States with the highest and lowest average IQs shown on the map

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

The data was collected through exams given to fourth- and eighth-grade students, showing that those living in the Northeast and Midwest are among the smartest in the country.

Massachusetts was found to have the highest IQ 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 measure a person’s intelligence, which were conducted as part of the Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competence and the National Assessment of Progress in Education.

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 were within the average classification.

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

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

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

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

The study found that higher state IQs correlated strongly with higher incomes, greater well-being, and better education and health care.

Massachusetts – home to 114 universities, including Harvard – ranks second in income and first in education and welfare.

The state ranks eighth in crime and seventh in health.

By comparison, Louisiana, which ranks 49th in IQ, scores comparably low on all indicators used to assess well-being.

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

The study found that there is a strong correlation with education spending overall, with New Hampshire having high education spending.

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 that scored low, such as Mississippi, New Mexico and Arkansas (95.7), tend to score relatively low on well-being based on crime, education and health care.

Mississippi ranks 50th in education. New Mexico ranks 43rd in education and welfare, and 44th in crime.

And Arkansas ranks 48th for well-being, 49th for crime and 47th for education.

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

Additionally, the paper found that average state IQ correlates with the number of people vaccinated against Covid-19, with higher numbers of vaccinations associated with higher IQs.

The study’s author, Bryan J Pesta, cited several previous studies showing a link 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 increase, income inequality in the state decreases.”

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 consumption and higher IQs.

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

“At this time, I have no explanation for why alcohol consumption is associated with better health outcomes at the state level.”

Pesta noted that several previous studies also found a link between higher IQs and higher levels of alcohol consumption.

The study also compared current IQs in the United States with previous estimates in 2016 and 1922 – and found that things have remained relatively stable.

Between 2016 and 2022 there was a correlation of 0.93 and even between 1922 and 2022 there was a correlation of 0.58.

Pesta said it “shows strong stability over many years.”