Average IQ by Profession: 70+ Jobs Ranked by Intelligence

One of the most frequent questions people ask after taking an IQ test is: "How does my score compare to people in my profession?" It is a fair question. Decades of occupational research have shown that cognitive ability is one of the strongest predictors of job performance and career attainment, and different professions attract people with meaningfully different average IQ scores.

This article compiles data from multiple large-scale studies — including the landmark research by Frank Schmidt and John Hunter (1998, 2004), the U.S. Department of Labor's GATB (General Aptitude Test Battery) data, and occupational IQ estimates derived from the NLSY79 (National Longitudinal Survey of Youth) — to present average IQ ranges for more than 70 professions.

How Are Occupational IQ Averages Measured?

Occupational IQ data comes from several sources, each with distinct methodologies:

• NLSY79 (National Longitudinal Survey of Youth): Tracked over 12,000 Americans who took the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) in 1980, then followed their career outcomes for decades. ASVAB scores correlate strongly with IQ (r = 0.85+). Researchers like Linda Gottfredson used this data to estimate mean IQ by occupation.
• GATB norms: The U.S. Employment Service administered the General Aptitude Test Battery to millions of job applicants across hundreds of occupations from the 1940s through the 1990s. The General Learning Ability (GLA) composite maps closely to general intelligence.
• Meta-analyses: Schmidt and Hunter's meta-analytic research, spanning 85 years of workplace data, established that general mental ability (GMA) is the single best predictor of job performance across all job types, with validity coefficients ranging from 0.23 for unskilled jobs to 0.58 for professional-managerial positions.
• Graduate entrance exams: Average GRE, LSAT, MCAT, and other standardized test scores by field provide indirect estimates of cognitive ability in professional populations.

Important caveats: The figures below represent averages — there is substantial variation within every profession. An IQ of 100 does not disqualify someone from medicine, nor does an IQ of 140 guarantee success in physics. These numbers describe group tendencies, not individual ceilings or floors. Additionally, most of this data comes from U.S. and Western European samples and may not generalize to all populations.

Complete Table: Average IQ by Profession

Professions are grouped by category and sorted by estimated average IQ within each group. Ranges reflect the spread across different studies; a single point estimate would be misleading given measurement variability.

