How does a 93 IQ compare?
Yes. An IQ of 93 is in the average range, where about half of all people score. It is a little below the exact middle of 100, but well within normal, and a perfectly good result for school, work and everyday life.
Where 93 sits on the bell curve
An IQ of 93 is 7 points below the average of 100, or 0.47 standard deviations. It is higher than about 32% of people of the same age, shown by the shaded area below. Scores in the 90s sit on the steep, crowded slope just left of the peak, so a few points here change your percentile a lot.
On other IQ scales, the same result would be about 93 on a test with a standard deviation of 16, such as older editions of the Stanford-Binet, and 89 on the Cattell scale, which uses 24. Why scales differ.
IQ 93 meaning: a closer look
An IQ of 93 is higher than about a third of people. It sits seven points below the exact middle of the scale, which is half a standard deviation. In other words, it is a little below the centre but well within the range most people fall into. Scores like 93 often move around more than people expect: practice with similar puzzles, a good night's sleep or a quieter room can each add a few points. That doesn't mean your ability changed, only that the measurement did.
Why the genetic influence on scores like 93 grows with age
It seems natural to expect environment to matter more as experiences pile up, but twin data point the other way. A study of 11,000 twin pairs from four countries by Haworth and colleagues found the heritability of general cognitive ability rose from 41% at age 9 to 55% at 12 and 66% at 17. Reviewing twin and adoption studies, Bouchard named this the Wilson Effect and reported heritability levelling off at about 0.80 by ages 18 to 20, in Western industrial countries.
Heritability describes differences across a population, not how much of one person's score of 93 comes from genes. The authors suggest a reason for the rise: as children grow up, they increasingly choose and shape their own experiences, partly in line with their genetic leanings. So the finding does not make an IQ of 93 a fixed destiny. It also does not mean upbringing is unimportant; it says the shared family environment explains less of the variation between adults than it does between young children.
Sources: Haworth, C. M. A. et al. (2010), "The heritability of general cognitive ability increases linearly from childhood to young adulthood", Molecular Psychiatry, 15(11), 1112 to 1120; Bouchard, T. J. (2013), "The Wilson Effect: the increase in heritability of IQ with age", Twin Research and Human Genetics, 16(5), 923 to 930.
How this fits the wider evidence on genes and IQ is set out in our guide is intelligence hereditary?
What 93 looks like among real people
If you lined up 100 people of your age, about 32 would score lower than 93 and about 68 would score the same or higher. The orange dot marks your place in the line.
Most of the people you meet every day score within a few points of this.
How precise is a score of 93?
No IQ test measures to the exact point. On a professional test, a result of 93 usually comes with a likely range of about five points either way: 88 to 98. That range runs from the 21st to the 45th percentile, and it crosses from low average into average.
In the 90s a few points make a big difference to the percentile, because so many people score here. That is why a gap of a few points between two tests, or two people, usually means very little.
On the Assessivo test, 93 is the score for 15 correct answers out of 36. How our score is worked out.
So if you scored 93 once, a retest on another day could reasonably land anywhere from 88 to 98. Online tests are less precise still, so treat any online result as a rough estimate.
IQ 93 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 93 would have meant for children of different ages: working a little behind their years.
| Real age | Mental age at IQ 93 |
|---|---|
| 5 | 4 years 8 months |
| 7 | 6 years 6 months |
| 9 | 8 years 4 months |
| 11 | 10 years 3 months |
| 13 | 12 years 1 month |
The same 93 stands for a gap of about 4 months at age 5 but 11 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 93 means for you
It sits near the bottom of the average band, which runs from 90 to 109.
- You reason about as well as most people of your age, with a typical balance of speed and accuracy on new problems.
- Most courses, jobs and everyday decisions sit comfortably within this range of ability.
- Two people at 94 and 104 are closer than the numbers suggest: their likely ranges overlap.
How far 93 is from other levels
How 93 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 83 | 13th | Low average | 87% |
| 88 | 21st | Low average | 79% |
| 93 | 32nd | Average | 68% |
| 98 | 45th | Average | 55% |
| 103 | 58th | Average | 1 in 2 |
Questions about an IQ of 93
What percentile is an IQ of 93?
An IQ of 93 is at about the 32nd percentile, which means it is higher than about 32% of people of the same age.
Is 93 a high IQ?
No. 93 is in the average range. High IQ usually refers to scores of 120 or 130 and above.
Can an IQ of 93 get into Mensa?
Not on its own. Mensa accepts the top 2% on an approved, supervised test, which is usually 130 or above. 93 is 37 points below that.
How common is an IQ of 93 or higher?
About 68% of people score 93 or higher. In a stadium of 50,000 people, about 34,000 would score at this level or above.
Is a 93 IQ inherited from my parents?
Partly, in a statistical sense. Twin studies estimate that genes explain about 41% of IQ differences between children at age 9, rising to around 66% by 17. But heritability describes differences across a population, not how much of one person's 93 came from their parents. Children also do not simply match their parents' scores, and environment still plays a real part.
What mental age is an IQ of 93?
Under the old ratio formula, a 9-year-old with an IQ of 93 would perform like a typical child of about 8 years 4 months, roughly 8 months behind. The idea only works for children: an adult who scores 93 simply did less well than most adults of the same age on the test.
Is an IQ of 93 normal?
Yes. 93 is in the average range of 90 to 109, which covers about half of all people. Nothing about it is unusual.
Why is 93 below 100 if it is average?
100 is the exact middle, but "average" is a band, not a single number. Psychologists call the whole range from 90 to 109 average because the differences within it are small and within a test's margin of error.
Is an IQ of 93 good enough for university?
Yes. Universities select on qualifications, not IQ, and people with average scores succeed on degree courses every year. Effort, interest and study habits make a bigger difference.
Our guide to average IQ explains why the middle is always 100, and what counts as a good IQ score puts the 90s in context. National averages, and why they are disputed, are covered in average IQ by country. Every score range is in the IQ range chart.
A full IQ score of 93 combines several skills. Our guides explain each one: 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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