IQ score guide
Percentile
88%
Rarity
1 in 9
this high or higher
Classification
High average
On the standard scale (mean 100, SD 15), a score of 118 sits 1.2 standard deviation above the mean — the 88th percentile, meaning it matches or beats about 88% of the adult population. Test manuals file it under "high average" (about 16% of people).
What a score like this predicts, statistically: faster learning of novel, abstract material, and easier entry to intellectually selective paths. What it does not predict for any individual: outcomes. Within any profession, once past its entry demands, conscientiousness and accumulated expertise dominate — the tailwind is real, but modest.
Yes — 118 is comfortably above average, higher than about 88% of people. It sits in the range typical of demanding academic and professional environments.
About 1 person in 9 scores 118 or higher — it marks the 88th percentile, 1.2 standard deviation above the mean.
Almost certainly, by a little. Even excellent tests carry ±3–5 points of measurement error, online tests more, and the same person swings several points between good and bad days. Read 118 as "probably between 111 and 125" from a good test — wider from a casual one. Any result quoted without an error range is overclaiming.
Nearby scores: IQ 113 · IQ 117 · IQ 119 · IQ 123 · or see the whole scale.
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