What Does an IQ of 142 Mean?
Key facts about IQ 142
- In a random group of 100 people, someone scoring 142 would typically out-score about 99 of them.
- Roughly 21 million people worldwide would score 142 or higher — and about 8.1 billion would score below it.
IQ 142 in depth
An IQ score of 142 is at or above 130 — the conventional gifted threshold used by school gifted programs and the most commonly cited cutoff in the literature. Roughly 1 person in 44 scores 130 or higher; this is genuinely uncommon territory.
Cognition in this range tends to be qualitatively noticeable: reasoning leaps that skip intermediate steps, rapid pattern transfer between unrelated domains, and a low tolerance for slow-moving explanation. Longitudinal studies of high scorers (the Terman cohort and successors, and the SMPY study of mathematically precocious youth) find elevated rates of advanced degrees, publications, and patents.
The same literature is clear about what a gifted score does not do: it does not guarantee achievement, and it comes with characteristic frictions — under-challenge in standard environments, perfectionism, and the social cost of being persistently out of sync with the pace around you. Gifted-adult support organizations exist precisely because the score is a mixed inheritance.
What this range tends to look like day to day
- Learns new domains at a pace that can outrun available instruction
- Sees cross-domain analogies quickly; may frustrate step-by-step collaborators
- Chronic under-stimulation is the most commonly reported workplace problem
- Often assumed to be fine without support — which is not always true
A score of 142 clears the threshold that most selective high-IQ societies use (Mensa admits the top 2%, roughly 130–132 on an SD-15 scale, verified with supervised tests). If official confirmation matters to you, a professionally administered test is the required route — an online screening score, including this one, is the pointer, not the credential.
IQ 142 on other test scales
Different tests use different standard deviations, so the “same” performance produces different numbers. A 142 on an SD-15 test (Wechsler-style, and this site) corresponds to:
| Scale | Used by | Equivalent score |
|---|---|---|
| SD 15 | Wechsler (WAIS/WISC), most modern tests, this site | 142 |
| SD 16 | Older Stanford–Binet forms | 145 |
| SD 24 | Cattell (used by some high-IQ societies) | 167 |
| Percentile | All scales | 99.7th |
Where 142 sits among all classifications
| Range | Classification | Share of population |
|---|---|---|
| ≤ 69 | Extremely Low | 2.1% |
| 70–79 | Borderline | 6.5% |
| 80–89 | Low Average | 15.6% |
| 90–109 | Average | 49.5% |
| 110–119 | High Average | 16.6% |
| 120–129 | Superior | 7.2% |
| 130–144 | Very Superior (Gifted) ← IQ 142 | 2.3% |
| 145–159 | Highly Gifted | 0.1% |
| 160+ | Exceptionally Gifted | <0.1% |
How reliable is a score of 142?
A caution specific to this range: online tests get less accurate as scores rise, because fewer test takers exist to calibrate the top items and motivated practice inflates results. Treat an online 130+ as "worth verifying under supervision" rather than as a confirmed classification.
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Start the Free IQ TestIQ 142 — common questions
Is an IQ of 142 good?
Yes. An IQ of 142 is in the gifted range — it places you at the 99.7th percentile, above roughly 99.7% of people. It clears the conventional gifted threshold of 130.
What percentile is an IQ of 142?
On a standard scale with mean 100 and SD 15, an IQ of 142 is at the 99.7th percentile (z-score 2.80). That means about 99.7% of people score below it.
How rare is an IQ of 142?
About 1 person in 391 scores 142 or higher. Worldwide, that is on the order of 21 million people.
Is an IQ of 142 gifted?
By the most common definition (IQ 130+, roughly the top 2%), yes — 142 qualifies. School gifted programs typically use 130 as the cutoff, and Mensa's requirement (top 2%) corresponds to about 131–132 on an SD-15 test, verified under supervision.
Can I raise an IQ of 142?
Measured scores move with test familiarity, sleep, stress and effort — often by 5–10 points — so a first online attempt frequently understates ability. Underlying fluid intelligence, however, is stable in adulthood: "brain training" apps have repeatedly failed to raise it. What reliably grows is domain skill and knowledge, which is what actually drives most real-world performance.