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GRE percentiles: the full chart, explained

A GRE percentile is the share of test takers you scored above: a 90th percentile score beats 90 percent of them. The chart below gives the official ETS rank for every Verbal and Quant score from 130 to 170, plus Analytical Writing and estimated total-score percentiles. The one thing to know before reading it: the same scaled score ranks far higher in Verbal than in Quant, so a 165 is the 95th percentile in Verbal but only the 67th in Quant. To look up a single score, use the percentile calculator.

Check your percentileWhat is a good score?
The idea

What a percentile actually means

It is a rank, not a grade. Your scaled score is fixed; your percentile depends on everyone else.

If your Verbal score is in the 85th percentile, you scored higher than about 85 percent of recent test takers on that section. The scaled score (130 to 170) is what appears on your report; the percentile is how that score ranks against the test-taker pool over a recent multi-year window.

The ranks below are official ETS figures from the 1 July 2022 to 30 June 2025 data window, so they are exact, not modelled. The calculator covers every score, not just these anchors.

The chart

GRE percentile chart for every Verbal and Quant score

Official ETS percentile ranks for each scaled score. Read across to compare the two measures at the same number.

Scaled scoreVerbal percentileQuant percentile
17099th89th
16999th85th
16898th80th
16797th75th
16696th72nd
16595th67th
16493rd63rd
16390th60th
16288th57th
16185th53rd
16082nd50th
15979th47th
15876th45th
15772nd42nd
15668th39th
15564th37th
15459th34th
15354th31st
15248th29th
15143rd26th
15039th23rd
14934th21st
14830th19th
14727th16th
14624th14th
14521st12th
14418th10th
14316th9th
14214th7th
14111th6th
14010th5th
1398th4th
1386th3rd
1375th2nd
1364th2nd
1353rd1st
1342nd1st
1332nd1st
1321st1st
1311st1st
1301st1st
Official ETS percentile ranks (percentage of test takers scoring below), data window 1 July 2022 to 30 June 2025. A few of the lowest scores, where ETS reports no separate figure, are interpolated from their neighbours.

Two landmarks are worth remembering. The 95th percentile is a 165 in Verbal, but no Quant score reaches it: a perfect 170 is the 89th percentile. And no Quant score reaches even the 90th percentile, which is why a Quant score in the low 160s, strong as it sounds, is close to the middle of the pool.

The key asymmetry

Why the same score ranks differently in Verbal and Quant

This is the single most important thing to understand about GRE percentiles.

Scaled scoreVerbal percentile (approx)Quant percentile (approx)
170~99th~89th
165~95th~67th
160~82nd~50th
Official ETS percentile ranks, 2022 to 2025 data window. Use the calculator for every score, not just these anchors.

The Quant section draws a large, STEM-heavy international pool that scores high, so the same scaled score earns a lower percentile there than in Verbal. A 160 is the 82nd percentile on Verbal but around the 50th on Quant. This is why you should always read your percentiles by section, not just judge your total.

Writing

Analytical Writing percentiles

The 0 to 6 score has its own percentile scale, and it climbs fast.

Because half-point steps cover the whole 0 to 6 range, each step moves you a lot in percentile terms. A 4.5 already sits well above the midpoint of test takers, and a 5.0 is strongly competitive. The average is about 3.5. Practice free with the AWA grader.

Analytical Writing scorePercentile
6.099th
5.598th
5.093rd
4.585th
4.063rd
3.540th
3.016th
2.57th
2.03rd
1.51st
1.01st
0.51st
0.01st
Official ETS Analytical Writing percentile ranks, data window 1 July 2022 to 30 June 2025.
Totals

GRE total score percentiles (estimated)

ETS publishes percentiles for each measure but not for the 260 to 340 total, so these are estimates.

Total (Verbal + Quant)Estimated percentileShare of test takers above you
340~98thabout 2%
335~95thabout 5%
330~91stabout 9%
325~85thabout 15%
320~76thabout 24%
315~65thabout 35%
310~53rdabout 47%
305~40thabout 60%
300~28thabout 72%
295~18thabout 82%
290~11thabout 89%
Normal-model estimate from ETS's official means, standard deviations and Verbal-Quant correlation (.44). Not an ETS table, and two people with the same total can sit at different section percentiles.

So a 320 total is roughly the 76th percentile and a 330 roughly the 91st. Because the total hides the split, always check each section too: a 320 made of 160 and 160 is the 82nd percentile in Verbal and the 50th in Quant.

Using it

How to use percentiles when you set a target

Translate a program's expectations into a percentile, then into a scaled score.

  1. Decide which section your field weights most: Quant for STEM, Verbal for humanities.
  2. Aim to clear roughly the 50th percentile in both sections as a floor.
  3. Push your priority section toward the 80th to 90th percentile for competitive programs.
  4. Convert any score to its exact rank with the percentile calculator, then see what is a good score for field targets.
Questions

Common questions.

A GRE percentile is the share of test takers you scored above. An 85th percentile score means you beat about 85 percent of recent test takers on that measure. It ranks you against the pool rather than against the fixed 130 to 170 scale.
Quant draws a large, STEM-heavy international pool that scores high, so a 160 ranks around the 50th percentile there, while the same 160 is about the 82nd percentile in Verbal. Always read percentiles by section. Figures are approximate and shift yearly.
A 170 on Verbal is the 99th percentile, and a 170 on Quant is about the 89th (per official ETS data, 2022 to 2025). The Quant scale tops out lower in percentile terms because of its high-scoring pool. The percentile calculator covers every score.
A 320 total is roughly the 76th percentile, an estimate because ETS does not publish a total-score table. The split matters: a 320 made of 160 Verbal and 160 Quant is the 82nd percentile in Verbal and only the 50th in Quant.
A 165 in Verbal is the 95th percentile. In Quant no scaled score reaches the 95th percentile: a perfect 170 is the 89th, because so many high scorers take the test. These are official ETS ranks for the 2022 to 2025 data window.
A 147 is below average on either measure: about the 27th percentile in Verbal and the 16th in Quant. Whether it is a problem depends on the programs you apply to and which section they weight, and many programs no longer require the GRE at all. See what is a good GRE score.
Slowly. ETS bases percentile ranks on a multi-year data window (currently 1 July 2022 to 30 June 2025) and refreshes it every year, so a given scaled score can move by a point or two when ETS updates the tables. The figures here are from the current official tables.
Clear about the 50th percentile in both sections as a floor, then push the section your field weights most toward the 80th to 90th percentile for competitive programs. See what is a good GRE score for field-by-field targets.

Get the exact rank of any score

Enter a Verbal and Quant score to see its precise official percentile by section and total, instantly and free.

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