What's a Good SAT Score?

January 12, 2026

If you're embarking on a rigorous course of study for the SAT, you naturally want to know what's considered a good score, especially as you're faced with a dense and seemingly complicated standardized test that could pave the way to your college education and even to your career. Have you made a short list of the colleges and universities you want to attend? Do you know the SAT averages and percentiles of each school? If so, how do they relate to your own score? These are just a handful of the questions you should be asking yourself.

No one has a magic bullet for how to achieve a perfect 1600 score, but many people will give you their insights and opinions about how to enhance your test day performance. But before focusing on test-taking strategies, we should examine what makes a "good" SAT score by looking at it from various angles. Thankfully, there's a plethora of data about published by the College Board, the SAT's creator and administrator, which helps paint a picture of what to expect as you immerse yourself in multiple-choice questions and dense reading passages.

SAT Scores at a Glance

There SAT has two sections—Reading & Writing and Math—with each scored from 200-800 points. Together they add up to a total, or composite, score that ranges from a low of 400 points to a maximum of 1600. According to the College Board, the average national scores in 2025 were 521 for Reading & Writing, 508 for Math, and 1029 total.

To better understand what goes into a good SAT score, we need to look at the scores in terms of percentiles, which help schools organize students' scores and their applications by level of proficiency. The chart below shows total and section scores at different national percentile levels, drawing on College Board data. Percentiles indicate the percentage of test takers who were outperformed. For example, a 90^th percentile score is higher than 90% of people who took the exam.

Does anything surprise you about this data? It should—and it's good news! The highest 90^th percentile listed for total score is 1350, which doesn't even break 1400 out of the maximum "perfect" 1600 you can get. This should make you feel better about that elusive 1600 "ideal score," particularly when applying to elite schools that prefer students with upper percentile scores.

Although it may not be relevant to your course of study, it's worth sharing average score data by gender. Naturally, these are only averages and there are always exceptions, but it's worth noting, particularly for schools that value demographic diversity, including male-to-female ratios.

While it may be a goal of educational professionals to close the gender gap in SAT performance, these stats show men still have a 14-point advantage, despite doing slightly worse in the Reading & Writing section. Now let's take a look at average scores by ethnicity. Test takers have the option of providing their ethnicity/race, which is how most of this data is obtained.

Finally, we can see how SAT averages break out depending on the location type of test takers' high schools.

The table shows that students at suburban high schools have higher national averages than those who go to school in cities or small towns and rural communities, who perform about the same. However, with hard work and determination, you can exceed your school's location-type average.

Averages By School

Doing the online research to find the average SAT score for each of your chosen colleges and universities is relatively easy. Many of them publish these statistics, which is helpful in revealing the competition pool as well as setting exam standards. Do you know the averages of the undergraduate programs you're applying to? Keeping a list of them handy is ideal when studying for the SAT—not to intimidate you, but to keep a target number in mind that helps you push toward your goal. These averages are from school's published data, showing the 25^th to 75^th percentile score range.

The Takeaway

It's important to really understand your mistakes to improve your SAT performance and achieve a good score for your college admission goals. This can best be done through practice exercises and mock diagnostic exams. SAT errors typically fall into four categories: time pressure, question comprehension issue, careless error, and content weakness. Cataloging your incorrect answers in an "error log" can help you return to them in the future, hopefully under the expert guidance of a private tutor or SAT teacher at Manhattan Review or another reputable academic services firm.

You must decide the best course of study for you, tailored to your strengths and weaknesses. Be prepared to sit for the SAT more than once, particularly if you're aiming for a 90^th percentile score. Elite scores pave the way for admission to elite institutions, but the process takes time. Be patient with yourself as you strive to better understand your SAT performance and the role it plays in the lives of prospective undergraduates.