What is Pete Hegseth’s IQ?
Princeton, Harvard, two Bronze Stars: all on file. An IQ score is not.
Pete Hegseth’s IQ has never been published: no IQ test result exists for him. What is documented is a Princeton A.B. in politics (2003), a Harvard Kennedy School master’s degree (2013), Army National Guard service and the office of Secretary of Defense. That record supports an estimated IQ of about 120–135.
Pete Hegseth’s estimated IQ
- A.B. in politics from Princeton University, 2003 (The Daily Princetonian), after four years of varsity basketball and a company command in Army ROTC (Princeton Alumni Weekly).
- A master’s degree in public policy from Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, 2013 (Fox biography).
- Commissioned as an infantry officer in the Army National Guard after Princeton, with service in Guantanamo Bay, Iraq and Afghanistan, two Bronze Star Medals and the rank of major when he left in 2021 (Department of War; Task & Purpose).
- Fox News contributor from 2014, co-host of Fox & Friends Weekend from 2017 to 2024, and author of five books, including the New York Times best-seller The War on Warriors (2024) (Daily Princetonian; Wikipedia; Department of War).
- Sworn in on January 25, 2025 as the 29th Secretary of Defense, a post styled Secretary of War since September 5, 2025, and still held in October 2026 (Department of War; Pentagon News).
No honors designation, grade average, class rank or admission-test score is published for either degree, so this range is inferred from a record, not measured. A commission and a master’s in public policy show sustained performance, but they are weaker cognitive signals than a doctorate or a competitive exam result, and a cabinet post reflects political selection as well as ability. A different reading of the same record could sit somewhat above or below this band.
- Born
- June 6, 1980, Minneapolis, Minnesota
- Education
- A.B. in politics, Princeton University (2003); master’s in public policy, Harvard Kennedy School (2013)
- Military service
- US Army National Guard infantry officer; deployments to Guantanamo Bay, Iraq and Afghanistan; major when he left in 2021
- Military awards
- Two Bronze Star Medals, Joint Commendation Medal, two Army Commendation Medals, Combat Infantryman Badge, Expert Infantryman Badge (Department of War)
- Broadcasting
- Fox News contributor from 2014; co-host of Fox & Friends Weekend, 2017–2024
- Books
- Five, including American Crusade (2020) and The War on Warriors (2024), a New York Times best-seller
- Office
- 29th Secretary of Defense, sworn in January 25, 2025; styled Secretary of War since September 5, 2025
- Published IQ score
- None
What an IQ of 120–135 actually means
Set the claim aside for a moment. If someone genuinely scored in this range, here is what that would represent.
| 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 Pete Hegseth is
On Pete Hegseth’s education, the record is specific about schools and silent on any test. Peter Brian Hegseth was born on June 6, 1980, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and graduated from Princeton University in 2003 with an A.B. in politics (The Daily Princetonian). At Princeton he played varsity basketball, served as a company commander in Army ROTC and was publisher of the student publication The Princeton Tory (Princeton Alumni Weekly). The Department of War says he was commissioned as an infantry officer in the Army National Guard after graduating.
He spent a year at Guantanamo Bay with his National Guard unit, then served in Iraq with the 3rd Brigade of the 101st Airborne Division in 2005–2006: an infantry platoon leader in Baghdad in 2005 and a civil-military operations officer in Samarra in 2006. Between deployments he was executive director of the veterans group Vets for Freedom, from 2007 to 2011. He returned from a deployment to Afghanistan in 2012, where he was senior counterinsurgency instructor at the Counterinsurgency Training Center in Kabul (Fox biography). He left the military in 2021 with the rank of major (Task & Purpose). The Department of War lists two Bronze Star Medals, the Joint Commendation Medal, two Army Commendation Medals, the Combat Infantryman Badge and the Expert Infantryman Badge.
Pete Hegseth’s Harvard degree is a master’s in public policy from the John F. Kennedy School of Government, completed in 2013 (Fox biography). He joined Fox News as a contributor in 2014 and co-hosted Fox & Friends Weekend from 2017 to 2024 (Wikipedia). The Department of War credits him with five books, including American Crusade (2020) and the New York Times best-seller The War on Warriors (2024).
