Ever wonder if the person sitting behind the Resolute Desk is actually the smartest person in the room? We love to obsess over it. We rank their height, their net worth, and their golfing handicap, so of course, we’re going to look at a presidents IQ ranking. But here is the thing: nobody actually sat John Adams or Barack Obama down in a room with a No. 2 pencil and a proctor to take a standardized test.
It never happened.
Most of those viral charts you see on social media are basically fan fiction. They're built on a house of cards. Yet, there is a real, peer-reviewed study that historians and psychologists point to when they want to get serious about presidential brains. In 2006, Dean Keith Simonton, a psychologist from the University of California, Davis, released a massive study. He didn't just guess. He used "historiometric" data—basically looking at biographical records, speeches, and writings to estimate where these guys would land on a standard IQ scale.
The Real Numbers Behind the Presidents IQ Ranking
Simonton’s research is the gold standard here, even if it's still an estimate. He looked at four different types of intellectual brilliance. What he found wasn't just a list of "smart" and "dumb." It was a nuanced look at how personality traits like "Openness to Experience" correlate with IQ.
John Quincy Adams usually tops the list. Estimates put him somewhere between 165 and 175. That is staggering. For context, 100 is average. 140 is generally considered "genius" territory. Adams was a polyglot who began his diplomatic career as a teenager. He was arguably over-educated for the job of being a politician, which might explain why his presidency was kind of a slog.
Then you have the "philosopher kings." Thomas Jefferson and James Madison are always near the summit. Jefferson wasn't just a politician; he was an architect, a botanist, and a gadget nerd. Madison, the primary architect of the Constitution, had a brain that functioned like a Swiss watch. Their IQ estimates frequently land in the 150 to 160 range.
But does a high score actually make you a good leader?
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Why the Smartest Guys Often Struggle
Honestly, being a genius can be a liability in the Oval Office. Look at Woodrow Wilson. High IQ, former president of Princeton University, but he was often seen as rigid and condescending. He couldn't "work the room." Contrast that with someone like Ronald Reagan or Harry Truman.
Truman is an interesting case in the presidents IQ ranking world. His estimated IQ is often cited around 127 to 132. That's very high, obviously, but lower than the "super-geniuses" like Bill Clinton (estimated 148-156) or John F. Kennedy (estimated 150). Yet, Truman made some of the most consequential decisions in human history. He didn't have a college degree. He was a haberdasher. He proved that "street smarts" and decisiveness often outweigh raw processing power when the world is on fire.
The Problem With the "Low IQ" Myth
We have to talk about the bottom of the list because that’s where the clickbait lives. Ulysses S. Grant and Warren G. Harding often get stuck with lower scores, sometimes in the 115-125 range. But "lower" is relative. A 120 IQ still puts a person in the top 10% of the population.
The idea that we’ve had "dumb" presidents is mostly political propaganda from their contemporary rivals. Grant, for instance, wrote memoirs that are still considered some of the finest English prose of the 19th century. Mark Twain published them! A "dumb" person doesn't write like that.
The Modern Era: Why We Can't Rank Recent Presidents Fairly
Things get messy when we talk about presidents from the last thirty years. Simonton’s original study only went up to George W. Bush. After that, the data gets heavily skewed by partisan bias.
You’ve probably seen those memes claiming one recent president had an IQ of 180 while another had an 80. They are both lies. Total nonsense. Every modern president has been a graduate of an elite university or has navigated the insanely complex gauntlet of a national campaign. You don't get through a Harvard Law review or a Yale degree by being "average."
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- Bill Clinton: Known for a photographic memory.
- Barack Obama: High intellectual flexibility and oratorical skill.
- George W. Bush: Often mocked, but his SAT scores (which are a proxy for IQ) were actually higher than John Kerry’s.
- Donald Trump: Shows high "social intelligence" and branding intuition, though he rejects traditional academic metrics.
The reality is that to even get into the conversation for the presidency, your IQ is likely at least two standard deviations above the norm. The difference between a 140 and a 150 IQ in the White House is negligible compared to their ability to manage a cabinet or handle a crisis.
Intellectual Brilliance vs. Emotional Intelligence
There is a huge gap between being "book smart" and having "presidential character." Psychologists call this EQ (Emotional Quotient).
Abraham Lincoln is the perfect example. His estimated IQ is high (around 145-150), but his real strength was his empathy and his ability to hold a fractured team together. He was a master of the "long game." He could sit in a room with people who hated him and eventually turn them into allies. That isn't just IQ. That is wisdom.
On the flip side, you have Richard Nixon. Nixon was objectively brilliant. His IQ was likely in the 140s. He had a strategic mind that changed the world’s relationship with China. But his insecurities—his lack of emotional stability—eventually caused his downfall. His brain was his best tool and his worst enemy.
How Historians Actually Measure Presidential "Smarts"
If we can’t give them a test, how do we know? Simonton used several "indicators of intellectual brilliance" that you can actually look up yourself:
- Logical Analysis: How do they handle complex, competing ideas in their writing?
- Openness: Are they interested in art, science, and new cultures? (Jefferson scores 10/10 here).
- Communication: Can they simplify complex ideas without losing the nuance?
- Academic Record: Where did they go, and how did they do? (Though this is flawed for the 1700s).
When you look at a presidents IQ ranking through this lens, the list becomes more about "intellectual style" than a simple number. Some presidents are "hedgehogs" (they know one big thing) and some are "foxes" (they know many small things).
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The "Greatness" Correlation
Is there a link between IQ and being a "Great" president? Sort of.
The C-SPAN Presidential Historian Survey usually ranks Lincoln, Washington, and FDR as the top three. Washington is an outlier. His estimated IQ is often around 130-140—high, but not "top tier" on the list. He wasn't a deep theorist like Madison or a scientist like Jefferson. But he had incredible judgment.
Judgment is the "dark matter" of the presidency. You can't measure it with an IQ test, but you know when it's missing.
What You Should Take Away From the Rankings
If you’re looking at a presidents IQ ranking to prove your favorite candidate was a genius and their opponent was a moron, you’re going to be disappointed. The data just doesn't support the "dumb president" narrative.
What the data does show is that we tend to elect people who are significantly more intellectually capable than the average citizen, but we often punish them for appearing "too smart" or "elitist." It’s the great American paradox: we want a genius to run the economy, but we want to be able to have a beer with them.
Actionable Insights for Evaluating Leaders
Since we can't give every candidate an IQ test, look for these "Simonton Indicators" instead:
- Complexity of Speech: Does the person acknowledge that problems are difficult, or do they offer three-word slogans for 100-year-old problems? High intellectual brilliance usually correlates with an appreciation for nuance.
- Curiosity: Look at their hobbies and reading lists. A president who doesn't read or show interest in fields outside of politics often lacks the "Openness" trait associated with high IQ.
- Adaptability: Can they change their mind when presented with new data? This is a hallmark of high-functioning intelligence.
- Don't trust the memes: If a graphic claims a president has an IQ of 190 (higher than Einstein) or 70 (intellectual disability), it is fake. Period.
The next time a presidents IQ ranking pops up in your feed, remember that the most important "smart" in the White House isn't the ability to solve a math problem. It’s the ability to solve a human one.
Check the bibliographies of Dean Keith Simonton's work if you want to see the raw data—it’s a fascinating look at how we quantify the unquantifiable. Stop looking for a single number and start looking at how these leaders processed the world around them. That's where the real intelligence lies.