IQ 119: high average, explained
Yes. An IQ of 119 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 119 sits on the bell curve
An IQ of 119 is 19 points above the average of 100, or 1.27 standard deviations. It is higher than about 90% 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 120 on a test with a standard deviation of 16, such as older editions of the Stanford-Binet, and 130 on the Cattell scale, which uses 24. Why scales differ.
IQ 119 meaning: a closer look
An IQ of 119 is the highest score in the high average range. One more point would reach superior, a boundary that is useful as a label but impossible to measure precisely. It is higher than about 90% of people, so roughly one in ten score 119 or above. In a class of 30, it would usually rank 3rd or 4th. On any test, the difference between 119 and 121 is well within the margin of error, so think of it as "around 120".
Are people with a 119 IQ happier? What an English survey found
A study in Psychological Medicine analysed 6,870 adults from the 2007 Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey in England. Verbal IQ was estimated with the National Adult Reading Test, and happiness with a three-point question. People in the lowest IQ range (70 to 99) reported the least happiness, and the highest group (120 to 129) the most. Yet about half of the link disappeared once the researchers accounted for income, health, neurotic symptoms and needing help with daily activities. Much of the gap ran through life circumstances.
An IQ of 119 falls just below that top group. The study does not show that a 119 IQ will make you happier than someone at 100, or less happy than someone at 125. It is a snapshot of one country at one time, and the link is correlational. The authors drew a practical message: better income, education and job opportunities, and earlier detection of mental health problems, may improve happiness among people with lower scores. A test score is only a small part of how life feels.
Source: Ali, A., Ambler, G., Strydom, A. et al. (2013), "The relationship between happiness and intelligent quotient: the contribution of socio-economic and clinical factors", Psychological Medicine, 43(6), 1303-1312.
What 119 looks like among real people
If you lined up 100 people of your age, about 90 would score lower than 119 and about 10 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 119?
No IQ test measures to the exact point. On a professional test, a result of 119 usually comes with a likely range of about five points either way: 114 to 124. That range runs from the 82nd to the 95th percentile, and it crosses from high average into superior.
A professional report would give a range around 119 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 119 falls between two possible results: 118 for 25 correct answers and 120 for 26. How our score is worked out.
So if you scored 119 once, a retest on another day could reasonably land anywhere from 114 to 124. Online tests are less precise still, so treat any online result as a rough estimate.
IQ 119 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 119 would have meant for children of different ages: working ahead of their years.
| Real age | Mental age at IQ 119 |
|---|---|
| 5 | 5 years 11 months |
| 7 | 8 years 4 months |
| 9 | 10 years 9 months |
| 11 | 13 years 1 month |
| 13 | 15 years 6 months |
The same 119 stands for a gap of about 11 months at age 5 but 2 years 6 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 119 means for you
It is the last score in the high average band: one more point would move it up a band.
- 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 119 is from other levels
How 119 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 109 | 73rd | Average | 1 in 4 |
| 114 | 82nd | High average | 1 in 6 |
| 119 | 90th | High average | 1 in 10 |
| 124 | 95th | Superior | 1 in 18 |
| 129 | 97th | Superior | 1 in 38 |
Questions about an IQ of 119
What percentile is an IQ of 119?
An IQ of 119 is at about the 90th percentile, which means it is higher than about 90% of people of the same age.
Is 119 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 119 get into Mensa?
Not on its own. Mensa accepts the top 2% on an approved, supervised test, which is usually 130 or above. 119 is 11 points below that.
How common is an IQ of 119 or higher?
About 10% of people score 119 or higher, roughly 1 in 10. In a stadium of 50,000 people, about 5,130 would score at this level or above.
Does a 119 IQ make you happier?
Not directly. In a survey of 6,870 adults in England, people with higher IQs reported being somewhat happier on average, but about half of that link was explained by income, health and mental health symptoms. A 119 IQ is one factor among many, and life circumstances carry much of the connection between IQ and happiness.
What mental age is an IQ of 119?
Under the old ratio formula, a 9-year-old with an IQ of 119 would perform like a typical child of about 10 years 9 months, roughly 21 months ahead. The idea only works for children: an adult who scores 119 simply did better than most adults of the same age on the test.
Is 119 a smart IQ?
It is above average and higher than most people. "Smart" isn't a technical term, but 119 is a good score by any everyday standard.
What jobs suit an IQ of 119?
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 119 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 119 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 119 by combining several kinds of task. Learn more about processing speed, fluid vs crystallized intelligence, abstract reasoning, spatial reasoning and verbal 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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