IQ 89: what it means, percentile and how rare it is

An IQ score of 89 is higher than about 23.2% of people, which puts it in the 23rd percentile. Roughly 1 in 4.3 people score lower than 89. On the WISC-V it is classified as Low Average.

Percentile: 23rd
Higher than: 23.2%
People scoring lower: 1 in 4.3
WISC-V classification: Low Average

Where an IQ of 89 falls on the bell curve. The shaded area is the 23.2% of people who score lower. (-0.73 SD)

What does an IQ of 89 mean?

89 is the highest score in the Low Average range (80–89); one more point would move it into the next range.
In a group of 100 people, about 23 would score lower than 89.

Scores from 80 to 89 are Low Average. About 16% of people score here, so it is a common range just below the middle of the bell curve.

Most people with low-average scores manage school, work and everyday life without any special support. They may need a bit more time or practice with abstract, unfamiliar or fast-paced material, and they often do best with clear, practical explanations.

This is not a clinical category. Measurement error, tiredness, test anxiety or unfamiliarity with the question types can easily move a score by several points, especially on an online test.

IQ 89 on other scales and tests

Different tests spread scores differently. The same rank as an IQ of 89 on an SD-15 test gives these numbers elsewhere:

Scale	Equivalent score	Classification
SD 15: WISC-V, WAIS, Stanford-Binet 5	89	Low Average
WAIS-IV (older label)	89	Low Average
Stanford-Binet 5	89	Low average
SD 16: older Stanford-Binet, Cattell Culture Fair	88	–
SD 24: Cattell III B	82	–

How precise is an IQ score of 89?

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 89 is best read as "probably somewhere between 84 and 94". Scores can also shift a few points between different tests or after a few years.

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 89

IQ score	Percentile	Higher than	WISC-V classification
84	14th	14.3%	Low Average
85	16th	15.9%	Low Average
86	18th	17.5%	Low Average
87	19th	19.3%	Low Average
88	21st	21.2%	Low Average
89	23rd	23.2%	Low Average
90	25th	25.2%	Average
91	27th	27.4%	Average
92	30th	29.7%	Average
93	32nd	32%	Average
94	34th	34.5%	Average

Check another IQ score

IQ score

Test scale (standard deviation)

Or start from a percentile

For example 98 for the top 2%.

Percentile: 23rd
Higher than: 23.2%
People scoring lower: 1 in 4.3
Classification (WISC-V): Low Average

IQ 89: frequently asked questions

Is an IQ of 89 good?+

It is a little below the average of 100, but it is not low in any clinical sense. An IQ of 89 is higher than about 23.2% of people and falls in the Low Average range, where about 16% of people score.

What percentile is an IQ of 89?+

An IQ of 89 is in the 23rd percentile on a scale with mean 100 and standard deviation 15. It is higher than about 23.2% of people and lower than about 76.8%.

How rare is an IQ of 89?+

Roughly 1 in 4.3 people score lower than 89. In a group of 1,000 people you would expect about 232 to score lower.

Is an IQ of 89 low?+

It is below the average of 100, but it is not considered low in a clinical sense. 89 is in the Low Average range, one step below Average, and it is higher than about 23.2% of people. Most people with this score live, study and work without any special support.