ACT Percentiles: Full Score-to-Percentile Charts (2026)

Your ACT composite is just a number until you know how it stacks up against everyone else who took the test. Percentiles turn that score into a ranking, showing exactly where you land nationally and what colleges actually see.

ACT percentiles in one sentence

Your ACT percentile tells you what percent of test-takers scored at or below your composite. A 30 composite puts you around the 94th percentile (top 6% nationally). A 24 is around the 80th percentile. A 20 is roughly the 63rd. This article is the full chart: every composite score from 1 to 36 with its percentile, plus section-level percentiles for English, Math, Reading, and Science.

Want to calculate your percentile from a raw score, or see how your score maps to admissions? Use our ACT score calculator or take a free ACT quiz to see where you stand right now.

Four cartoon students holding flags representing the four ACT sections

Full ACT composite score percentile chart

Every composite score from 1 to 36 with its national percentile rank. Percentiles shown are from ACT's 2026-2027 national norms, based on graduating classes of 2024, 2025, and 2026. Use these for scores taken from September 2026 through August 2027.

Composite	Percentile	What it means
36	100	Perfect score. Roughly top 0.2%.
35	99	Top 1%. Strong for any college.
34	99	Top 1%. Ivy League competitive.
33	98	Top 2%.
32	97	Top 3%.
31	96	Top 4%.
30	94	Top 6%. Competitive at selective schools.
29	93	Top 7%.
28	91	Top 9%.
27	89	Top 11%.
26	86	Top 14%.
25	83	Top 17%.
24	80	Top 20%. Above average.
23	77	Top 23%.
22	72	Top 28%.
21	68	Top 32%.
20	63	Just above average.
19	58	Near national average.
18	52	Around the median.
17	47	Just below average.
16	41	Below average.
15	34	Bottom third.
14	28	Bottom quarter.
13	20	Bottom fifth.
12	13	Bottom 13%.
11	6	Bottom 6%.
10 or below	1-2	Bottom 2%. Very uncommon.

Note that percentiles can shift slightly year over year as each graduating class performs differently. These are the most recent published ranks; expect ±1 percentile point of drift in future years.

How to read an ACT percentile

A percentile is not a grade. It is a ranking. If you scored in the 80th percentile, it means you scored at or above 80% of test-takers who took the ACT in the reference sample. It does not mean you got 80% of questions right.

Composite percentile reflects your overall position among test-takers with a single 1-36 score.
Section percentile is how you rank in that specific section alone (English, Math, Reading, Science).
A high composite percentile with uneven section percentiles is normal. Students often have a strong section and a weaker section.

Percentiles are calculated from a national sample of ACT-tested graduates from the most recent three years. ACT updates the reference sample each September, so the same composite can shift by one percentile point between years.

Section-level ACT percentiles at key benchmarks

Percentile ranks differ by section, because the difficulty curves and score distributions for English, Math, Reading, and Science do not match perfectly. Here is the section breakdown at representative score milestones.

Section score	English %ile	Math %ile	Reading %ile	Science %ile
36	100	100	100	100
35	99	99	98	99
34	97	99	97	99
33	96	98	95	98
30	93	95	89	95
28	90	93	85	92
25	84	84	78	86
22	74	74	66	70
20	64	68	56	60
18	54	60	47	48
15	41	33	33	27
10	11	2	5	3

Notice the gaps between sections at the same scale score. A 20 in Math ranks you in the 68th percentile, while a 20 in Reading ranks you in the 56th percentile. That happens because more students score higher on Reading, so it takes a higher score to stand out.

Cartoon student atop an ascending staircase of rectangular blocks holding a flag

ACT percentile benchmarks for college admissions

Percentiles translate cleanly to admissions expectations. Here is the rough mapping colleges use, understood as a soft guideline:

Percentile	Composite	Typical admissions pool
99th	34-36	Ivy League, Stanford, MIT, Caltech, top 10 universities
96th-98th	31-33	Top 25 universities, competitive liberal arts colleges
89th-94th	27-30	Selective state flagships, top 50-100 universities
77th-86th	23-26	Most flagship state universities, merit scholarship range
58th-72nd	19-22	Many regional four-year universities
52nd and below	≤18	Open-admission and some regional schools

For specific school targets, see our ACT score for Harvard guide, what is a good ACT score by college tier, or is my ACT score good? for benchmarks from 20 to 35.

