the 47.34th percentile. That percentile is the share of people who score lower than 99, not the share of questions right. Five points higher, 104 is at the 60.51st percentile. Five points lower, 94 is at the 34.46th percentile. Across those ten points around 99, the percentile moves by 26.06.
How rare is an IQ of 99?
A score of 99 is common. About 47 percent of people score 99 or lower.
For every 100 people who score exactly 100, about 100 score exactly 99. These figures for 99 come from the normal curve that IQ scales are built on, and the IQ calculator works out any other score.
What would 99 be on other tests?
Not every test would print 99 for this position. Older Stanford-Binet forms and many school tests use a standard deviation of 16; there, the same position as 99 is about 99. On a scale with a standard deviation of 24, used by the Cattell test, it is about 98. 99, 99 and 98 all mean the same percentile.
Is 99 a good IQ score?
The scale does not grade the person behind a 99; it places one result among other people’s results. 99 is inside the average band, 90 to 109, where about half of all people score. What a 99 is useful for depends on the purpose, and a single online result is too rough for decisions about school, work or support. A 99 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 close is 99 to the average?
99 is 1 point below the exact middle, 100. That gap is 0.07 of a standard deviation, which is small. Our average IQ guide explains why the middle stays at 100.
What does an online result of 99 mean?
An online result of 99 is an estimate. When our test shows 99, the estimated range next to it is usually about 87 to 111. That range for 99 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 99 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 99 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 99, take the free IQ test. It has 30 questions and shows an estimated range with every result.
Scores near 99
- 97 IQ: 2 points lower, at the 42.07th percentile.
- 98 IQ: 1 point lower, at the 44.7th percentile.
- 100 IQ: 1 point higher, at the 50th percentile.
- 101 IQ: 2 points higher, at the 52.66th percentile.
Look up any score from 70 to 160, not only those near 99, in the score explorer.
FAQ
What percentile is 99 IQ?
A score of 99 is at the 47.34th percentile. That means about 47.34 percent of people score lower.
Is 99 IQ average?
Yes. 99 is inside the 90 to 109 band, where about half of all people score.
How many people have an IQ of 99?
On a whole-number scale, about 2.7 percent of people score exactly 99. About 1 in 2 people score 99 or lower.
Can an online test show 99?
Yes, as an estimate with a range: on our test a 99 usually comes with an estimated range of about 87 to 111.