IQ 170: what it means, percentile and how rare it is
An IQ score of 170 is higher than about 99.99985% of people, which puts it in the 99.99985th percentile. Roughly 1 in 653,000 people score higher than 170. On the WISC-V it is classified as Extremely High.
- Percentile
- 99.99985th
- Higher than
- 99.99985%
- People scoring higher
- 1 in 653,000
- WISC-V classification
- Extremely High
What does an IQ of 170 mean?
Scores of 160 and above are four or more standard deviations above the mean. Statistically, only about 1 in 31,600 people score above 160, and the numbers get extreme quickly after that: about 1 in 650,000 above 170 and about 1 in 21 million above 180.
In practice, standard IQ tests cannot measure these levels. The WAIS-IV and WISC-V norms stop at 160, and a test can only rank you against the people in its norming sample, usually a few thousand. Pearson's extended WISC-V norms go to 210 for very gifted children, but most adult claims of 170, 180 or 200 come from unsupervised online tests, puzzle-based "high-range" tests or the old ratio-IQ formula, which inflates scores for precocious children.
Treat scores this high as statistical curiosities rather than precise measurements.
IQ 170 on other scales and tests
Different tests spread scores differently. The same rank as an IQ of 170 on an SD-15 test gives these numbers elsewhere:
| Scale | Equivalent score | Classification |
|---|---|---|
| SD 15: WISC-V, WAIS, Stanford-Binet 5 | 170 | Extremely High |
| WAIS-IV (older label) | 170 | Very Superior |
| Stanford-Binet 5 | 170 | not classified |
| SD 16: older Stanford-Binet, Cattell Culture Fair | 175 | – |
| SD 24: Cattell III B | 212 | – |
How precise is an IQ score of 170?
No test measures IQ exactly. On individually administered tests such as the WAIS, the full-scale score comes with a 95% confidence interval of roughly ±5 points, so a result of 170 is best read as "probably somewhere between 165 and 175". Scores can also shift a few points between different tests or after a few years.
Precision also drops near the top of the scale. Standard WAIS and WISC norms end at 160, and a norming sample of a few thousand people contains almost nobody at these levels, so scores this high are estimates built on very few cases.
Online tests, including ours, are self-assessments. They are useful for curiosity and practice, but they are not a substitute for an assessment by a psychologist.
IQ scores near 170
| IQ score | Percentile | Higher than | WISC-V classification |
|---|---|---|---|
| 156 | 99.9906th | 99.9906% | Extremely High |
| 157 | 99.9928th | 99.9928% | Extremely High |
| 158 | 99.9945th | 99.9945% | Extremely High |
| 159 | 99.9958th | 99.9958% | Extremely High |
| 160 | 99.9968th | 99.9968% | Extremely High |
| 170 | 99.99985th | 99.99985% | Extremely High |
| 180 | > 99.9999th | > 99.9999% | Extremely High |
| 190 | > 99.9999th | > 99.9999% | Extremely High |
| 200 | > 99.9999th | > 99.9999% | Extremely High |
Check another IQ score
For example 98 for the top 2%.
- Percentile
- 99.9968th
- Higher than
- 99.9968%
- People scoring higher
- 1 in 31,600
- Classification (WISC-V)
- Extremely High
IQ 170: frequently asked questions
Is an IQ of 170 good?+
It is far beyond the range standard tests are built to measure. Statistically it would put someone ahead of almost everyone alive, but a score this high cannot be confirmed with standard norms, so it says more about the test than about the person.
What percentile is an IQ of 170?+
An IQ of 170 is in the 99.99985th percentile on a scale with mean 100 and standard deviation 15. It is higher than about 99.99985% of people and lower than about 0.00015%.
How rare is an IQ of 170?+
Roughly 1 in 653,000 people score higher than 170. Out of a million people, you would expect about 1.5 to score higher.
Is 170 a genius IQ?+
"Genius" is not a scientific category and no test uses it. A score of 170 would be beyond the 160 ceiling of standard adult tests, so it is best treated as an extreme estimate. Real-world genius usually refers to achievement, which depends on far more than IQ.