What was Ted Bundy’s IQ?
Two numbers circulate for Ted Bundy’s IQ, 136 and 124, and no page we opened shows a test record behind either.
Ted Bundy’s IQ is most often given as 136, but no test record for that score exists in any source we opened. His documented record, a 1972 psychology degree and two law schools he did not finish, supports an estimated IQ of 105–125.
Ted Bundy’s estimated IQ
- No IQ test record for him appears in any source we opened: Wikipedia’s article, the Eleventh Circuit’s opinion of July 7, 1988 (850 F.2d 1402) and Encyclopedia.com’s Gale entry contain no IQ figure, so the range cannot be anchored to a measured score.
- A bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Washington in 1972 (Wikipedia, Encyclopedia.com, Oxygen). On September 21, 1978 he told a Florida court he held a “Bachelor of Science in Psychology” and two years of law school (Eleventh Circuit opinion).
- Admission to the law schools of the University of Puget Sound and the University of Utah despite LSAT scores that Wikipedia and Oxygen call mediocre; no page we opened gives the score itself.
- Neither law course was finished: Oxygen (January 25, 2019) says he dropped out of the Utah program after about a year, and Grunge (December 18, 2023) says he never finished a law degree.
- Impressions, not measurements: Encyclopedia.com says his peers regarded him as scholarly, and a juror in his Florida trial recalled from press coverage that he was “highly intelligent” (Eleventh Circuit opinion).
Nothing here is a measured score: the LSAT result is described only as mediocre, no grades from the degree or the law schools were found, and popular accounts that rate him high or low are opinion. The range is modest and 20 points wide on purpose; it is an inference from schooling, not a measured IQ.
- Born
- November 24, 1946, Burlington, Vermont (born Theodore Robert Cowell)
- Died
- January 24, 1989, executed in Florida’s electric chair (UPI; Wikipedia: Florida State Prison)
- Bachelor’s degree
- Psychology, University of Washington, 1972
- Law school
- University of Puget Sound (1973) and University of Utah (from fall 1974); no law degree
- Test on record
- LSAT, described as mediocre; no score found in any page opened
- Legal record
- Utah 1976: kidnapping and assault; Florida 1979–1980: three death sentences
- Circulating IQ
- 136 (no test named); 124 (Wechsler, no record shown)
- Measured IQ
- None on record
What an IQ of 105–125 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 Ted Bundy was
Theodore Robert Cowell was born on November 24, 1946, in Burlington, Vermont, and became known as Ted Bundy (Wikipedia; Encyclopedia.com). He took a bachelor’s degree in psychology at the University of Washington in 1972. Sources differ on its title. Wikipedia’s infobox lists a B.A., while the Eleventh Circuit’s opinion quotes him telling a Florida court on September 21, 1978 that he held a “Bachelor of Science in Psychology.” This page covers only his schooling, his legal record and the IQ figures attached to his name.
Bundy was accepted into two law schools, the University of Puget Sound and the University of Utah, despite LSAT scores that Wikipedia and Oxygen call mediocre; no page we opened gives the score. Wikipedia says he matriculated at Puget Sound in 1973, and Encyclopedia.com says he moved to the University of Utah’s law school in the fall of 1974. Oxygen says he dropped out of the Utah program after about a year. For context, see what LSAT and bar-exam data show about lawyers’ IQ.
In February 1976 a Utah judge found him guilty of kidnapping and assault. In June he was sentenced to one to fifteen years in the Utah State Prison, according to Wikipedia. That year Al Carlisle evaluated whether he had a propensity for violence. Oxygen (Jill Sederstrom, April 25, 2023) says Bundy performed well on standard psychological tests during a 90-day hold. The article gives no IQ and no scores, so it is not a source for 136 or 124.
In Florida he received three death sentences in two trials, in 1979 and 1980, according to Wikipedia. The Eleventh Circuit’s opinion of July 7, 1988 (Bundy v. Dugger, 850 F.2d 1402) is the appeal of a prisoner sentenced to death in Florida. UPI’s report, datelined Starke, Florida, says he was executed on Tuesday, January 24, 1989, in Florida’s electric chair; Wikipedia places the execution at Florida State Prison.
By Elora Mercer, Celebrity Research WriterFigures checked by Leon Falkner, Data & Research AnalystReviewed by Aarav Vardhan, Editor-in-Chief · Last reviewed October 2026
Ted Bundy: 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 November 24 in Burlington, Vermont, as Theodore Robert Cowell.
- 1972Takes a bachelor’s degree in psychology at the University of Washington.
- 1973Matriculates at the University of Puget Sound law school after being accepted despite mediocre LSAT scores.
