What is Mick Jagger’s IQ?
He won a place at the London School of Economics in 1961, left for the Rolling Stones in 1963, and has no IQ score on record.
No IQ score has been published for Mick Jagger, and no sourced figure circulates for him. The documented record is seven O-levels and two A-levels, a London School of Economics place in 1961 on a government grant, and a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction in 1989. A Mick Jagger IQ score is therefore an inference, as of November 2026.
Mick Jagger’s estimated IQ
- He passed the eleven-plus examination in 1954 and attended Dartford Grammar School, according to Wikipedia’s biography.
- Seven O-levels and two A-levels before he left school in 1961 (Wikipedia).
- A place at the London School of Economics to study finance and accounting on a government grant; his tutor Walter Stern remembered a promising start in October 1961 (Wikipedia; Gavin Edwards, 2006).
- Straight Cs in the June 1962 exams in Economics, British Government, Economic History, Political History and English Legal Institutions, after he had been cutting classes (Edwards, 2006).
- Co-writing most of the Rolling Stones’ songs with Keith Richards; Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction in 1989 (Rock Hall), the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2004 and a 2003 knighthood for services to popular music (Wikipedia).
This is an inference from schooling and a music career, not from a test. The exam record that survives is average (straight Cs, after he began cutting classes), and songwriting success is only loosely tied to measured IQ. The range is therefore moderate and wide, close to the other Rolling Stones-era songwriters on this site.
- Born
- July 26, 1943, Dartford, Kent, England
- Known for
- Lead singer and co-founder of the Rolling Stones
- Schooling
- Dartford Grammar School after the eleven-plus (1954); seven O-levels and two A-levels
- University
- London School of Economics, from October 1961: finance and accounting (left 1963)
- Exam record
- Straight Cs in the June 1962 exams, per Gavin Edwards (2006)
- Honors
- Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with the Rolling Stones (1989); knighted 2003
- Circulating figure
- None; one site calls him the rock world’s highest-IQ star, with no number
What an IQ of 125–140 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 Mick Jagger is
Who is Mick Jagger? Michael Philip Jagger was born on July 26, 1943, in Dartford, Kent, according to Wikipedia. He passed the eleven-plus examination in 1954 and attended Dartford Grammar School, and he left school in 1961 after passing seven O-levels and two A-levels. He then studied finance and accounting at the London School of Economics on a government grant.
What was Mick Jagger’s London School of Economics record? Gavin Edwards’s 2006 book Is Tiny Dancer Really Elton’s Little John? reports that his tutor, Walter Stern, remembered a promising student in October 1961 who worried about mathematics. Jagger began cutting classes, and in June 1962 he took exams in Economics, British Government, Economic History, Political History and English Legal Institutions and got straight Cs. He returned the following year and left school after the Rolling Stones had a contract to record their first single in May 1963.
Is Mick Jagger a genius? “Genius” is a label, not a score. The documented record is a grammar-school and university education and a songwriting partnership with Keith Richards that produced most of the Rolling Stones’ songs. The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989, inducted by Pete Townshend, and he was knighted in 2003 for services to popular music. See other musicians we have checked, or compare your own result on the same scale with the IQ Metrics test.
By Elora Mercer, Celebrity Research WriterFigures checked by Leon Falkner, Data & Research AnalystReviewed by Aarav Vardhan, Editor-in-Chief · Last reviewed November 2026
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Mick Jagger: 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.
- 1943Born July 26 in Dartford, Kent.
- 1954Passes the eleven-plus and starts at Dartford Grammar School.
- 1961Leaves school with seven O-levels and two A-levels; starts at the London School of Economics in October.
- 1962Takes his June exams at the LSE and gets straight Cs; the band makes its first appearance, as the Rollin’ Stones, at the Marquee Club on July 12.
- 1963Leaves the LSE after the band’s first recording contract in May.
- 1989Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with the Rolling Stones.
- 2003Knighted for services to popular music.
- 2004The Rolling Stones are inaugural inductees of the UK Music Hall of Fame.
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.
Mick Jagger IQ searches lead to no number. No IQ score for Mick Jagger appears in Wikipedia’s biography, on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s page for the Rolling Stones or in Gavin Edwards’s account of his university record. One Turkish biography site, biyografiler.com, calls him the rock world’s star with the highest IQ in a single sentence, and gives no test, date or source. For how such labels turn into numbers, see where celebrity IQ numbers come from.
What is Mick Jagger’s IQ score if he was never tested? The honest answer is a range inferred from documented achievement, 125–140 here. That sits at the top of Paul McCartney (120–140) and David Bowie (120–140) and below Brian May (140–155). On the usual scale (mean 100, SD 15) a 125 is about the 95th percentile and a 140 about the 99.6th.