Donald Trump announced Hegseth as his choice for Secretary of Defense on November 12, 2024. The Senate confirmed him on January 24, 2025, by a 51–50 vote, and he was sworn in on January 25, 2025 as the 29th Secretary of Defense. Executive Order 14347, signed on September 5, 2025, authorized “Secretary of War” and “Department of War” as secondary titles, and the Department’s own website now uses them. In October 2026 Pentagon News still names him Secretary of War, including for his State of the Force address at Quantico, Virginia, on September 30, 2026.
By Elora Mercer, Celebrity Research WriterFigures checked by Leon Falkner, Data & Research AnalystReviewed by Aarav Vardhan, Editor-in-Chief · Last reviewed October 2026
Pete Hegseth: 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.
- June 6, 1980Born in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
- 2003Graduates from Princeton University with an A.B. in politics and is commissioned as an infantry officer in the Army National Guard.
- 2005–2006Serves in Iraq with the 3rd Brigade, 101st Airborne Division, in Baghdad and Samarra.
- 2013Completes a master’s degree in public policy at Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.
- 2014Joins Fox News as a contributor; becomes a co-host of Fox & Friends Weekend in 2017.
- 2021Leaves the military with the rank of major.
- 2024Publishes The War on Warriors, a New York Times best-seller; Donald Trump announces him as his choice for Secretary of Defense on November 12.
- January 24–25, 2025The Senate confirms him 51–50; he is sworn in as the 29th Secretary of Defense.
- September 5, 2025Executive Order 14347 authorizes “Department of War” and “Secretary of War” as secondary titles.
- October 2026Still in office; Pentagon News reports his September 30 State of the Force address at Quantico, Virginia, naming him Secretary of War.
Why no figure circulates
Following a claim back to its first appearance is the part almost nobody does — and it is what most people are actually asking.
Pete Hegseth’s IQ is not on record: no IQ test result has been published for him, so any Pete Hegseth IQ score has to be built from what is documented. The Department of War biography lists a Princeton degree in 2003, a commission as an infantry officer in the Army National Guard, two Bronze Star Medals and the office of Secretary of Defense from January 25, 2025. It gives no test score. Fox’s biography adds a master’s degree in public policy from Harvard’s Kennedy School in 2013. That record supports an estimated IQ of about 120–135. How numbers like this usually arise, real or invented, is covered in where celebrity IQ numbers come from.
Did he take an IQ test, and is Pete Hegseth smart? No Hegseth IQ test appears in the Department of War biography, in Princeton Alumni Weekly’s profile of him as an undergraduate or on Fox’s biography page. They list schools, years, ranks, awards and offices, and none gives an IQ, an SAT score, a GRE score, a class rank or a grade average. No figure for him circulates with a named test, a date or an examiner behind it. “Smart” is a fair word for a Princeton degree, a Harvard master’s and an infantry officer’s commission; it is not a score. Graduate-admission results can be roughly converted (see how GRE and LSAT scores relate to IQ), but none is on file for him.
The checkable evidence is academic and military. At Princeton he majored in politics, played varsity basketball and served as an ROTC company commander (Princeton Alumni Weekly). After graduating in 2003 he was commissioned as an infantry officer. Fox’s biography places him in Iraq with the 3rd Brigade of the 101st Airborne Division in 2005–2006, as a platoon leader in Baghdad and then a civil-military operations officer in Samarra, and later as a counterinsurgency instructor in Kabul. He left the military in 2021 as a major. These are real selections and real responsibilities, but achievement records are not IQ tests: they show sustained performance, not a measured score, which is why the range stays wide.
Among this site’s politics profiles, the Pete Hegseth IQ level falls in the same band as JD Vance, estimated at 120–135 from Marine Corps service and a Yale law degree. It sits below Ted Cruz, another Princeton graduate, at 130–145: Cruz’s record adds a Harvard law degree, magna cum laude, and a Supreme Court clerkship, and Hegseth’s published record lists no honors designation, class rank or grade average. It overlaps the 115–130 given to Donald Trump, who announced Hegseth as his choice for the office on November 12, 2024. The comparison is by degree level and kind of evidence, not by office. A midpoint near 128 is close to what an IQ of 125 means: well above the population average of 100, but an inference, not a measurement.
How we read a number →Sworn in January 25, 2025 as the 29th Secretary of Defense; department name changed September 5, 2025; Princeton 2003; commissioned infantry officer; awards; five books. No test score.
Authorizes “Secretary of War” and “Department of War” as secondary titles.
Names Hegseth as Secretary of War at Quantico, Virginia; photo captions date the address September 30, 2026.
Politics major, varsity basketball, ROTC company commander, publisher of The Princeton Tory. No test score.
