What is George W. Bush’s IQ?
91, from the same hoax that gave Kennedy 174.
George W. Bush has no published IQ test score. The George W. Bush IQ of 91 that circulates comes from a 2001 “Lovenstein Institute” hoax, and the only scholarly estimate, Dean Keith Simonton’s 2006 study, is 124.9 (range 111.1 to 138.5), 39th of 42 presidents.
George W. Bush’s estimated IQ
- A SAT total of 1206 (566 verbal, 640 math), reported by the Washington Post on March 19, 2000, alongside Al Gore’s 1355 (figures as reproduced by Inside Politics).
- A bachelor’s degree in history from Yale in 1968 and an MBA from Harvard Business School in 1975, after service in the Texas Air National Guard (Wikipedia).
- Simonton’s four estimates for him are 111.1, 121.4, 128.5 and 138.5, which average 124.9: 39th of the 42 presidents covered (Political Psychology 27(4), Table 1; the average and rank are our arithmetic). He writes that Bush “is definitely intelligent” and that his intellect falls near the bottom of the distribution of presidents.
The Simonton estimate rests on one rated input, an Openness score that the experts who gathered it called tentative, because it was assessed differently for Bush than for the other presidents. Simonton himself says the IQ scores are “more tentative and approximate” than his other measures and that Bush “may be much smarter than Table 1 implies”. Treat the range as an academic estimate, not a test score.
- Born
- July 6, 1946, New Haven, Connecticut
- Education
- B.A. in history, Yale University (1968); MBA, Harvard Business School (1975)
- Office
- 43rd President of the United States, 2001–2009
- SAT
- 1206 (566 verbal, 640 math), reported March 19, 2000
- Simonton estimates
- 111.1, 121.4, 128.5, 138.5; average 124.9, 39th of 42
- Circulating figure
- 91, from the 2001 “Lovenstein Institute” hoax
- Documented IQ test
- None published
What an IQ of 110–130 actually means
Set the claim aside for a moment. If someone genuinely scored in this range, here is what that would represent.
Average is 100 by construction, and about two-thirds of people fall between 85 and 115. Take the test to place your own score on this scale.
| Score range | Classification | Share of people | What it indicates |
|---|---|---|---|
| 85 – 114 | Average | ~68% | The range most people fall into. |
| 115 – 129 | Above average | ~13.6% | Roughly one person in seven. |
| 130 – 144 | Gifted | ~2% | The threshold most high-IQ societies use. |
| Above 144 | Highly gifted | ~0.1% | Figures above this range are extrapolated from the curve rather than measured. |
Percentages are approximate and describe a normal distribution. The same number means different things on tests with different standard deviations.
Thirty questions gives you a measured position on this exact scale — your score, your percentile and the ability breakdown behind it.
Find out in 30 minutes →Who George W. Bush is
George W. Bush was born on July 6, 1946, in New Haven, Connecticut. He graduated from Yale in 1968 with a bachelor’s degree in history, served in the Texas Air National Guard, and earned an MBA at Harvard Business School in 1975.
He became co-owner of the Texas Rangers in 1989, ran for governor of Texas in 1994 and won, and was the 43rd President of the United States from 2001 to 2009.
Why is his number so contested? Simonton notes that questions about Bush’s general intelligence began once he was elected, that some of the attacks “were nothing more than internet hoaxes” and that others rested on his verbal slips. His paper treats the question with data, and the data give a range that is high in the general population and low among presidents.
By Elora Mercer, Celebrity Research WriterFigures checked by Leon Falkner, Data & Research AnalystReviewed by Aarav Vardhan, Editor-in-Chief · Last reviewed November 2026
George W. Bush: the documented record
The estimate above rests on this record. Every entry here is a matter of public fact, which is more than can be said for the number itself.
- 1946Born in New Haven, Connecticut.
- 1968Graduates from Yale with a bachelor’s degree in history.
- 1975Earns an MBA from Harvard Business School.
- 1989Joins the ownership group that buys the Texas Rangers.
- 1994Elected governor of Texas.
- 2000The Washington Post reports his 1206 SAT score alongside Al Gore’s 1355, on March 19.
- 2001Inaugurated as the 43rd President; the “Lovenstein Institute” hoax is debunked by Snopes on July 18 and retracted by The Guardian on August 14.
- 2006Simonton’s study estimates his IQ at 111.1 to 138.5 (average 124.9) in Political Psychology.
- 2007The hoax resurfaces in Spanish-language media in March.
- 2009Leaves office at the end of his second term.
Where the 91 figure came from
Following a claim back to its first appearance is the part almost nobody does — and it is what most people are actually asking.
Read this page next to John F. Kennedy’s. The same fabricated 2001 ranking gave Kennedy an invented 174 and Bush an invented 91. The direction of the error is opposite: Kennedy’s hoax number is far above any real estimate, and Bush’s sits well below the scholarly range of 111 to 139.
The one scholarly estimate is Dean Keith Simonton’s 2006 paper in Political Psychology, which gives all 42 presidents four IQ values each. For Bush they are 111.1, 121.4, 128.5 and 138.5, an average of 124.9. The paper never uses the name “Lovenstein”. Its only reference is a line saying that some attacks on Bush “were nothing more than internet hoaxes”. For how the whole table works, see our explainer on U.S. presidents ranked by IQ.
Where does the SAT number come from? The Washington Post reported on March 19, 2000 that Bush scored 1206 (566 verbal, 640 math) and Gore 1355. An SAT total converts to a range, not a single IQ; see our page on converting SAT scores to IQ. Simonton cites an earlier SAT-based estimate by Immelman (2001) that put Bush’s IQ above 115. A score of 125 is about the 95th percentile; see what an IQ of 125 means.
