How rare is an IQ of 117?
Yes. An IQ of 117 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 117 sits on the bell curve
An IQ of 117 is 17 points above the average of 100, or 1.13 standard deviations. It is higher than about 87% 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 118 on a test with a standard deviation of 16, such as older editions of the Stanford-Binet, and 127 on the Cattell scale, which uses 24. Why scales differ.
IQ 117 meaning: a closer look
An IQ of 117 is higher than about 87% of people, roughly one in eight scoring this high or higher. It is three points below the start of the superior range at 120, close enough that a retest could easily cross the line. The likely range on a professional test, about 112 to 122, spans both high average and superior. That makes 117 a strong high average result with a fair chance of being labelled superior on another day.
Left-handed with a 117 IQ? What 66,108 people show about handedness
Claims that left-handers are smarter, or less smart, come up often. A 2018 systematic review gathered 36 studies, covering 66,108 people, that measured full IQ by handedness. Most found no difference. When 18 of them (20,442 people) were pooled, right-handers scored slightly higher than left-handers, but the gap was tiny (d = -0.07, roughly one IQ point) and lost significance when the largest study was removed. Mixed-handers and non-right-handers did not differ from right-handers at all.
So if you are left-handed and scored 117, your handedness says almost nothing about the result, and the same is true for a right-hander with an IQ of 117. A one-point average gap between large groups is far smaller than the normal variation in any single person's score from one test to the next. The authors put it plainly in their title: right-handers have "negligibly higher" IQ scores. Being left-handed is not a sign of hidden genius, and it is not a handicap on IQ tests either.
Source: Ntolka, E. and Papadatou-Pastou, M. (2018), "Right-handers have negligibly higher IQ scores than left-handers: Systematic review and meta-analyses", Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 84, 376-393.
What 117 looks like among real people
If you lined up 100 people of your age, about 87 would score lower than 117 and about 13 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 117?
No IQ test measures to the exact point. On a professional test, a result of 117 usually comes with a likely range of about five points either way: 112 to 122. That range runs from the 79th to the 93rd percentile, and it crosses from high average into superior.
A professional report would give a range around 117 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, each correct answer is worth about 2.5 points, so 117 falls between two possible results: 115 for 24 correct answers and 118 for 25. How our score is worked out.
So if you scored 117 once, a retest on another day could reasonably land anywhere from 112 to 122. Online tests are less precise still, so treat any online result as a rough estimate.
IQ 117 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 117 would have meant for children of different ages: working ahead of their years.
| Real age | Mental age at IQ 117 |
|---|---|
| 5 | 5 years 10 months |
| 7 | 8 years 2 months |
| 9 | 10 years 6 months |
| 11 | 12 years 10 months |
| 13 | 15 years 3 months |
The same 117 stands for a gap of about 10 months at age 5 but 2 years 3 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 117 means for you
It sits near the top 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 117 is from other levels
How 117 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 107 | 68th | Average | 1 in 3 |
| 112 | 79th | High average | 1 in 5 |
| 117 | 87th | High average | 1 in 8 |
| 122 | 93rd | Superior | 1 in 14 |
| 127 | 96th | Superior | 1 in 28 |
Questions about an IQ of 117
What percentile is an IQ of 117?
An IQ of 117 is at about the 87th percentile, which means it is higher than about 87% of people of the same age.
Is 117 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 117 get into Mensa?
Not on its own. Mensa accepts the top 2% on an approved, supervised test, which is usually 130 or above. 117 is 13 points below that.
How common is an IQ of 117 or higher?
About 13% of people score 117 or higher, roughly 1 in 8. In a stadium of 50,000 people, about 6,430 would score at this level or above.
Is a left-handed person with a 117 IQ smarter than a right-hander?
No. A 2018 review of 36 studies and more than 66,000 people found that handedness and IQ are barely related. In pooled data, right-handers averaged about one point higher than left-handers, a difference the authors called negligible. A left-handed 117 and a right-handed 117 mean exactly the same thing.
What mental age is an IQ of 117?
Under the old ratio formula, a 9-year-old with an IQ of 117 would perform like a typical child of about 10 years 6 months, roughly 18 months ahead. The idea only works for children: an adult who scores 117 simply did better than most adults of the same age on the test.
Is 117 a smart IQ?
It is above average and higher than most people. "Smart" isn't a technical term, but 117 is a good score by any everyday standard.
What jobs suit an IQ of 117?
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 117 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 117 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.
A full IQ score of 117 combines several skills. Our guides explain each one: spatial reasoning, verbal reasoning, processing speed, fluid vs crystallized intelligence and abstract 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.
Take the free IQ test