Historical estimate

Who has the highest presidential IQ on Simonton 2C?

John Quincy Adams is 175 on Table 1 II-C. That is the top of a historiometric ranking, not a test leaderboard.

QuestionWhich US president has the highest IQ?
01

Adams is 175

John Quincy Adams’s II-C value is 175.0—the maximum in Table 1. The other three variants still sit between 165 and 170.

John Quincy Adams
02

The next rung is 160

Thomas Jefferson and James Madison are 160.0 on II-C. John F. Kennedy is 159.8, displayed as 160. Bill Clinton is 159.

Thomas JeffersonJames MadisonJohn F. KennedyBill Clinton
03

The low end is still an estimate

Ulysses S. Grant is 130 on II-C, the lowest of the 42. George W. Bush is 138.5, displayed as 139. None of these is a classroom IQ.

Ulysses S. GrantGeorge W. Bush
What the evidence supports

On Simonton 2006 Table 1 II-C, John Quincy Adams is highest at 175. Jefferson and Madison are 160. Obama, Biden, and Trump are not in that table.

Primary trail

Sources used in this investigation

peer-reviewed researchPresidential IQ, Openness, Intellectual Brilliance, and Leadership: Estimates and Correlations for 42 U.S. Chief ExecutivesPolitical Psychology (Wiley) · 2006expert analysisIQ Caddy proof-of-concept informal estimatesIQ Caddy · 2026