What Does an IQ of 112 Mean? IQ Test 112, Percentile and Is It Good?

IQ test 112 means the 78.8th percentile on the standard scale, where the average is 100 and one standard deviation (SD) is 15 points. About 1 person in 4.7 scores 112 or higher. Wechsler reports call it High Average. On a scale with an SD of 16 the same number is the 77.3rd percentile.

Below: the percentile on three scales, where 112 sits beside 110, 115 and 120, what the labels say, and how far one test can move it. The finding most pages skip: a 112 is about 9 times as common as a 130, and its true range runs from the Average band into the Very High band.

Key takeaways

• Percentile: 78.8th on SD 15 (21.2% score higher, about 1 in 4.7), 77.3rd on SD 16 and 69.1st on SD 24, the Cattell scale.
• Label: High Average on the Wechsler scales, which start that band at 110 and end it at 119.
• Good? Yes, above average. It is not a Mensa score: the Wechsler line is 130.
• Precision: with a standard error of 2.9 points, a reported 112 fits a true score of about 106 to 118.
• Online: a 112 from an online quiz compares you with that site’s sample, not with a clinical norm group.

What percentile is an IQ of 112?

The 78.8th percentile on the scale most clinical tests use. That means 78.8% of people score below 112 and 21.2% score 112 or higher.

Here is the sum. The z-score is (112 minus 100) divided by 15, which is 0.80. A normal curve puts 78.8% of people below that point. One divided by 0.212 is about 4.7, so roughly 1 person in 5 scores 112 or higher. In a school of 1,500 that is about 318 pupils. Our IQ percentile calculator runs the same sum for any score.

Is 112 IQ the same on every scale?

No. The scale decides what 112 means. Most modern tests use an SD of 15, but some use 16 or 24, and the same number sits at a different distance from average on each.

Read the table both ways. A 112 on an SD 16 test is worth about 111 on an SD 15 test, and a 112 on the Cattell scale is worth only about 108. The IQ score converter moves a score between scales, and our guide to the IQ bell curve shows why the curve has the same shape on all of them.

Is 112 IQ good, and is 112 IQ above average?

Yes to both. A 112 is above the average of 100, and it is in the High Average band on the Wechsler scales.

The WISC-V sorts scores into bands: Average is 90 to 109, High Average is 110 to 119, Very High is 120 to 129 and Extremely High is 130 and above. That is the chart printed in our guide to what an IQ of 110 means. A 112 sits two points inside the High Average band. Other tests draw their lines elsewhere, so the word on your report depends on the publisher. Our IQ classification chart lays the labels side by side.

For the range that counts as typical, see our guide to what a normal IQ is and the average IQ test score page. A 112 is above both.

How does an IQ of 112 compare with 110, 115, 120 and 130?

A 112 sits between a 110 and a 115, and well below the 120 and 130 that many people ask about. The steps are small in the middle of the curve.

A 112 is about 9 times as common as a 130. Our guide to an IQ of 135 covers the territory above the Mensa line, and the news explainer on how rare a high IQ score is shows where each step lands. The IQ test range page maps the whole scale.

How precise is an IQ test 112 score?

Within about 6 points either side. No IQ score is exact, and the WISC-V Full Scale IQ has an average standard error of measurement of 2.9 points, according to Pearson.

A 95% interval is roughly 1.96 standard errors either side, so a reported 112 fits a true standing of about 106 to 118. The low end is Average and the high end is High Average, close to Very High. That is why one 112 is a range and not a verdict. Our explainer on the margin of error in an IQ score shows how to read it.

How many people score an IQ of 112 or higher?

About 1 in 5. On the standard scale 21.2% of people score 112 or higher, so a 112 is common enough to meet every day.

These are expected counts for a normal curve, not census figures. They show why a 112 is a solid result and not a rare one.

What percentile range does one 112 cover?

About the 66th to the 88th percentile. Because a reported 112 fits a true score of 106 to 118, the percentile moves with it.

That spread of 23 percentile points is the real meaning of “a margin of error of a few points”. A retest could land anywhere in it without anything about the person changing.

Does an IQ of 112 qualify for Mensa or a gifted programme?

No for Mensa. It asks for the top 2% of the population, which is 130 on a Wechsler test, and a 112 is the 78.8th percentile, well short of that.

Gifted programmes set their own lines, and few start as low as the 79th percentile. Our guides to the score you need for Mensa and to gifted cutoff scores list the lines in use. A 112 is still a solid, above-average result, and far more common than the numbers on lists of celebs with high IQ.

What does a 112 mean on an online IQ test?

It places you against that site’s own sample, not against a clinical norm group. An online 112 is an estimate, and it says little unless the site names its scale and its sample.

If you want a score with a percentile beside it, take the IQ test and compare your result with the tables above. Note which scale it uses before you compare.

Quick answers

• What percentile is an IQ of 112? The 78.8th on SD 15 (about 1 in 4.7 score higher) and the 77.3rd on SD 16.
• Is 112 IQ good? Yes. It is above average and in the High Average band on the Wechsler scales.
• Is 112 IQ above average? Yes, by 12 points, which is 0.8 of a standard deviation.
• Does an IQ test 112 qualify for Mensa? No. The Wechsler line is 130.
• How many people score 112 or higher? About 21.2% on SD 15, roughly 318 in a school of 1,500.

The bottom line

An IQ of 112 is a good, above-average score: the 78.8th percentile on SD 15, with about 1 person in 4.7 scoring higher. It is High Average on the Wechsler scales and below the Mensa line. Because a single score carries a range of about 106 to 118, ask which test and which scale produced the 112 before you compare it with anything.

Sources

• Pearson, WISC-V: the score bands (High Average 110 to 119) and the 2.9-point average standard error of measurement of the Full Scale IQ, as set out in our guide to an IQ of 110.
• Mensa International, how to join: the top 2% rule.
• Percentiles, rarity and the 95% range are our arithmetic from the normal curve: z = (score minus 100) divided by the SD, with the upper tail from the complementary error function.