You’ve probably heard the rumors. Maybe you saw a meme claiming a certain modern president has the IQ of a genius, or perhaps you read that the founding fathers were all basically super-human. Honestly, most of those "IQ charts" floating around social media are total junk. They’re usually made up to make one political party look smart and the other look, well, not so smart.
But there is actual, real-deal research on this.
If you want to find the highest iq of a president, you have to look at the work of Dean Keith Simonton. He’s a psychologist at the University of California, Davis, who spent years using a method called "historiometry." Since we can’t exactly dig up George Washington and hand him a Scantron, Simonton looked at biographical data, academic records, and even the complexity of their writings to estimate their scores.
The result? The top spot isn't held by who you might think.
The Winner: John Quincy Adams
When people talk about the highest iq of a president, the name at the top of every legitimate list is John Quincy Adams. Simonton’s most corrected estimate puts his IQ at a staggering 175.
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To put that in perspective, the average person sits around 100. A score of 175 is deep into the "profoundly gifted" territory.
Why was he so smart? The guy was a literal child prodigy. He was traveling the world as a diplomat's assistant when most kids were still learning long division. By the time he was a teenager, he was fluent in seven languages, including Greek and Latin. He didn't even bother finishing law school because, frankly, he already knew the law better than most people practicing it. He was nicknamed "Old Man Eloquent," and while he wasn't the most popular guy in the room (intellectuals often aren't), his brain was objectively on another level.
The Runners Up: Jefferson, Madison, and the Moderns
It’s not just Adams, though. The early days of the Republic were basically a "Who's Who" of high-test scores.
- Thomas Jefferson (Estimated IQ: 160): Jefferson was the ultimate Renaissance man. He didn't just write the Declaration of Independence; he was an architect, a musician, a paleontologist, and an inventor. JFK once famously told a room full of Nobel Prize winners that they were the most intellectual talent ever gathered in the White House—except for when Jefferson dined alone.
- James Madison (Estimated IQ: 160): He was tiny (only 5’4”), but he was a giant intellectually. He’s the "Father of the Constitution," which is basically the most complex legal puzzle ever solved in American history.
- John F. Kennedy (Estimated IQ: 159.8): This one surprises people because JFK had a bit of a "playboy" reputation and wasn't always a great student at Harvard. But his later writings and his handling of the Cuban Missile Crisis showed a massive raw intellect.
- Bill Clinton (Estimated IQ: 159): Say what you will about his politics, but the man was a Rhodes Scholar. He has a photographic memory and can talk policy nuances for eight hours straight without looking at a single note.
Does a High IQ Make a Good President?
Kinda. But also, not really.
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Simonton actually found a bit of a "Goldilocks" problem. If a president is too much smarter than the public, there's a communication gap. They can’t explain their ideas in a way that regular people find relatable.
Look at John Quincy Adams again. He had the highest iq of a president, but his presidency was... fine? It wasn't amazing. He struggled to get his big ideas through Congress because he was often seen as arrogant and out of touch. Meanwhile, someone like Abraham Lincoln (estimated IQ of 150—still genius level, but lower than Adams) is widely considered our greatest leader because he had the emotional intelligence to match his raw brainpower.
The Problem With Modern Scores
Here’s the thing: we don't have official IQ scores for most modern presidents. They don't release them. Why would they? If it's high, they look like an elitist; if it's low, they look like a dummy.
Researchers have to guess based on things like their SAT scores (if known) or the "readability" of their speeches. For instance, Barack Obama is generally placed in the high-intellect category by historians, with his classmates at Harvard Law describing him as being on a "different plane" than everyone else. On the flip side, George W. Bush often got a bad rap for his "Bushisms," but Simonton’s estimate actually put him around 125—which is still smarter than about 95% of the population.
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The "Dumbing Down" Myth
There’s this common idea that presidents are getting dumber. Honestly, it’s probably just that politics has changed. In 1800, you wrote long, complex essays to get your point across. In 2026, you use TikTok and 280-character posts.
Simonton noted that as the presidency became more "democratic" and open to the popular vote, candidates started trying to sound more like "regular people." Being an intellectual giant became a bit of a liability. You don't want to be the smartest guy in the room; you want to be the guy people want to have a beer with.
How to Spot Fake Presidential IQ Stats
If you see a chart that says a certain president has an IQ of 190, it’s fake. Almost certainly.
- Check the Source: If it's not referencing Simonton or the Cox study, be skeptical.
- Look for Round Numbers: IQ scores are rarely exactly 200 or 180.
- Watch for Bias: If the list says every Democrat is a genius and every Republican is a moron (or vice versa), it’s propaganda, not science.
Your Brain vs. The Oval Office
If you’re curious about how you stack up against the highest iq of a president, remember that IQ is just one flavor of "smart."
John Quincy Adams could speak seven languages but couldn't win a second term. Truman didn't have a college degree but rebuilt Europe after WWII. If you want to dive deeper into how these leaders used their brains, start by reading their personal diaries rather than just looking at a number. The numbers are fun, but the way they handled a crisis tells you way more about their "real" intelligence.
Next Steps for You:
If you want to see the actual data for yourself, you should check out Dean Keith Simonton's 2006 study titled Presidential IQ, Openness, Intellectual Brilliance, and Leadership. It’s a bit of a dense read, but it breaks down exactly how these scores were calculated. You can also look into the "Lovenstein Study"—but be careful, that one was a famous internet hoax from the early 2000s that still trips people up today.