A new map shows which state in the United States has the highest IQ, providing insight into the nation’s intellectual landscape and socioeconomic factors that influence intelligence.
Measures of Intelligence Quotient (IQ) evaluates a variety of cognitive abilities and seeks to quantify them using a two- or three-digit score.
While these have been criticized for failing to accurately reflect genuine intelligence by ignoring other criteria, such as creativity or social intelligence, they are still largely regarded as a measure of overall brain ability.
Data Pandas’ global ranking shows Japan has the highest average IQ at 106.48. Other East Asian countries and a few European nations fill the remaining top 10 spots.
American ranks 29th, with an average IQ of 97.43, slightly lower than the 100-mark average in most tests.
Data Pandas used public data from IQ tests, SAT, and ACT scores to construct a list of US states by average IQ.
Massachusetts leads the list, with an average IQ of 104.3, six points higher than the national average of 98.
The state is well-known for its academic institutions, with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard consistently ranked among the best universities in the United States.
According to a recent WalletHub report, Massachusetts has the best public school systems in the country and the fourth-lowest dropout rate.
A 2022 analysis by USAFacts and Georgetown University’s Edunomics Lab revealed that Massachusetts invests considerably in its kids, placing sixth and spending a median of $17,136 per student per $5,000 more than the national average.
New Hampshire, which ranks second higher than Massachusetts in student expenditure, has the nation’s second-highest average IQ at 104.2, missing the first place by 0.1 points.
North Dakota came third with an average IQ of 103.8, and the remainder, including the other ten stated, are from the Upper Midwest and New England.
Donald Trump‘s favorite statistic is intelligence quotient, which he describes as “one of the highest” while slamming his adversaries.
In 2013, Trump corrected a Twitter (Now X) user who suggested his IQ was “somewhere between Barack Obama and G.W. Bush,” saying it was “much higher than both.”
However, the former president has never released the results of any IQ tests he may have taken. His home state of New York ranks number 26 in the Data Pandas ranking, with an average score of 100.7.
Mississippi has the lowest average IQ in the ranking, at 94.2. Mississippi is ranked 43rd on WalletHub’s list of the nation’s top school systems.
According to the Center for American Progress, Mississippi is also one of the poorest states in the US, with 19.2 percent of its population living below the poverty line. However, the state has attempted to address its educational issues.
Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves signed new legislation into law, altering how public schools are funded.
According to Empower Mississippi, the Mississippi Student Funding Formula uses a “weighted” funding structure to allocate tax dollars to districts based on students’ characteristics. It will provide additional funds for students who live in poverty, have needs or dyslexia, and speak English as a second language.
