What does a 113 IQ really mean?
Yes. An IQ of 113 is in the high average range, clearly above the middle of the population. The newest adult test, the WAIS-5, describes scores like this as above average.
Where 113 sits on the bell curve
An IQ of 113 is 13 points above the average of 100, or 0.87 standard deviations. It is higher than about 81% of people of the same age, shown by the shaded area below. Here the curve starts to thin out: each extra point now moves you past fewer people than it does near 100.
On other IQ scales, the same result would be about 114 on a test with a standard deviation of 16, such as older editions of the Stanford-Binet, and 121 on the Cattell scale, which uses 24. Why scales differ.
IQ 113 meaning: a closer look
An IQ of 113 is higher than about 81% of people, firmly in the high average range. It is two points short of the one-standard-deviation mark at 115, a level often used as a rough threshold for "clearly above average". In a class of 30, a score of 113 would usually place around 7th. If you scored 113, your result is meaningfully above the middle, while still well below the levels that gifted programmes and high-IQ societies typically look for.
Can your DNA predict a 113 IQ? What polygenic scores can and cannot do
A 2018 genome-wide study in Nature Genetics analysed 269,867 people and identified 205 regions of the genome associated with intelligence. A polygenic score built from its results, adding up thousands of tiny genetic effects, explained up to 5.2% of the variance in intelligence in four independent samples. A review the same year noted that DNA differences identified so far "account for 20% of the 50% heritability of intelligence", and that a comparable intelligence score predicted about 4% of the variance.
Around 5% is useful for research on large groups, but far too little to say anything reliable about one person. With roughly 95% of the differences left unexplained, a DNA test cannot tell you, your child or anyone else whether a person scores 113 or 100. The 2018 study also drew only on cohorts of European ancestry, so how well its score works in other groups is less clear. If a consumer DNA report claims to reveal your intelligence, read it with these limits in mind.
Sources: Savage, J. E. et al. (2018), "Genome-wide association meta-analysis in 269,867 individuals identifies new genetic and functional links to intelligence", Nature Genetics, 50, 912 to 919; Plomin, R. and von Stumm, S. (2018), "The new genetics of intelligence", Nature Reviews Genetics, 19, 148 to 159.
How this fits the wider evidence on genes and IQ is set out in our guide is intelligence hereditary?
What 113 looks like among real people
If you lined up 100 people of your age, about 81 would score lower than 113 and about 19 would score the same or higher. The orange dot marks your place in the line.
In a typical group of friends or colleagues, you would usually be in the upper part on reasoning puzzles.
How precise is a score of 113?
No IQ test measures to the exact point. On a professional test, a result of 113 usually comes with a likely range of about five points either way: 108 to 118. That range runs from the 70th to the 88th percentile, and it crosses from average into high average.
A professional report would give a range around 113 that may dip into the average band or reach into the next band up, so the label matters less than the range.
On the Assessivo test, 113 is the score for 23 correct answers out of 36. How our score is worked out.
So if you scored 113 once, a retest on another day could reasonably land anywhere from 108 to 118. Online tests are less precise still, so treat any online result as a rough estimate.
IQ 113 and mental age in children
Early IQ tests for children worked with a "mental age", the age whose typical performance a child matched. The IQ was that mental age divided by the child's real age, times 100. Turned around, the formula shows what a score of 113 would have meant for children of different ages: working ahead of their years.
| Real age | Mental age at IQ 113 |
|---|---|
| 5 | 5 years 8 months |
| 7 | 7 years 11 months |
| 9 | 10 years 2 months |
| 11 | 12 years 5 months |
| 13 | 14 years 8 months |
The same 113 stands for a gap of about 8 months at age 5 but 1 year 8 months at 13, because the formula scales with age. That is one reason it broke down for teenagers and adults, whose test performance stops rising every year. Today's tests compare you with people of the same age instead, so a mental age is only a way to picture a child's score, never a description of an adult.
What an IQ of 113 means for you
It sits near the bottom of the high average band, which runs from 110 to 119.
- You probably pick up new patterns and rules a little faster than most people.
- Abstract and technical material may come more easily, especially with practice and good teaching.
- High average is close to average. Motivation, knowledge and skills usually matter more than the gap between them.
How far 113 is from other levels
How 113 compares with nearby scores
Want a score that isn't listed, or the share of people between two scores? Try the IQ calculator.
| IQ | Percentile | Classification | Score this high or higher |
|---|---|---|---|
| 103 | 58th | Average | 1 in 2 |
| 108 | 70th | Average | 1 in 3 |
| 113 | 81st | High average | 1 in 5 |
| 118 | 88th | High average | 1 in 9 |
| 123 | 94th | Superior | 1 in 16 |
Questions about an IQ of 113
What percentile is an IQ of 113?
An IQ of 113 is at about the 81st percentile, which means it is higher than about 81% of people of the same age.
Is 113 a high IQ?
It is above average but not usually called a high IQ. Most definitions start at 120 or 130.
Can an IQ of 113 get into Mensa?
Not on its own. Mensa accepts the top 2% on an approved, supervised test, which is usually 130 or above. 113 is 17 points below that.
How common is an IQ of 113 or higher?
About 19% of people score 113 or higher, roughly 1 in 5. In a stadium of 50,000 people, about 9,650 would score at this level or above.
Can a DNA test tell if I have a 113 IQ?
No. The best genetic scores in 2018 research explained only around 4 to 5% of the differences in intelligence between people. That is useful for large research studies but far too weak to predict one person's score. A properly administered IQ test remains the way to estimate whether you score around 113.
What mental age is an IQ of 113?
Under the old ratio formula, a 9-year-old with an IQ of 113 would perform like a typical child of about 10 years 2 months, roughly 14 months ahead. The idea only works for children: an adult who scores 113 simply did better than most adults of the same age on the test.
Is 113 a smart IQ?
It is above average and higher than most people. "Smart" isn't a technical term, but 113 is a good score by any everyday standard.
What jobs suit an IQ of 113?
No job requires a specific IQ. People in this range work in every field, and what decides success is training, interest and experience much more than a few IQ points.
Is 113 gifted?
Usually not by school standards. Gifted programmes have no single cut-off, but many use around 130, about two standard deviations above average. A score of 113 is above average without reaching that level.
Our guide to what counts as a good IQ score compares this band with the benchmarks people use, and IQ standard deviation explains the steps between bands. Average scores by occupation are on our IQ by profession page. Every score range is in the IQ range chart.
An IQ test arrives at a score like 113 by combining several kinds of task. Learn more about verbal reasoning, processing speed, fluid vs crystallized intelligence, abstract reasoning and spatial reasoning, or try the free pattern recognition test.
What would you score?
Take the free Assessivo IQ test: 36 questions, 25 minutes, and your estimated IQ score and percentile as soon as you finish.
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