Should you consider the intelligence of candidates when voting in 2016? Research comparing IQ to presidential performance points to yes.

Compared to the general population, presidents are smart people. The average IQ score in the general population is 100; about 118 for for a college graduate. All the U.S. presidents have higher IQs than that.

But some are geniuses. Anything over 130 is considered high or a genius-level IQ. From Washington to George W. Bush, 28 U.S. presidents met that mark. Only 3 percent of Americans score above 130. Bill Clinton had the fifth-highest IQ.

Note that Obama is not included in these data points.



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John Quincy Adams, the sixth president, had the highest IQ, according to the research. Before following in his father's presidential footsteps, Adams graduated from Harvard College, served internationally in several diplomatic posts and was secretary of state under President James Monroe. During his time in government, Adams was an avid supporters of the arts and sciences and advocated for the founding of the Smithsonian Institution.

The president with the second-highest IQ was the perhaps more expected Thomas Jefferson. The third president was a founding father and drafted the Declaration of Independence. After serving two terms as president, Jefferson worked on his two pet projects — his grand estate, Monticello, and establishment of the University of Virginia.



Lindsey Cook for USN&WR; Source: Simonton

The data used for these graphs are an average of the four estimated IQ scores in the study.

George W. Bush falls at the bottom of the list. In fact, concerns that he may not be smart enough to be president initially drove researchers to complete the study, comparing his intelligence to that of other presidents.



Lindsey Cook for USN&WR; Source: Simonton

A recent article published on Scientific American, posits three theories for the relationship between IQ and presidential success:



"The smarter the president, the better." "You only have to be smart enough to be president." "The president can actually be too smart."

Scientific literature has documented correlations between high IQs and success, academically and otherwise, but having a high IQ doesn't automatically make someone successful. Personality, drive, creativity, emotional maturity, family background, socioeconomic status and other factors also play a role.

Still, there's research to back up theory one.

When compared to presidential ranks from FiveThirtyEight's Nate Silver, there is an obvious correlation between estimated presidential IQ and success as president. In general, smarter presidents tend to do better. But, there are certainly exceptions. Just look at the president with the highest IQ, John Quincy Adams, who is ranked 20.



Source: Simonton