How does he compare? On Simonton’s average he is 39th of 42, ahead of Harding, Monroe and Grant. Ronald Reagan and Jimmy Carter, also on this site, sit at 130.0 and 145.1 on the same table. For other leaders, see world leaders ranked by IQ and our politicians category.
How we read a number →Table 1 gives Bush’s four IQ estimates (111.1, 121.4, 128.5, 138.5); the Discussion says “Bush is definitely intelligent”, that his intellect falls near the bottom of the distribution of presidents, and that some attacks on him “were nothing more than internet hoaxes”. The paper does not name the Lovenstein Institute. The DOI and title were checked on Crossref; the average and rank are our arithmetic.
Rates the Lovenstein Institute report false: no such institute exists in Scranton or anywhere in the USA, and the quoted people do not exist. Lists Bush 91, Clinton 182, Kennedy 174 and Carter 175, and records The Guardian’s July 19 item and its August 14 retraction.
The Guardian’s July 19, 2001 diary item and retraction, and the March 2007 revival in Spanish-language media after an EFE piece.
Bush SAT verbal 566, math 640 (total 1206); Gore 625 and 730 (total 1355). The Washington Post article itself could not be opened.
Born July 6, 1946; Yale B.A. in history, 1968; the Texas Air National Guard; Harvard Business School, 1975; the Texas Rangers in 1989; governor of Texas from 1995; 43rd president from 2001 to 2009.
No U.S. president has released a verified IQ test score. None appears in Simonton’s paper, Snopes or Wikipedia for Bush.
The sources behind our estimate
The figures that circulate for George W. Bush, what we were able to confirm, and where the two diverge.
91 is the figure attached to Bush by a chain e-mail of July 2001 that ranked presidential IQs and put him lowest, below his father (98) and Ronald Reagan (105), with Bill Clinton highest at 182. People also type “george w bush iq score”, “george bush iq” and “bush iq”.
The “Lovenstein Institute” report is fabricated. Snopes (published July 18, 2001) says: “There isn’t a ‘Lovenstein Institute’ in Scranton, Pennsylvania (or anywhere else in the USA), nor do any of the people quoted in the story exist.” The same list gave Kennedy 174 and Carter 175. The Guardian ran it as fact on July 19, 2001 and retracted it on August 14. It resurfaced in Spanish-language media in March 2007 (Wikipedia).
This is the reverse of the usual pattern on this site: the hoax figure (91) sits well below the documented SAT-anchored estimates (roughly 120–125), not above them. Most fabricated presidential IQ figures inflate; this one deflates.
Want a number that does hold up? Every figure on this page is somebody’s claim. Take the 30-question test and get a percentile you can check rather than a figure you have to trust.
George W. Bush — frequently asked
What was George W. Bush’s IQ?
George W. Bush has no published IQ test score. The 91 that circulates comes from a 2001 hoax. The only scholarly estimate, Dean Keith Simonton’s 2006 study, is 124.9, with a range of 111.1 to 138.5.
What is George W. Bush’s IQ score?
There is no score. His SAT total, reported in 2000, was 1206, and Simonton’s 2006 estimates average 124.9. Neither is an IQ test result, and our own range from the record is 110–130.
Is the “IQ of 91” real?
No. It is from the fabricated July 2001 “Lovenstein Institute” report, which Snopes says does not describe any real institute or study. The same list gave Bill Clinton 182 and John F. Kennedy 174.
What was Bush’s SAT score?
The Washington Post reported on March 19, 2000 that he scored 1206: 566 verbal and 640 math. Gore’s was 1355. An SAT total converts to a range of IQ and not a single number; see our SAT score to IQ page for the caveats.
Where does Bush rank among presidents by estimated IQ?
He is 39th of 42 on Simonton’s average of 124.9, above only Harding, Monroe and Grant. Simonton says his intellect falls near the bottom of the distribution of presidents, and also that he is “definitely intelligent” and in the upper 10% of the general population.
Does Bush hold a graduate degree?
Yes. He earned an MBA from Harvard Business School in 1975, after a bachelor’s degree in history from Yale in 1968.
How does the hoax figure compare with the real estimate?
It runs the opposite way from most invented IQ figures on this site. The fake 91 is lower than the scholarly estimates of 111 to 139, not higher.
How does my IQ compare with George W. Bush?
You can find out in about fifteen minutes. The IQ Metrics assessment is 30 questions, scored on the same 100-mean scale used throughout this page, so your result and the estimate above are at least expressed in the same units — one measured, one inferred. Once you have a number, the leaderboard shows where it would sit, and how we score and norm it explains the benchmarking.
Where does this estimate come from?
From the documented record rather than a test — the method is named above and set out in full under how we read a number. Compare it against the other politics profiles, starting with Thomas Jefferson.
- Take the 30-question IQ test — get a measured score and percentile of your own
- Average IQ by country — how the scale behaves across populations
- How IQ Metrics scores its assessment — the method behind our own number
- More on how IQ testing works — reliability, error and what a score can and cannot say
- More politics profiles — same field, same method
More politics
Photograph by Velislav Nikolov (EU2018BG), via Wikimedia Commons (Informal Meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council, February 2018), CC BY 2.0. Background removed for the portrait above. · Official U.S. government portrait (Department of Defense / Department of the Navy, 1977), via Wikimedia Commons, public domain. Background removed for the portrait above. · Official portrait by the Press Service of the President of Ukraine (president.gov.ua, 2022), CC BY 4.0. Background removed for the portrait above.
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