States with highest and lowest average IQs revealed in map

A new map has revealed which US states have the highest and lowest IQs among children.

The data was compiled through exams given to fourth and eighth graders, showing those living in the Northeast and Midwest are among the smartest in the nation.

Massachusetts was found to have the highest IQs with an average of 104.3, followed by New Hampshire. The only state not in New England is North Dakota, which has a reputation for having a strong education system.

But children living in two southern states, Mississippi and Louisiana, had the lowest IQs.

The map, compiled by Visual Capitalist, was based on IQ tests, standardized tests that provide a measure of someone’s intelligence, which were carried out as part of the Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competency and the National Assessment of Educational Progress.

IQs are classified into seven categories ranging from extremely low (69 and below) to very superior (130 and above). 

The global average IQ is 100 and all scores in the US fell within average classification.  

The average IQ for children in Mississippi was 94 and Louisiana came in second with 95.3.

The two states were followed by California (95.5), Hawaii (95.6) and Alabama and New Mexico, both at 95.7.

Vermont with a 103.8 average IQ and Montana (103.4) rounded out the five top states.

Additional findings from a 2022 research paper in the Journal of Intelligence, which revealed similar IQ rankings, compared IQ to other variables including crime, income, health and education.

The research found higher state IQs correlated strongly to higher incomes, more wellbeing and better education and health.

Massachusetts - home to 114 universities, including Harvard - ranks second in income and first in education and well-being.

The state ranks eighth in crime and seventh in health.

By comparison, Louisiana, which is 49th in IQ, has similarly low scores in all the markers used to rank wellbeing.

The state is 43rd in health, 45th in education, 46th in global well-being, 48th in income, and last in crime.

The study found a strong correlation overall with levels of spending on education, with New Hampshire having high levels of expenditure on education.

North Dakota - with the third-highest average IQ - has a strong education system, with an excellent average SAT score of 1212 and a high graduation rate of 94 percent.

The states which scored low, such as Mississippi, New Mexico and Arkansas (95.7), tend to have relatively low scores for well-being based on crime, education and health.

Mississippi is ranked 50th for education. New Mexico is ranked 43rd for education and wellbeing, as well as 44th for crime.

And Arkansas is ranked 48th for wellbeing, 49th for crime and 47th for education. 

The research also found a slight negative correlation between conservatism and IQ, meaning IQs tend to be lower in conservative states.

Additionally, the paper found average state IQ correlates to the number of people who have been vaccinated against Covid-19, with a higher number of vaccinations associated with higher IQs.

The study author, Bryan J Pesta, cited several previous studies that show a correlation between conservatism and low state IQs.

He wrote: 'They show that state-level conservatism is associated with lower IQ. Consistent with this, state IQ also correlates strongly with state-level income inequality. That is, as IQ scores go up, state income inequality goes down.'

But the study found only a ‘weak’ link between people who voted for Biden in 2020 and higher IQs.

Perhaps surprisingly, there is a strong association with alcohol use and higher IQs.

Pesta wrote: 'State IQ correlates strongly with alcohol consumption. Surprisingly, however, the relation is direct. Thus, there appears to be a consistent, positive correlation between IQ and alcohol consumption…. 

'At present, I have no explanation for why alcohol consumption is associated with better health outcomes at the state level.’

Pesta noted several previous studies also found an association between higher IQs and higher levels of alcohol consumption.

The research also compared current IQs in the United States with previous estimates in 2016 and in 1922 - and found things have stayed relatively stable.

Between 2016 and 2022, the scores correlated 0.93, and even between 1922 and 2022 there was an 0.58 correlation.

Pesta said it shows ‘shows strong stability across many years.’