Is an IQ of 109 good?
An IQ of 109 is average, a little above the middle of the scale: higher than about 73% of people, and about 1 in 4 people score higher.
How rare is an IQ of 109?
In a room of 100 people, someone with an IQ of 109 would be smarter than 73 of them.
- Outscored: 73
- Would score higher: 27
Only about 27.4% of people score higher than 109. Here is what that looks like in groups of different sizes:
| In a group of | People scoring above 109 |
|---|---|
| A classroom of 30 | about 8 |
| A room of 100 | about 27 |
| A school of 1,000 | about 270 |
| A town of 10,000 | about 2,700 |
| A packed football stadium (70,000) | about 19,000 |
| A city of 1 million | about 274,000 |
| The United States (about 340 million) | about 93 million |
What an IQ of 109 means
An IQ of 109 is 9 points above the average of 100, or 0.60 standard deviations above the mean. It falls in the average band.
Scores from 90 to 109 are the middle of the scale, where half of all people land. An average score means your reasoning is typical for your age: not a ceiling, just the center of the curve.
What an IQ score predicts, and what it doesn’t
IQ is one of the strongest single predictors of school grades: a meta-analysis of 240 samples put the correlation at about .54 (Roth et al., 2015). For job performance the estimate depends on the statistical corrections used: .51 in the classic review (Schmidt & Hunter, 1998) and .31 in a 2022 re-analysis (Sackett et al.). Either way, most of the differences between people come from other things: knowledge, effort, personality and opportunity.
How a 109 does on our test
On our free 30-question test, an IQ of 109 takes about 20 correct answers out of 30. Here is how 20 correct answers usually split across the four areas:
- Pattern reasoning 7 of 10
- Numerical reasoning 5 of 7
- Verbal reasoning 4 of 6
- Logical reasoning 4 of 7
Worked out from our scoring model, assuming the easier questions are the ones you get right. Harder questions count for more, so two people with the same number correct can score a few points apart. We’ll replace this with real results once enough people have taken the test. How scoring works
Jobs where the typical worker scored about 109
In a study that followed Wisconsin men from high school into their 50s, these job groups had a typical (median) score closest to 109. 40 of the 56 groups had a median below 109.
-
Public administration managers 109
Median 109. Middle half of workers 101 to 116. Middle 80% 89 to 123. -
Creative occupations 109
Median 109. Middle half of workers 97 to 120. Middle 80% 89 to 125. -
Social workers and clergy 109
Median 109. Middle half of workers 99 to 118. Middle 80% 92 to 125. -
Accounting occupations 109
Median 109. Middle half of workers 99 to 117. Middle 80% 92 to 123. -
High school teachers 109
Median 109. Middle half of workers 99 to 120. Middle 80% 91 to 125.
- Middle 80% of workers
- Middle half
- Median (the number on the right)
- IQ 109
Source: Hauser (2002), Wisconsin Longitudinal Study, Figure 12. The study covers men who finished high school in Wisconsin in 1957 and their brothers, with IQ measured in high school (Henmon-Nelson test, group average 102) and jobs held in 1992–94. Groups with fewer than 30 people are left out, and people who left school early aren’t in the study, so low scores are under-represented. Every job spans a wide range: 27 to 42 points between its 10th and 90th percentile.
IQ 109 on other scales
Not every test uses the same scale. The same performance that earns 109 on a modern test with a standard deviation of 15 produces a different number on tests with a wider spread:
| Scale | Spread | Equivalent |
|---|---|---|
| Standard IQ (Wechsler, Stanford-Binet 5) | SD 15 | 109 |
| Older Stanford-Binet and some online tests | SD 16 | 110 |
| Cattell Culture Fair | SD 24 | 114 |
| z-score | mean 0, SD 1 | +0.60 |
| T-score | mean 50, SD 10 | 56 |
| Stanine | 1 to 9 | 6 |
| Percentile | 0 to 100 | 73rd |
Scores near 109
| IQ | Percentile | Score higher | Band |
|---|---|---|---|
| 104 | 61 | 1 in 3 | Average |
| 105 | 63 | 1 in 3 | Average |
| 106 | 66 | 1 in 3 | Average |
| 107 | 68 | 1 in 3 | Average |
| 108 | 70 | 1 in 3 | Average |
| 109 | 73 | 1 in 4 | Average |
| 110 | 75 | 1 in 4 | High average |
| 111 | 77 | 1 in 4 | High average |
| 112 | 79 | 1 in 5 | High average |
| 113 | 81 | 1 in 5 | High average |
| 114 | 82 | 1 in 6 | High average |
Wondering where most people land? See what the average IQ is, or every band on the IQ scale.
Do you really score 109?
Take the free 30-question IQ test: about 15 minutes, with an instant score, your percentile and your own room of 100 to share. No email, no paywall.
Take the free IQ testIQ 109: common questions
Is 109 a genius IQ?
No. “Genius” is usually used for scores of 140 or more. An IQ of 109 is average.
Is an IQ of 109 gifted?
It is below the usual gifted cut-off of about 130. Many gifted programs also look at achievement, creativity and teacher ratings, not just IQ.
Can you join Mensa with an IQ of 109?
Not on its own. Mensa requires a top-2% score on an approved, supervised test, which is 130 or more on the standard scale.
Can an online test tell me if my IQ is 109?
It can give you an estimate, not a clinical score. Ours uses question types from established reasoning tests and a statistical scoring model, but it has not been checked against a professional IQ test. Even professional tests report a range of several points around a score.
By the MyIQTest team · Reviewed November 2026 · Figures assume the standard scale (mean 100, SD 15). Methodology