- 1974Moves to the University of Utah’s law school in the fall; Oxygen says he dropped out after about a year.
- 1976February: found guilty in Utah of kidnapping and assault; June: sentenced to one to fifteen years. A 90-day evaluation the same year is reported to show good results on standard tests, with no IQ given.
- 1978On September 21 tells a Florida court he has a psychology degree from the University of Washington and two years of law school.
- 1979–80Florida: three death sentences in two trials, two in 1979 and a third on February 10, 1980.
- 1988The Eleventh Circuit decides Bundy v. Dugger (850 F.2d 1402) on July 7.
- 1989Executed on January 24 in Florida’s electric chair.
- 2019Oxygen (January 25) says he reportedly had an IQ of 136, the earliest dated page we found that states the figure.
Where the 136 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.
Ted Bundy’s IQ is usually quoted as 136, and no page we opened that states it names a test, a date or a source. Grunge (Adrian Zupp, February 13, 2020) calls it “a very impressive 136,” Crime and Investigation UK says “around 136,” and Oxygen (Gina Tron, January 25, 2019) says he reportedly had that score. Oxygen is the earliest dated page we found. Celebrity IQ numbers often travel this way: one confident sentence, copied until it reads as fact.
The second number, 124, is the only one tied to a named test, and it has no record either. Dyerbolical (April 30, 2026) says he scored 124 on the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale and was estimated at 136 from his law-school performance. Grunge (William Fischer, December 18, 2023) gives 124 on the standard Wechsler scale and attributes it to Ann Rule’s book. A French page dates the test to February 1979. None shows a score sheet, and any single Wechsler result carries a margin of error.
Where did the idea of unusual intelligence come from? It came from reputation, before and apart from any test. A juror in his Florida trial, asked what he knew beforehand, recalled from press coverage that Bundy was “highly intelligent,” according to the Eleventh Circuit’s opinion of July 7, 1988. UPI’s report of the execution quotes a federal judge using the word genius while denying an appeal. A 2019 Refinery29 commentary argues that the popular picture of his brilliance is a myth. These are opinions, not scores.
Ted Bundy’s estimated IQ of 105–125 sits below the 136 that circulates; its top end sits near the 124 some pages attach to a Wechsler test. Ted Kaczynski’s page shows what a documented 136 looks like: a WAIS-R Full Scale score of May 1, 1996, recorded in a federal court document. Bundy’s 136 has nothing comparable. Closer parallels are Frank Morris, whose reported 133 traces to a 1962 newspaper, and Adolf Hitler, whose 141 is a list entry. A score near 125 is the top of this range.
How we read a number →Quotes Bundy telling the trial court on September 21, 1978: “I have a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from the University of Washington and two years of law school.” Records a juror’s pre-trial recollection that Bundy “is highly intelligent and he had some law background.” No IQ, WAIS or psychological test score appears in the text read.
“Serial killer Ted Bundy was executed Tuesday in Florida’s electric chair.” Quotes U.S. District Judge G. Kendall Sharp using the word genius while refusing an appeal. Calls him a former law school student. No IQ figure on the page.
Born Theodore Robert Cowell, November 24, 1946, Burlington, Vermont; graduated from the University of Washington in 1972 (infobox: BA); matriculated at Puget Sound law school in 1973; “mediocre LSAT scores”; Utah conviction for kidnapping and assault (February 1976, 1 to 15 years); three Florida death sentences in two trials; executed January 24, 1989. No IQ figure found in the article text.
Bachelor’s degree in psychology in 1972; briefly at the University of Puget Sound law school before transferring to the University of Utah’s law school in the fall of 1974; “regarded by his peers as scholarly”; electrocuted January 24, 1989 at Florida State Prison in Starke. No IQ or test mentioned.
Tron: undergraduate degree in psychology in 1972, mediocre LSATs, dropped out of the Utah law school after about a year, and “he reportedly had an IQ of 136.” Sederstrom: performed well on standard psychological tests in a 1976 evaluation on a 90-day hold; no IQ or scores given.
Zupp: “a very impressive 136,” no test, date or source named. Fischer: his IQ “was 124 on the standard Wechsler scale,” attributed to Ann Rule’s book; “Bundy never finished his law degree.”
States he had an IQ of around 136; no test, date, source or author given on the page.
Dyerbolical: 124 on the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, 136 estimated by psychologists from law-school performance; no test date, no named psychologist. French page: 124 from a WAIS in February 1979, with a named supervising psychiatrist and no document cited.
Commentary: says Bundy got mediocre LSAT scores and stopped going to class, and calls the popular image of his brilliance a myth. Opinion, not a test record.