A.B. in Politics, Princeton, 2003; Fox News contributor from 2014; Trump’s announcement on the evening of Tuesday, November 12.
Princeton 2003; master’s in public policy at Harvard’s Kennedy School, 2013; Iraq 2005–2006 with the 101st Airborne; Afghanistan 2012; Vets for Freedom 2007–2011; two Bronze Stars.
Confirmation vote on Friday, January 24, 2025; sworn in the next morning.
Left the military in 2021 with the rank of major.
Birth date and place, Fox & Friends Weekend co-host 2017–2024, books, and the Counterinsurgency Training Center posting in Kabul.
No IQ, SAT, GRE or other cognitive test score appears in the Department of War biography, Princeton Alumni Weekly or Fox’s biography page.
The sources behind our estimate
The figures that circulate for Pete Hegseth, what we were able to confirm, and where the two diverge.
No sourced IQ figure circulates for Pete Hegseth: no page gives a test, a date or a testing body behind a number. Opinions about someone’s intelligence are not test results.
No published IQ test result exists for Pete Hegseth. The Department of War biography, Princeton Alumni Weekly’s profile of him as an undergraduate and Fox’s biography page give schools, degrees, ranks, awards and offices, and none gives an IQ, an SAT score, a GRE score, a class rank or a grade average.
There is no circulating IQ figure to set against this range, so the spread is only the width of the estimate. It is 15 points wide on purpose: a Princeton degree, a Harvard master’s and an Army commission cannot be turned into one score, and the estimate says so.
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.
Pete Hegseth — frequently asked
What is Pete Hegseth’s IQ?
Pete Hegseth’s IQ has never been published: no IQ test result exists for him. His documented record — a Princeton A.B. in politics (2003), a Harvard Kennedy School master’s degree (2013), Army National Guard service as an infantry officer and the office of Secretary of Defense — supports an estimated IQ of about 120–135, an inference rather than a score.
Did Pete Hegseth take an IQ test?
No IQ test result has been published or reliably reported for him. The Department of War biography, Princeton Alumni Weekly and Fox’s biography page list degrees, ranks, awards and offices, but none gives an IQ, SAT, GRE or class-rank figure. Any number attached to his name has no named test or examiner behind it.
Is Pete Hegseth smart?
His record shows sustained performance: a Princeton degree in politics, a Harvard master’s in public policy, an Army infantry commission, two Bronze Star Medals and five books. That supports an estimated IQ of 120–135. “Smart” is a description, not a score, and no test result confirms any number for him.
Did Pete Hegseth go to Harvard?
Yes, for a graduate degree. He completed a master’s in public policy at Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government in 2013. His undergraduate degree is from Princeton University, not Harvard: an A.B. in politics in 2003.
Did Pete Hegseth serve in the military?
Yes. After Princeton he was commissioned as an infantry officer in the Army National Guard. He served at Guantanamo Bay, in Iraq with the 101st Airborne Division in 2005–2006 and in Afghanistan, earned two Bronze Star Medals and left the military in 2021 with the rank of major.
What is Pete Hegseth’s education?
Pete Hegseth’s education is an A.B. in politics from Princeton University in 2003, where he played varsity basketball and took part in Army ROTC, and a master’s degree in public policy from Harvard’s Kennedy School in 2013. He was commissioned as an infantry officer in the Army National Guard after Princeton.
How does Pete Hegseth’s estimated IQ compare with JD Vance’s?
Both sit in the same band on this site: 120–135 for Pete Hegseth and 120–135 for JD Vance, each inferred from an academic and service record, not a test. Vance’s rests on a Yale law degree and Marine Corps service; Hegseth’s on Princeton, a Harvard master’s and Army National Guard service.
Is Pete Hegseth the Secretary of Defense or the Secretary of War?
Both titles refer to the same office. He was sworn in as the 29th Secretary of Defense on January 25, 2025, and an executive order of September 5, 2025 authorized “Secretary of War” as a secondary title. As of October 2026, Pentagon News names him Secretary of War.
How does my IQ compare with Pete Hegseth?
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
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Official White House photograph by Emily J. Higgins (2026), public domain. Background removed for the portrait above. · Official portrait by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (February 21, 2025), public domain (U.S. federal government work). Background removed for the portrait above. · Official portrait by the U.S. Senate Photographic Studio (January 31, 2019; Commons file), public domain (U.S. federal government work), cropped. Background removed for the portrait above.
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