What does a 136 IQ mean?
Yes. An IQ of 136 is in the very superior range, the top 2% or so of the population. It meets the usual entry level for Mensa on a supervised test.
Where 136 sits on the bell curve
An IQ of 136 is 36 points above the average of 100, or 2.4 standard deviations. It is higher than about 99.2% of people of the same age, shown by the shaded area below. Past 130 the curve is almost flat against the axis: only about 2 people in 100 reach this far.
On other IQ scales, the same result would be about 138 on a test with a standard deviation of 16, such as older editions of the Stanford-Binet, and 158 on the Cattell scale, which uses 24. Why scales differ.
IQ 136 meaning: a closer look
At 136, you are ahead of about 99.2% of people, roughly one in 122. It is six points above the Mensa level and well inside the very superior range. In a school of 1,000 pupils, around eight would be expected to score this high or higher. Tests become less precise at high scores, because there are few people in the comparison group up here, so a result of 136 usually comes with a wider margin of error than one near 100.
IQ and emotional intelligence: linked, but only loosely
Is someone with a high IQ also good with emotions? A large 2010 meta-analysis by Dana Joseph and Daniel Newman pooled the evidence. When emotional intelligence was measured as a skill, with right and wrong answers on tests such as the MSCEIT, its estimated correlation with cognitive ability was 0.25, across 28 samples and 5,538 people. Questionnaires that ask people to rate their own emotional skills showed a correlation of 0.00 with cognitive ability. Of the separate skills, understanding emotions had the strongest link, at 0.39, while perceiving emotions had only 0.10.
For someone with an IQ of 136, this means the reasoning that lifted the score may help a little with puzzling out emotions, such as working out why a person feels the way they do. It does not mean a 136 IQ comes with strong people skills. A correlation of 0.25 leaves plenty of high scorers with average emotional ability, and plenty of average scorers who are excellent with people. Emotional skills are measured separately, so the two results are best read side by side rather than one predicting the other.
Source: Joseph and Newman (2010), "Emotional intelligence: An integrative meta-analysis and cascading model", Journal of Applied Psychology, 95(1), 54 to 78.
What 136 looks like among real people
If you lined up 100 people of your age, about 99 would score lower than 136 and about 1 would score the same or higher. The orange dot marks your place in the line.
In a room of 100 people, typically only about 2 would score 130 or higher.
How precise is a score of 136?
No IQ test measures to the exact point. On a professional test, a result of 136 usually comes with a likely range of about five points either way: 131 to 141. That range runs from the 98th to the 99.6th percentile, all within the very superior range.
Scores this high are rare, so tests have fewer people to compare you with and become less precise. Two good tests can disagree by more than they would near 100.
On the Assessivo test, each correct answer is worth about 2.5 points, so 136 falls between two possible results: 135 for 32 correct answers and 138 for 33. How our score is worked out.
So if you scored 136 once, a retest on another day could reasonably land anywhere from 131 to 141. Online tests are less precise still, so treat any online result as a rough estimate.
IQ 136 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 136 would have meant for children of different ages: working ahead of their years.
| Real age | Mental age at IQ 136 |
|---|---|
| 5 | 6 years 10 months |
| 7 | 9 years 6 months |
| 9 | 12 years 3 months |
| 11 | 15 years |
| 13 | 17 years 8 months |
The same 136 stands for a gap of about 1 year 10 months at age 5 but 4 years 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 136 means for you
It sits in the middle of the very superior band, which runs from 130 to 145.
- You likely find abstract reasoning, patterns and complex problems easier than almost everyone around you.
- This is the level many schools and societies use as a benchmark, such as Mensa's top 2%.
- A high score doesn't measure creativity, emotional understanding or persistence, which matter just as much.
How far 136 is from other levels
Famous names reported near 136
Very few famous people have published IQ scores, and most numbers online are invented. These are the ones with a documented report or a published estimate. Each is labelled so you can see what kind of figure it is.
Scored 135 on a test compiled by Hans Eysenck, given by Der Spiegel in Baku in 1987. Raven's Advanced Progressive Matrices in the same session gave 123, a 12-point gap the magazine called normal for IQ tests.
Tested score · Der Spiegel, "Genieblitze und Blackouts" (1987)Rated by psychologist Catharine Cox in 1926 from records of his early life: about 125 for childhood (to age 17) and 135 for ages 17 to 26. Estimates like these are rough, and he never took an IQ test.
Published estimate, not a test · Cox, Genetic Studies of Genius, Vol. II (1926)How 136 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 126 | 96th | Superior | 1 in 24 |
| 131 | 98th | Very superior | 1 in 52 |
| 136 | 99.1th | Very superior | 1 in 122 |
| 141 | 99.6th | Very superior | 1 in 319 |
| 146 | 99.8th | Very superior | 1 in 924 |
Questions about an IQ of 136
What percentile is an IQ of 136?
An IQ of 136 is at about the 99.1th percentile, which means it is higher than about 99.2% of people of the same age.
Is 136 a high IQ?
Yes. 136 is a high IQ by any common definition, in the top one percent of the population.
Can an IQ of 136 get into Mensa?
On most tests, yes. Mensa accepts people who score in the top 2% on an approved, supervised test, which is 130 or above on tests that use a standard deviation of 15. Online test scores are not accepted.
How common is an IQ of 136 or higher?
About 0.82% of people score 136 or higher, roughly 1 in 122. In a stadium of 50,000 people, about 410 would score at this level or above.
Does a 136 IQ mean high emotional intelligence?
Not necessarily. Research pooling thousands of people found only a modest link between IQ and emotional intelligence measured as a skill (a correlation of about 0.25), and none with self-rated emotional intelligence. A 136 IQ may help a little with understanding emotions, but how well you read and manage feelings is a separate set of skills.
What mental age is an IQ of 136?
Under the old ratio formula, a 9-year-old with an IQ of 136 would perform like a typical child of about 12 years 3 months, roughly 39 months ahead. The idea only works for children: an adult who scores 136 simply did better than most adults of the same age on the test.
Should I take a professional test with a score of 136?
If you want an official result, for example to join Mensa or for a school programme, yes: only an approved test given under supervision counts. A psychologist can give one, and Mensa runs its own supervised testing sessions.
Is 136 a gifted IQ?
Often, yes. There is no single definition, but 130, two standard deviations above average, is a common benchmark for giftedness. Schools also look at more than one score.
Is an IQ of 136 genius?
No test uses the word genius. In everyday use people usually mean 140 or more, but the label says little: real achievement depends on much more than a score.
Our guide to what counts as a good IQ score covers the high-IQ societies, Mensa IQ requirements lists the qualifying score on each test, and IQ of famous people shows where well-known names really stand. Every score range is in the IQ range chart.
Behind a single score of 136 sit several separate abilities. Read about abstract reasoning, spatial reasoning, verbal reasoning, processing speed and fluid vs crystallized intelligence, or try the free pattern recognition test.
Curious which celebrity IQs near 136 hold up? Read the full stories of Einstein's IQ, Isaac Newton's IQ, Nikola Tesla's IQ, Stephen Hawking's IQ, Bill Gates' IQ, Elon Musk's IQ, Garry Kasparov's IQ and Terence Tao's IQ.
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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