You're sitting in a cramped recruiting office, the smell of floor wax is hitting you hard, and someone hands you a printout with a bunch of numbers. Your eyes dart straight to the AFQT percentile. You see a 55. Or maybe an 82. You ask the sergeant, "Is this good?" They give you a thumbs-up and say you’re qualified. But honestly, that doesn't tell you much.
What is a good ASVAB score? It depends entirely on whether you just want to "get in" or if you want the military to pay you to learn a high-six-figure skill like cyber security or nuclear engineering.
The Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery isn't an IQ test. It’s a gatekeeper. If you treat it like a high school history quiz, you're doing it wrong. A "good" score is a moving target. It fluctuates based on whether the Army is hitting its recruiting goals or if the Air Force is feeling particularly picky this month.
The Magic Number 31 and the Reality of "Passing"
Technically, you don't "pass" the ASVAB. You qualify. If you're looking at the Army, the minimum AFQT score is usually a 31. If you score a 31, you're in the 31st percentile of test-takers. You're better than 30% of the people who took the test.
Is a 31 good? No. Not really.
A 31 is the bare minimum. It gets you a uniform, but it doesn't get you a choice. When you score at the bottom of the barrel, the military chooses your job for you. You might end up hauling fuel in the desert or scrubbing decks when you actually wanted to be a medic. If you want leverage, you need to aim higher. Most career counselors will tell you that a 50 is the "average" baseline, but if you have your heart set on the Coast Guard or the Air Force, you better be looking at 65 or higher just to feel safe.
The stakes are higher than people realize. For instance, the Department of Defense uses the AFQT (Armed Forces Qualification Test) score—which is derived from four specific subtests: Word Knowledge, Paragraph Comprehension, Arithmetic Reasoning, and Mathematics Knowledge—to determine your general eligibility. But that’s just the start.
Why Your Line Scores Matter More Than the Percentile
Here is where it gets confusing. You have your overall AFQT score, and then you have "Line Scores."
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The Navy calls them "ratings." The Army calls them "MOS" (Military Occupational Specialty). Every single job has a specific formula of ASVAB subtests required to qualify. You could have a 99 AFQT—the highest possible score—but if your "Mechanical Maintenance" (MM) line score is low because you don't know a wrench from a screwdriver, you aren't going to be working on Black Hawk helicopters.
Let's look at a real-world example. To be an Army Intelligence Analyst (35F), you need a "ST" (Skilled Technical) line score of 101. That ST score is a combo of Word Knowledge, Paragraph Comprehension, Arithmetic Reasoning, and General Science. If you're a genius at math but can't read a paragraph and summarize it, you're out of luck.
Breaking down the subtests
The ASVAB is a beast of ten different areas:
- General Science (GS)
- Arithmetic Reasoning (AR)
- Word Knowledge (WK)
- Paragraph Comprehension (PC)
- Mathematics Knowledge (MK)
- Electronics Information (EI)
- Auto and Shop Information (AS)
- Mechanical Comprehension (MC)
- Assembling Objects (AO)
You don't need to be good at all of them. You just need to be good at the ones that correlate to your dream job. If you want to be a journalist for the Marines, focus on WK and PC. If you want to be an electrician, EI and MC are your best friends.
The Air Force vs. The Army: The Score Gap
Different branches have different "good" scores. It’s a bit of a rivalry thing, but it’s also about technical requirements.
The Air Force is notoriously picky. They usually require at least a 36 for high school graduates, but in practice, they often look for people much higher. The Space Force? Forget about it. They are looking for the 1% of the 1%.
On the flip side, the Army and Navy have been known to offer "category IV" waivers when recruiting is slow. This means if you score between a 21 and a 31, they might still take you if you agree to go to a "pre-basic training" academic camp. But you have to ask yourself: do you want to start your career on a waiver? Probably not.
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A "good" score for the Air Force is usually anything above a 70. At that level, almost every door is open. You can look at jobs in Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) or high-end logistics.
Misconceptions About the "99"
People think getting a 99 means they are a genius.
It doesn't.
It means you did better than 99% of the 1997 reference group used to normalize the scores. Yes, the military still compares you to a group of people from nearly 30 years ago. It’s a weird system.
Another big myth: "I can just retake it until I get a 99."
Slow down. You can retake the ASVAB, but there are waiting periods. You wait one month for the first retake. Another month for the second. Then six months for every time after that. And here is the kicker: your latest score is the one that counts, not your highest. If you get a 70, think you can do better, and then get a 60, you are stuck with that 60. It’s a gamble. Don't retake it unless you have a massive reason to do so.
What a Good Score Looks Like for High-Demand Jobs
If you’re looking for the big enlistment bonuses—we’re talking $20,000 to $50,000—you need a "good" score in very specific areas.
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Take the Navy’s Nuclear Field (NUPOC). You need an incredible combination of AR, MK, EI, and GS. If you aren't hitting 80+ on your AFQT, you probably aren't even in the conversation for Nuclear Power School, which is widely considered one of the toughest academic programs in the world.
Or look at the Army's 17C (Cyber Operations Specialist). This isn't just about the ASVAB; you also have to take the ICTL (Information Communication Technology Literacy) test. But a solid ASVAB score is the prerequisite to even sit for that. If you want to spend your day defending networks against hackers, a "good" score starts in the high 80s.
Real Advice: How to Move the Needle
Stop studying everything.
Seriously.
If you know you want a clerical job, why are you spending three hours a night learning about 4-stroke engines?
- Take a practice test first. Find out your baseline.
- Identify the Line Scores for your target job. Go to the official branch websites or sites like Military.com and look up the MOS requirements.
- Focus on the "Big Four." Word Knowledge, Paragraph Comprehension, Arithmetic Reasoning, and Mathematics Knowledge make up your AFQT. These are the most important for just getting in.
- Use the "PiCAT" if offered. This is an unproctored, home version of the ASVAB. You still have to verify it at the testing center, but it’s way less stressful.
Actionable Next Steps
To actually walk away with a score you're proud of, follow this sequence:
- Check the current enlistment incentives: Recruiting goals change monthly. Sometimes a "good" score of 50 can get you a "Quick Ship" bonus of several thousand dollars if they need bodies immediately.
- Request your "Standard Scores" from your recruiter: Don't just settle for the percentile. Ask for the raw standard scores for each subtest so you can see exactly where you rank in mechanical vs. verbal.
- Target your weakest "Line Score" subtest: If you want a tech job but your Electronics Information score is a 42, buy a basic electronics kit or watch YouTube videos on Ohm's Law. A 10-point jump in one subtest can be the difference between a job you love and a job you hate for the next four years.
- Don't sign the contract until you see the job you want: If your score is "good" but the job isn't available, wait. Scores are valid for two years. Use that time as leverage.
The ASVAB is the first and most important "contract" you'll negotiate with the government. Make it count.