Enhanced ACT: how percentiles are changing in 2026

The Enhanced ACT rolled out online in April 2025 and on paper in September 2025: 50 English questions (40 scored), 45 Math (41 scored), 36 Reading (27 scored), 40 Science (34 scored, now optional), and 4 answer choices on math instead of 5. Key percentile implications:

Composite calculation changed. The composite is now calculated from English, Math, and Reading only. Students who opt into Science get a Science score and a STEM score but Science no longer feeds the composite.
Percentile tables are transitioning. ACT linked the enhanced test to the legacy version so section scores sit on the same 1-36 scales and can be used interchangeably, and it publishes new national ranks for each reporting year.
For the 2026-2027 reporting year, the published ranks are based on ACT-tested graduates of 2024, 2025, and 2026, a group that includes students who tested both before and after the Enhanced ACT changes.
If you took the Enhanced ACT, your reported percentile is still meaningful, but expect minor revisions in future norm tables.

See our ACT math topics guide for the full rundown of what changed.

ACT vs SAT percentiles

The two tests use different scoring scales and reference populations, but you can compare percentiles through concordance:

ACT Composite	SAT Equivalent	ACT Percentile
36	1570-1600	100
34	1490-1520	99
32	1420-1440	97
30	1360-1380	94
28	1300-1320	91
26	1230-1250	86
24	1160-1190	80
22	1100-1120	72
20	1030-1050	63

For the full conversion, use our score calculator or see our SAT vs ACT guide. For SAT percentiles, see SAT percentiles: full score-to-percentile charts.

Related resources

Frequently Asked Questions About ACT Percentiles

What percentile is a 30 on the ACT?

A 30 composite is roughly the 94th percentile, meaning you scored at or above 94% of ACT-tested graduates in the 2024-2026 national sample. It puts you in the top 6% nationally and is competitive at many selective universities.

What ACT score is the 90th percentile?

A 28 composite is roughly the 91st percentile, which is the closest to the 90th percentile on the ACT scale. Because ACT scores are whole numbers, exact 90th percentile scores do not exist; you jump from 89% (27) to 91% (28).

What is the average ACT score percentile?

The median ACT composite (50th percentile) is around 18. The mean is 19.1 for the 2026-2027 norm group (graduates of 2024 to 2026), and the class of 2026 averaged 19.2. A 20 composite, often cited as "average," is in the 63rd percentile, a little above both.

Why do section percentiles differ from composite percentiles?

Each section has its own score distribution. Reading tends to have more test-takers bunched at higher scores, so a 20 in Reading is less competitive than a 20 in Math. The composite percentile ranks your Composite score (English, Math, and Reading on the enhanced ACT), which is a different statistical calculation than the individual section ranks.

Has the Enhanced ACT changed percentiles?

The composite calculation changed (now based on English, Math, and Reading only), and the 2026-2027 published ranks are based on ACT-tested graduates of 2024, 2025, and 2026, a mix of students who tested before and after the change. ACT's linking study puts enhanced and legacy scores on the same 1-36 scales, and ACT publishes new ranks for each reporting year.

How does my ACT percentile compare to my SAT percentile?

Through the official ACT/SAT concordance, a 30 ACT equals about a 1370 SAT. A 30 is the 94th ACT percentile, while a 1370 has its own SAT percentile from a different group of test takers, so the two numbers will not match exactly. The two percentile systems line up closely at the top and middle of the scale but can diverge slightly at the very high and very low ends because the score scales and reference populations differ. Use our score calculator to convert.

Are ACT percentiles the same every year?

They shift slightly each year as the national sample changes. A 30 composite is the 94th percentile in the 2026-2027 ranks, and a given score can drift by a point or two between reporting years. ACT publishes updated norm tables each fall.

How can I improve my ACT percentile?

Focus on your weakest section first. English, Math, and Reading count equally in the composite, so 2 points gained anywhere move it the same amount, and those points usually come cheapest in your weakest section. Use our ACT math topics guide and ACT math tips for Math, and pair with a free ACT practice test for diagnostics.