Profession	Est. Avg IQ Range	Typical Education
STEM & Research
Physicist / Astronomer	130–138	Ph.D.
Mathematician	130–136	Ph.D.
Computer Scientist (Research)	127–134	Ph.D.
Chemical Engineer	125–132	B.S.–M.S.
Electrical Engineer	124–131	B.S.–M.S.
Aerospace Engineer	124–130	B.S.–M.S.
Software Engineer	120–128	B.S.–M.S.
Civil Engineer	118–126	B.S.
Chemist	123–130	B.S.–Ph.D.
Biologist / Microbiologist	120–128	B.S.–Ph.D.
Statistician / Data Scientist	122–130	M.S.–Ph.D.
Geologist	118–125	B.S.–M.S.
IT / Systems Administrator	110–118	B.S. / Certs
Medical & Health
Physician / Surgeon	125–135	M.D. / D.O.
Psychiatrist	125–133	M.D.
Dentist	120–128	D.D.S. / D.M.D.
Pharmacist	118–126	Pharm.D.
Veterinarian	118–126	D.V.M.
Optometrist	116–124	O.D.
Physical Therapist	112–120	D.P.T.
Registered Nurse	110–118	B.S.N.
Paramedic / EMT	103–112	Certificate–A.S.
Medical / Dental Assistant	98–107	Certificate
Legal & Policy
Attorney (Top-14 Law School)	127–135	J.D.
Attorney (General Practice)	120–128	J.D.
Judge	122–130	J.D.
Policy Analyst	118–125	M.A.–Ph.D.
Paralegal	105–114	A.S.–B.A.
Business, Finance & Management
Investment Banker / Quant Analyst	125–133	M.B.A. / M.S.
Actuary	125–132	B.S.–M.S.
Economist	122–130	M.A.–Ph.D.
Management Consultant	120–128	M.B.A.
Certified Public Accountant	115–124	B.S.–M.S.
Financial Analyst	115–123	B.S.–M.B.A.
Marketing Manager	112–120	B.A.–M.B.A.
Human Resources Manager	108–116	B.A.–M.A.
Sales Manager	106–114	B.A.
Retail Manager	100–108	H.S.–B.A.
Education & Social Science
University Professor	125–133	Ph.D.
School Psychologist	118–125	Ed.S.–Ph.D.
High School Teacher (Math/Science)	112–120	B.S.–M.Ed.
High School Teacher (Humanities)	110–118	B.A.–M.Ed.
Elementary School Teacher	106–114	B.A.–M.Ed.
Social Worker	105–113	B.S.W.–M.S.W.
Librarian	110–118	M.L.I.S.
Teacher's Aide	95–105	H.S.–A.A.
Creative & Media
Architect	118–126	B.Arch.–M.Arch.
Journalist / Editor	112–120	B.A.
Technical Writer	112–120	B.A.–B.S.
Graphic Designer	105–113	B.F.A.
Musician (Professional)	108–118	Varies
Photographer	102–112	Varies
Skilled Trades & Technical
Aircraft Mechanic / Avionics Tech	108–116	A.S. / Cert.
Electrician	104–112	Apprenticeship
Machinist / CNC Operator	103–111	Apprenticeship
Plumber	102–110	Apprenticeship
HVAC Technician	101–110	Apprenticeship
Welder	100–108	Certificate
Carpenter	100–108	Apprenticeship
Auto Mechanic	99–107	Certificate
Truck Driver (Long-Haul)	96–104	CDL
Construction Laborer	93–101	H.S. / OJT
Protective Services
FBI / CIA Analyst	118–128	B.A.–M.A.
Military Officer	112–122	B.S.–M.S.
Firefighter	103–111	H.S.–A.S.
Police Officer	100–110	H.S.–B.A.
Correctional Officer	96–105	H.S.–A.S.
Military Enlisted (General)	97–108	H.S.
Service & Administrative
Executive Assistant	104–112	A.A.–B.A.
Bank Teller	100–108	H.S.–A.A.
Chef / Head Cook	98–107	Culinary cert.
Receptionist	96–105	H.S.
Retail Salesperson	95–104	H.S.
Waiter / Waitress	95–103	H.S.
Home Health Aide	93–102	Certificate
Janitor / Custodian	90–100	None–H.S.
Food Prep Worker	90–99	None–H.S.

Why IQ Varies by Profession

The variation in average IQ across professions is not random. Several well-documented mechanisms drive the pattern:

1. Educational Filtering

Higher-IQ professions almost universally require more years of education — and education itself acts as a cognitive filter. Medical school admission requires MCAT scores that effectively screen for top-decile cognitive ability. Law school demands LSAT scores that correlate with IQ at approximately r = 0.80 (Frey and Detterman, 2004). Each educational hurdle removes candidates from the lower end of the cognitive distribution.

2. Cognitive Demands of the Work

Jobs differ enormously in what researchers call "cognitive complexity." Frank Schmidt and John Hunter's meta-analyses showed that the validity of IQ for predicting job performance increases linearly with job complexity. A physicist solving differential equations daily faces cognitive demands that naturally select for higher abstract reasoning ability than a role focused on routine physical tasks.

3. Self-Selection

People tend to gravitate toward work that matches their cognitive strengths. Someone who finds abstract math effortless is more likely to pursue engineering than someone who finds it painful. Over time, this sorting mechanism concentrates higher-IQ individuals in cognitively demanding fields and distributes others into roles that reward different strengths — social skills, physical ability, artistic talent, or practical know-how.

4. Compensation and Prestige Gradients

Higher-IQ professions tend to offer higher compensation, which creates additional competitive pressure. When thousands of intelligent candidates compete for limited medical residency slots or investment banking positions, the cognitive threshold rises further through market selection.