No score sheet, court exhibit, prison file or institutional page stating an IQ was found in any page opened: Wikipedia, the Eleventh Circuit opinion, Encyclopedia.com, the UPI report and the Oxygen articles contain none. The FBI and Biography.com pages returned HTTP 403, Ann Rule’s book could not be read, and one academic case-file PDF failed a certificate check, so none of these is cited.
The sources behind our estimate
The figures that circulate for Ted Bundy, what we were able to confirm, and where the two diverge.
136 is the figure that circulates for Ted Bundy’s IQ. Grunge (Adrian Zupp, February 13, 2020) calls it “a very impressive 136,” Crime and Investigation UK says he had an IQ of around 136, and Oxygen (Gina Tron, January 25, 2019) says he reportedly had that score. A second figure, 124 on a Wechsler scale, appears on Dyerbolical (April 30, 2026), on Grunge (William Fischer, December 18, 2023, attributed to Ann Rule’s book) and on a French-language page.
Neither number comes with a document. The three pages that give 136 name no test, date or source; Oxygen adds the word “reportedly.” Dyerbolical gives 124 as a Wechsler result and 136 as a psychologists’ estimate from law-school performance, naming no psychologist and no test date. Grunge’s 2023 article attributes the 124 to Ann Rule’s book, which we could not read. The French page dates a Wechsler test to February 1979 and names a supervising psychiatrist but cites no document. The Eleventh Circuit’s opinion of July 7, 1988 and Wikipedia’s article contain no IQ figure.
The spread is 31 points, from the low end of this site’s range to 136. The 124 that some pages attach to a Wechsler test falls inside the range, near its top; the 136 sits 11 points above it. Both rest on repetition rather than a record, and the documented schooling is modest.
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.
Ted Bundy — frequently asked
What is Ted Bundy’s IQ?
Ted Bundy’s IQ is most often quoted as 136, but no test record for that figure appears in any source we opened. A second figure, 124 on a Wechsler scale, is also unsourced. From his 1972 psychology degree and unfinished law studies, this site infers an estimated IQ of 105–125, an inference rather than a measurement.
Did Ted Bundy take an IQ test?
Some pages say so, but none we opened shows a result. A 1976 evaluation is reported to have found he performed well on standard tests, with no IQ given, and a French page dates a Wechsler test to February 1979 without citing a document. He also took the LSAT, described as mediocre, with no score published.
What was Ted Bundy’s IQ level?
The Ted Bundy IQ level that circulates, 136, would sit near the 99th percentile on a scale with a standard deviation of 15 (our arithmetic), but no record supports it. This site’s estimated range of 105–125 runs from roughly the 63rd to the 95th percentile, and it is an inference from his schooling.
Is Ted Bundy’s IQ 136 or 124?
Neither is documented. The 136 appears on Grunge, Oxygen and Crime and Investigation UK with no test named. The 124 is given as a Wechsler score by Dyerbolical and, attributed to Ann Rule’s book, by Grunge. No page we opened shows a score sheet for either, so both are best treated as unverified.
Was Ted Bundy a genius?
Nothing documented shows it. His record is a 1972 psychology degree, admission to two law schools after a mediocre LSAT result, and no law degree. The genius label rests on opinions, such as a juror’s recollection of press coverage; a 2019 Refinery29 commentary calls the popular image of his brilliance a myth.
Did Ted Bundy graduate from college and law school?
He graduated from college but not from law school. He took a bachelor’s degree in psychology at the University of Washington in 1972. He attended the University of Puget Sound and University of Utah law schools; Oxygen says he dropped out of Utah after about a year, and Grunge says he never finished a law degree.
How does Ted Bundy’s estimated IQ compare with Ted Kaczynski’s?
This site’s range for Bundy, 105–125, sits below its 135–150 for Ted Kaczynski. The two share the number 136, but Kaczynski’s is a Full Scale WAIS-R score from May 1, 1996, recorded in a federal court document, while Bundy’s 136 has no test name, date or record behind it.
How does my IQ compare with Ted Bundy?
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 historical profiles, starting with Isaac Newton.
- 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 historical profiles — same field, same method
More historical
Booking photograph, U.S. Penitentiary, Alcatraz, 1960 (Commons file), public domain as a work of the U.S. federal government. · Portrait photograph of Adolf Hitler by Heinrich Hoffmann (1938; German Federal Archives, Bild 183-H1216-0500-002), retouched by Notwist; Commons file, CC BY-SA 3.0 DE. Cropped to the head and collar and with background removed for the portrait above. · Yuan-dynasty court portrait of Taizu (Genghis Khan), artist unknown, 14th century, in the collection of the National Palace Museum, Taipei; the painting is in the public domain (digitized copy via Shuge).
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