— IQ score explained
IQ of 131 — meaning, percentile & profile
An IQ of 131 is in the gifted range — smarter than 98% of the adult population, and rarer than about 1 in 50 people.
What does IQ 131 mean in practice?
An IQ of 131 means your raw performance on a standardised IQ test places you at the 98th percentile of the general adult population — higher than 98% of people. People at this level typically find abstract reasoning, pattern-matching, and learning new skills comes naturally.
IQ 131 and the normal distribution
IQ is defined with a mean of 100 and a standard deviation of 15. An IQ of 131 is 2.07 standard deviations above the mean. The normal distribution tells us that:
- About 68% of people score between 85 and 115
- About 95% of people score between 70 and 130
- About 99.7% of people score between 55 and 145
- An IQ of 131 is higher than 98% of the adult population
IQ 131 and career outcomes
An IQ of 131 is high enough to pursue any professional career. Research scientists, physicians, and academic lawyers average IQs of 125-132. At this level, the main differentiators are conscientiousness, motivation, and specific domain knowledge — not cognitive ceiling.
Comparing IQ 131 to common benchmarks
| Score | Percentile | Classification |
|---|---|---|
| IQ 117 | 87th | High average |
| IQ 120 | 91th | Superior intelligence |
| IQ 122 | 93th | Superior intelligence |
| IQ 125 | 95th | Superior intelligence |
| IQ 127 | 96th | Superior intelligence |
How to accurately measure your IQ
A reliable IQ test uses Item Response Theory (IRT) scoring, which adapts the scoring based on item difficulty parameters rather than simply counting correct answers. Core Brain uses IRT 3PL (three-parameter logistic) scoring — the same statistical framework used by the WAIS and Stanford-Binet — and returns your score with a 95% confidence interval so you know the measurement uncertainty.
Related IQ scores
- IQ 117 — High average, 87th percentile
- IQ 120 — Superior intelligence, 91th percentile
- IQ 122 — Superior intelligence, 93th percentile
- IQ 125 — Superior intelligence, 95th percentile
- IQ 127 — Superior intelligence, 96th percentile