What Percentage Has an IQ of 110? Top X% and What 'Slightly Above Average' Means

An IQ of 110 can feel like an awkward middle ground — above average, but hardly 'genius.' Where does it actually place you?

An IQ of 110 is roughly the top 25%

On a normal distribution with mean 100 and SD 15, an IQ of 110 sits +0.67 standard deviations above the mean — roughly the top 25%, or about 1 in 4 people. Converted to a Japanese-style deviation score, that's about 56.7. See converting between IQ and deviation scores for the mechanics.

'1 in 4' is a bigger gap than it sounds

In a class of 40, that's around 10th place. People at this level tend to pick up abstract material and adapt to new environments a bit faster — though not so much that the difference stands out in everyday conversation or work. IQ gaps typically become noticeable from IQ 120 to IQ 130 and above.

Compare with nearby scores

Lined up against IQ 100 (exactly average, top 50%), IQ 105 (top 37%), and IQ 115 (top 16%), an IQ of 110 is clearly above average without being rare. Details for each score are on the IQ reference pages.

Measure your own position

Many casual online quizzes skew high, so it's best to use a test that discloses its scoring method. BrainRank's free IQ test takes 20 questions in about 10 minutes and returns an IRT-scored estimated IQ and top percentile.