Average IQ by State: All 50 States Ranked

Estimated average IQ for every US state, derived from national school-achievement data (McDaniel, 2006, Intelligence, with later PIAAC-informed updates). Click a header to sort — and read the caveats first.

Read this before the table. No state IQ-tests its population; these numbers convert NAEP school achievement onto the IQ scale. They track education quality, child poverty, and the share of students tested in a second language at least as much as anything cognitive. The full spread from first to last is 10.1 points — smaller than the range inside any single classroom in any state.
# State Avg. IQ (est.)
1 Massachusetts 104.3
2 New Hampshire 104.2
3 North Dakota 103.8
4 Vermont 103.8
5 Minnesota 103.7
6 Maine 103.4
7 Montana 103.4
8 Iowa 103.2
9 Connecticut 103.1
10 Wisconsin 102.9
11 Kansas 102.8
12 New Jersey 102.8
13 South Dakota 102.8
14 Wyoming 102.4
15 Nebraska 102.3
16 Virginia 101.9
17 Washington 101.9
18 Ohio 101.8
19 Indiana 101.7
20 Colorado 101.6
21 Pennsylvania 101.5
22 Idaho 101.4
23 Oregon 101.2
24 Utah 101.1
25 Missouri 101.0
26 New York 100.7
27 Michigan 100.5
28 Delaware 100.4
29 North Carolina 100.2
30 Texas 100.0
31 Illinois 99.9
32 Maryland 99.7
33 Rhode Island 99.5
34 Kentucky 99.4
35 Oklahoma 99.3
36 Alaska 99.0
37 West Virginia 98.7
38 Florida 98.4
39 South Carolina 98.4
40 Georgia 98.0
41 Tennessee 97.7
42 Arkansas 97.5
43 Arizona 97.4
44 Nevada 96.5
45 Alabama 95.7
46 New Mexico 95.7
47 Hawaii 95.6
48 California 95.5
49 Louisiana 95.3
50 Mississippi 94.2

Source: McDaniel, M. A. (2006). Estimating state IQ. Intelligence, 34(6), 607–619; NAEP-based estimates as republished with PIAAC-informed updates (retrieved July 2026).

What actually drives the ranking

  • School quality and funding — the top of this table is nearly identical to the top of national education rankings; NAEP is a school test, so this is partly circular by construction.
  • Child poverty — the single strongest statistical correlate of state achievement gaps; the bottom five states include several with the nation's highest child-poverty rates.
  • Language of testing — states with many students tested in their second language (California, New Mexico, Texas) score below what their students' reasoning would suggest.
  • Demographics and migration — who moves in and out of a state changes its average without anyone getting smarter or less smart.

The honest reading of a 10.1-point spread: state averages are tightly bunched, they move when policy and economics move, and the differences within every state dwarf the differences between them. The same logic applies internationally — see our average IQ by country page, where the same caveat-first treatment applies to a much wider spread.

Where do you sit inside your state's range?

Every state's internal distribution spans the whole bell curve — from 70 to 130 and beyond in every single state. A state average tells you about schools and economics; a test tells you about you.

State averages are trivia. Your own score isn't.

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Average IQ by state — common questions

Which US state has the highest average IQ?

Massachusetts tops the estimates at about 104.3, followed closely by New Hampshire (104.2), North Dakota and Vermont (103.8) and Minnesota (103.7). The New England and Upper Midwest cluster at the top mirrors those regions' standing in national education rankings — which is no coincidence, since the estimates are largely built from school achievement data.

Which state has the lowest average IQ?

Mississippi, at about 94.2, with Louisiana (95.3), California (95.5), Hawaii (95.6) and New Mexico (95.7) nearby. Note what the low end has in common: high child-poverty rates and large populations of students tested in a second language — factors that depress achievement scores regardless of ability.

Are these real IQ scores?

No state has ever administered IQ tests to a representative sample of its population. These figures are estimates that convert school achievement results (NAEP math and reading, plus adult skills surveys) onto the IQ scale. They are reasonable proxies for average developed cognitive skill — and poor measures of anything innate.

Why does California rank so low?

California hosts the largest population of English-language learners in the country, high housing-cost-driven child poverty, and enormous demographic diversity — all of which lower average achievement scores. The state that produces Silicon Valley and Caltech illustrates the core caveat perfectly: a state average says nothing about the range inside it, which is vastly wider than the gap between any two states.