Did Mick Jagger have a high IQ? Nothing published shows it as a measured fact. A university place is evidence of ability, and a band’s catalogue is evidence of talent, but neither is a test. For related research, see education and IQ and music lessons and IQ.
How we read a number →Birth date and place, eleven-plus 1954, Dartford Grammar School, seven O-levels and two A-levels, the London School of Economics (finance and accounting, government grant), the 1989 and 2004 Hall of Fame inductions and the 2003 knighthood.
Tutor Walter Stern on a promising start in October 1961; straight Cs in the June 1962 exams in five named subjects; he left school after the May 1963 recording contract.
Lists the 1989 induction, with Pete Townshend as inducting artist; gives no IQ.
Confirms the identifier Q128121 is the British singer and songwriter, lead vocalist of the Rolling Stones.
One sentence calls him the rock world’s star with the highest IQ; no number, test or source is given.
Photograph by Raph_PH, Hyde Park, July 3, 2022, licensed CC BY 2.0 (the Flickr page shows a Creative Commons licence).
Ranges used for comparison: Paul McCartney 120–140, David Bowie 120–140, Brian May 140–155.
No test result appears in Wikipedia’s biography, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s page for the Rolling Stones or Edwards’s account of his university record.
The sources behind our estimate
The figures that circulate for Mick Jagger, what we were able to confirm, and where the two diverge.
A Turkish biography site, biyografiler.com, describes him in one sentence as the rock world’s star with the highest IQ (translated). The page gives no number, test or source.
No IQ score appears in Wikipedia’s biography, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s page for the Rolling Stones or Gavin Edwards’s account of his London School of Economics record. The one page that mentions his IQ gives a ranking claim, not a measurement.
With no circulating number to audit, the range is the only figure on the page. It sits level with the top of Paul McCartney’s 120–140 and below Brian May’s 140–155, the Queen guitarist whose range rests on a completed doctorate.
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.
Mick Jagger — frequently asked
What is Mick Jagger’s IQ?
No IQ test result for Mick Jagger has been published, and no sourced figure circulates for him. This site’s estimated range, inferred from his documented record, is 125–140 on a scale with mean 100 and SD 15. The record includes seven O-levels, two A-levels and a London School of Economics place.
What is Mick Jagger’s IQ score?
Mick Jagger’s IQ score is not documented. One Turkish biography site calls him the rock world’s star with the highest IQ but gives no number, test or source. His documented record supports an estimate of 125–140, not a score, and his June 1962 LSE exams were straight Cs.
Did Mick Jagger take an IQ test?
No IQ test appears in Wikipedia’s biography of Mick Jagger, in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s page for the Rolling Stones or in Gavin Edwards’s account of his university record. The exams on record are his O-levels and A-levels and the June 1962 London School of Economics exams, which are subject exams, not IQ tests.
Did Mick Jagger go to the London School of Economics?
Yes. Wikipedia says he studied finance and accounting at the London School of Economics on a government grant after leaving school in 1961. Gavin Edwards’s 2006 book reports that he started in October 1961 and left after the Rolling Stones’ first recording contract in May 1963.
What grades did Mick Jagger get at the London School of Economics?
Straight Cs. According to Gavin Edwards’s 2006 book, Jagger’s June 1962 exams in Economics, British Government, Economic History, Political History and English Legal Institutions all came back as Cs, after he had been cutting classes. That weighs against a very high estimate.
Is Mick Jagger a genius?
“Genius” is a label, not a score, and no test result supports or refutes it. The documented record is a grammar-school and university education, a songwriting partnership with Keith Richards and a 1989 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction with the Rolling Stones.
How does Mick Jagger’s estimated IQ compare with Brian May’s?
This site rates Mick Jagger at 125–140 and Brian May at 140–155. May’s range is higher because it rests on a completed astrophysics doctorate; Jagger’s rests on a university place, straight Cs and a songwriting career. Both are inferred from records, not tests.
How does my IQ compare with Mick Jagger?
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 musicians profiles, starting with Brian May.
- 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 musicians profiles — same field, same method
More musicians
Photograph of Paul McCartney by Raph_PH (Royal Festival Hall, London, November 5, 2021), CC BY 2.0. Cropped and with background removed for the portrait above. · Portrait © David J. Cable / Arcadia Photographic UK, CC BY-SA 2.0. The background-removed portrait above is a derivative work and is likewise offered under the same licence. · Photograph of David Bowie by David Shankbone (Tribeca Film Festival, April 30, 2009), CC BY 3.0. Cropped and with background removed for the portrait above.
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