What the Data Does NOT Mean

Before drawing conclusions from the table above, several important caveats deserve emphasis:

• IQ is not the only factor in career success. Conscientiousness, social skills, physical health, socioeconomic background, network access, and plain luck all play major roles. Schmidt and Hunter found that adding conscientiousness to IQ significantly improved prediction of job performance beyond IQ alone.
• Averages obscure enormous within-group variation. The standard deviation of IQ within most professions is 10-15 points. There are electricians with IQs of 130 and physicians with IQs of 110. The overlap between adjacent professions is substantial.
• IQ does not measure all forms of intelligence. Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences, while debated among psychometricians, highlights real domains — bodily-kinesthetic, musical, interpersonal — where traditional IQ tests are silent. A master carpenter's spatial intelligence and hand-eye coordination represent genuine cognitive gifts that IQ tests barely capture.
• Historical and systemic barriers have restricted access to high-IQ professions for women, minorities, and people from low-income backgrounds — meaning the occupational IQ distribution partly reflects opportunity structures, not just ability.
• These numbers shift over time. The Flynn Effect (rising IQ scores over generations) and changing educational access mean that occupational IQ averages measured in the 1970s GATB data may not perfectly match contemporary values.

IQ and Job Performance: What the Research Shows

The relationship between IQ and job performance is among the most replicated findings in industrial-organizational psychology. Key findings from the literature:

• Schmidt and Hunter (1998): Meta-analysis of 85 years of research found that general mental ability (GMA) has the highest validity of any single predictor for job performance, with mean validity of 0.51 across all job types.
• Validity by complexity level: For high-complexity jobs (professional/managerial), GMA validity rises to 0.58. For medium-complexity jobs, it is 0.51. For low-complexity jobs, 0.23. This means IQ matters more for complex work, but still predicts performance even in simpler roles.
• Training success: GMA predicts success in job training programs at r = 0.56, higher than any other single predictor.
• Diminishing returns at the top? Some researchers have argued for a "threshold theory" — that beyond a certain IQ level (around 120), additional IQ points add little. However, more recent research by Kell, Lubinski, and Benbow (2013) using the SMPY (Study of Mathematically Precocious Youth) data found that differences in cognitive ability even within the top 1% predicted meaningfully different career outcomes decades later.

IQ by Profession: Key Patterns

The 130+ Tier: Research and High-Complexity Professional

Physicists, mathematicians, physicians, top-tier attorneys, and research scientists cluster at 125-138. These roles demand sustained abstract reasoning, massive information integration, and years of intense academic selection. Notably, the very highest averages belong not to the highest-paid professions but to pure research roles — physics and mathematics — where the work itself is almost entirely abstract cognition.

The 110-125 Tier: Professional and Technical

Engineers, accountants, teachers, nurses, architects, and mid-level managers fall here. These professions require significant cognitive ability but also rely heavily on practical knowledge, interpersonal skills, and domain-specific expertise. A registered nurse with an IQ of 115 may outperform a colleague with an IQ of 125 if she has better clinical intuition and patient communication skills.

The 95-110 Tier: Skilled Trades and Service

Electricians, plumbers, police officers, administrative staff, and retail managers cluster around the national average. This does not mean these jobs are "easy" — many skilled trades require years of apprenticeship and sophisticated spatial reasoning. It means that the specific cognitive abilities measured by IQ tests are less central to performance than hands-on skill, experience, and practical judgment.

Below 95: Entry-Level and Manual Labor

Food preparation workers, janitors, and general laborers average slightly below the national mean. These roles typically have minimal educational requirements and lower cognitive complexity on the Schmidt-Hunter scale. However, many individuals in these roles have IQs well above average — they may be there by choice, circumstance, or because they value other aspects of the work.

The Career-IQ Connection Beyond Averages

If you are choosing a career, or wondering whether you are in the right one, remember that IQ is just one dimension of the fit equation. Research from the vocational psychology literature (Holland, 1997; Rounds and Su, 2014) shows that interest-ability alignment predicts career satisfaction better than ability alone. Someone with an IQ of 115 who is passionate about teaching will likely be happier and more successful than the same person forcing themselves through medical school.

Explore your career-intelligence fit with tools like Real World Careers, which matches cognitive profiles to career paths. And if you are curious about how intelligence interacts with relationship dynamics, RELIQ assesses the cognitive compatibility dimension of partnerships.

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