How rare is a 142 IQ?
Yes. An IQ of 142 is exceptionally high, well inside the top 1% of the population. It is beyond the entry level of Mensa and Intertel.
Where 142 sits on the bell curve
An IQ of 142 is 42 points above the average of 100, or 2.8 standard deviations. It is higher than about 99.7% of people of the same age, shown by the shaded area below. This is the far right tail of the curve, where only a few people in every thousand score.
On other IQ scales, the same result would be about 145 on a test with a standard deviation of 16, such as older editions of the Stanford-Binet, and 167 on the Cattell scale, which uses 24. Why scales differ.
IQ 142 meaning: a closer look
An IQ of 142 is higher than about 99.7% of people, with only about one in 391 scoring this high or higher. In a city of one million, roughly 2,600 people would reach this level. Scores like 142 are rare enough that a single test result carries a fair amount of uncertainty: a professional retest could reasonably land several points either way. It is an exceptionally high score on the kinds of reasoning IQ tests measure.
Asynchronous development: when a 142 mind runs ahead of its age
In 1991 a group of gifted-education specialists known as the Columbus Group wrote a definition of giftedness that is still widely quoted. It describes giftedness as "asynchronous development in which advanced cognitive abilities and heightened intensity combine to create inner experiences and awareness that are qualitatively different from the norm." It adds that "this asynchrony increases with higher intellectual capacity." The New Jersey Department of Education quotes it in guidance for teachers, describing asynchrony as cognitive, social, emotional and physical development moving at uneven rates.
A child with an IQ of 142 might reason like a much older child yet have the handwriting, emotional control or social interests of their own age. That mismatch can make school and friendships tricky, and it is why the definition calls for changes in "parenting, teaching, and counseling". It helps to know that this is a definition rather than a measured finding, and researchers still debate how different gifted children really are. Uneven development is common, and a 142 IQ does not mean a child will struggle.
Source: New Jersey Department of Education, "Supporting Gifted Learners' Asynchronous Development", quoting the Columbus Group (1991).
What 142 looks like among real people
If you lined up 100 people of your age, all or nearly all of them would score lower than 142. You would need a group of about 391 people to expect one person scoring this high or higher. The orange dot marks your place in the line.
In a school of 1,000 pupils, you would expect only about 4 to score 140 or higher.
How precise is a score of 142?
No IQ test measures to the exact point. On a professional test, a result of 142 usually comes with a likely range of about five points either way: 137 to 147. That range runs from the 99.3th to the 99.9th percentile, all within the very superior range.
Most tests have very few people in their norm groups at this level, so scores here are the least precise on the scale and can differ noticeably between tests.
On the Assessivo test, each correct answer is worth about 2.5 points, so 142 falls between two possible results: 140 for 34 correct answers and 143 for 35. How our score is worked out.
So if you scored 142 once, a retest on another day could reasonably land anywhere from 137 to 147. Online tests are less precise still, so treat any online result as a rough estimate.
IQ 142 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 142 would have meant for children of different ages: working ahead of their years.
| Real age | Mental age at IQ 142 |
|---|---|
| 5 | 7 years 1 month |
| 7 | 9 years 11 months |
| 9 | 12 years 9 months |
| 11 | 15 years 7 months |
| 13 | 18 years 6 months |
The same 142 stands for a gap of about 2 years 1 month at age 5 but 5 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 142 means for you
It sits near the top of the very superior band, which runs from 130 to 145.
- You likely handle complex, abstract problems with an ease that very few people share.
- Scores this rare are hard to measure exactly, so a single result is best read as "very high", not as a precise number.
- Research on very able people finds that ability keeps helping even at the top, but interests, effort and opportunity still shape what people achieve.
How far 142 is from other levels
Famous names reported near 142
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.
Rated by psychologist Catharine Cox in 1926 from records of his early life: about 135 for childhood (to age 17) and 140 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)Rated by psychologist Catharine Cox in 1926 from records of his early life: about 125 for childhood (to age 17) and 140 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)Rated by psychologist Catharine Cox in 1926 from records of his early life: about 135 for childhood (to age 17) and 140 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 142 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 132 | 98th | Very superior | 1 in 61 |
| 137 | 99.3th | Very superior | 1 in 147 |
| 142 | 99.7th | Very superior | 1 in 391 |
| 147 | 99.9th | Very superior | 1 in 1,157 |
| 152 | 99.9th | Very superior | 1 in 3,795 |
Questions about an IQ of 142
What percentile is an IQ of 142?
An IQ of 142 is at about the 99.7th percentile, which means it is higher than about 99.7% of people of the same age.
Is 142 a high IQ?
Yes. 142 is a high IQ by any common definition, in the top one percent of the population.
Can an IQ of 142 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 142 or higher?
About 0.26% of people score 142 or higher, roughly 1 in 391. In a stadium of 50,000 people, about 128 would score at this level or above.
Why does my child with a 142 IQ seem younger emotionally?
Gifted children often develop unevenly: their reasoning can be years ahead while emotional control, social skills or handwriting move at the pace of their age. This is called asynchronous development. It is not a sign that something is wrong, but it can mean a child needs work that stretches their thinking alongside support that fits their emotional age.
What mental age is an IQ of 142?
Under the old ratio formula, a 9-year-old with an IQ of 142 would perform like a typical child of about 12 years 9 months, roughly 45 months ahead. The idea only works for children: an adult who scores 142 simply did better than most adults of the same age on the test.
Is an IQ of 142 a genius IQ?
In everyday use, 140 or more is often called genius level, but no professional test uses the word. It is an exceptionally high score.
How rare is an IQ above 140?
About 4 people in 1,000 score 140 or higher, roughly 1 in 260. That is on the standard scale with a standard deviation of 15.
Can an online test measure an IQ of 142?
Not reliably. Few online tests have enough very hard questions or the data to tell 140 from 145. A supervised professional test is the only way to confirm a score this high.
For the very top of the scale, see the highest IQ in the world, and for the benchmarks, what is a good IQ score?. Every score range is in the IQ range chart.
Behind a single score of 142 sit several separate abilities. Read about spatial reasoning, verbal reasoning, processing speed, fluid vs crystallized intelligence and abstract reasoning, or try the free pattern recognition test.
Curious which celebrity IQs near 142 hold up? Read the full stories of Garry Kasparov's IQ, Terence Tao's IQ, Einstein's IQ, Isaac Newton's IQ, Nikola Tesla's IQ, Stephen Hawking's IQ, Bill Gates' IQ and Elon Musk'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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