Where 135 sits on the bell curve
This score is 35 points above the average of 100, or 2.33 standard deviations. The shaded part of the curve, everyone who scores lower, covers about 99.0% of people.
What an IQ of 135 means
135 marks roughly the top 1%: about 99 in 100 people score lower. That is the level Intertel, a high-IQ society with a stricter bar than Mensa, uses for admission.
On the IQ score scale, the Very Superior range runs from 130 to 160 and beyond. Range names come from the Wechsler scales; they are labels for parts of the curve, not hard lines, so 134 and 136 reflect almost the same performance.
Whether 135 counts as a good IQ score depends on the comparison: against everyone, or against the people you study or work with.
How rare is an IQ of 135?
If scores follow the standard bell curve, this is how many people you would expect to reach this score or higher:
- In a class of 30: fewer than one
- In an office of 250: about 2.5
- In a town of 10,000: about 98
- In a city of 1 million: about 9,815
135 compared with nearby scores
| IQ | Percentile | Range | How rare |
|---|---|---|---|
| 125 | 95th | Superior | 1 in 21 |
| 130 | 98th | Very Superior | 1 in 44 |
| 135 | 99.02nd | Very Superior | 1 in 102 |
| 140 | 99.62nd | Very Superior | 1 in 261 |
| 145 | 99.87th | Very Superior | 1 in 741 |
"How rare" counts people at that score or higher.
135 and the usual reference points
- 35 points above 100, the average by definition.
- 20 points above 115, one standard deviation above average (about the 84th percentile).
- 5 points above 130, two standard deviations above average and the usual Mensa line (top 2%).
- 10 points below 145, three standard deviations above average (about 1 in 741).
How much to trust a single score
No test measures IQ exactly. Clinical tests such as the Wechsler scales report a confidence interval of roughly 5 points either side, so a measured 135 is best read as "probably between 130 and 140". Quick online tests carry wider ranges, which is why our free test shows a 90% range next to every result.
Scores also move between sittings. Tiredness, stress and practice with the puzzle types can each shift a result by a few points, so the range name tells you more than the exact number.
Frequently asked questions
Is 135 a good IQ score?
Yes. An IQ of 135 is in the Very Superior range (130 to 160) and higher than about 99.0% of people. About 1 in 102 people score 135 or higher.
What percentile is an IQ of 135?
An IQ of 135 is at about the 99.02nd percentile. On the standard scale (mean 100, standard deviation 15) it is +2.33 standard deviations from the average.
How rare is an IQ of 135?
About 1 in 102 people score 135 or higher, which is 0.98% of the population.
Is 135 a genius IQ?
There is no agreed genius line. 135 is in the top 1%, rarer than Mensa's 130 cut-off, and it sits well inside the Very Superior range (130 and above).
How accurate is an online IQ score of 135?
Treat it as a range, not an exact number. Clinical tests report a confidence interval of roughly 5 points either side, and short online tests have wider ranges, so read any single result as a band rather than an exact point.
Nearby IQ scores
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