Average SAT Score: National Averages by Year and Demographic (2026)

Last Updated: October 1, 2026

Key Takeaways

• The national average SAT score for the class of 2026 is 1045, with a 528 Reading and Writing mean and a 517 Math mean.
• 1,954,833 students in the class of 2026 took the SAT, down from just over 2 million in the class of 2025. Weekend-only test takers rose to about 692,000 while School Day test takers fell to about 1.26 million.
• 42 percent of class-of-2026 test takers met both the Reading and Writing and Math college readiness benchmarks, up from 39 percent in the class of 2025.
• Class of 2026 state averages run from 876 to 1270, but most of that spread is driven by participation rate, not by teaching quality.
• 65 percent of class-of-2026 test takers took the SAT at least once through SAT School Day. Students who tested only on a weekend averaged 1179; students who tested only on a school day averaged 909.

What Is the Average SAT Score in 2026?

The most recent published College Board data is for the graduating class of 2026. The national means are:

• Reading and Writing (EBRW): 528
• Math: 517
• Total: 1045

These averages are higher than the class of 2025, which had a 1029 total, and the highest since the class of 2022. They are still about 14 points below the pre-pandemic class of 2019. Source: College Board, 2026 SAT Suite of Assessments Annual Report (Total Group).

Averages feel abstract until you plot your own score against them. A 1045 sits at roughly the 54th percentile on College Board's user percentile scale (1040 is the 53rd and 1050 is the 55th). Anything above 1100 is above average. See our full SAT percentile chart for the complete mapping.

SAT National Averages by Graduating Class

Here is how the mean total has moved across recent graduating classes, per College Board annual reports.

A few patterns stand out:

• Pandemic-era classes (2020, 2021, 2022) had small test-taker pools that skewed toward more-prepared, college-bound students. That is why their averages look high.
• Averages fell in 2023 and 2024 as participation rebounded, pulling in more state-mandated testers whose scores pull the mean down.
• The class of 2025 ticked up slightly, reflecting both better adaptation to the digital format and an overall recovery from pandemic learning losses.
• The class of 2026 rose 16 points to 1045 while the pool shrank by about 50,000 students. School Day test takers fell from about 1.36 million to 1.26 million and weekend-only test takers rose from about 643,000 to 692,000, a shift in who tested that lifts the mean on its own.

Average SAT Score by Section

Reading and Writing consistently runs higher than Math. For the class of 2026:

• EBRW mean: 528. Median test taker answers roughly 25 of 50 scored questions correctly.
• Math mean: 517. Median test taker answers roughly 20 of 40 scored questions correctly.

This 11-point gap is common. Math tends to separate test takers more sharply, which is why Math user percentiles can look different from EBRW percentiles at the same scaled score. Deep dives: SAT Math averages and SAT Writing averages.

Average SAT Score by State

State averages have an enormous spread, but 90 percent of that spread is explained by one factor: participation rate. When a state pays for every 11th grader to take the SAT during the school day, the average drops because the pool includes every student, not just college-bound ones. In states where students opt in privately, only the most prepared test, and averages look much higher. See the full average SAT score by state rankings for all 50 states with participation rates.

Highest-Average States (low participation)

Lowest-Average States (near-universal participation)

All five of the lowest-average states give the SAT to every 11th grader as a state accountability test, per College Board's 2026 report. Do not read these as quality rankings. A 950 average in a state where every student tests is often more impressive in absolute terms than a 1250 average in a state where only the top 2 percent sign up.

For exact numbers on your state, download the state-specific annual report at reports.collegeboard.org. College Board publishes a PDF for each state with every graduating class.

SAT Averages by Demographic

College Board's Total Group annual report publishes demographic breakdowns. Exact numbers shift year to year, but the patterns in the most recent reports are stable:

• Gender. In the class of 2026, male test takers averaged 1054 and female test takers averaged 1036. The whole gap is in Math (527 vs. 508); the Reading and Writing means were identical at 528.
• Race and ethnicity. Persistent gaps, with Asian and White test takers posting the highest means and Black and Hispanic test takers posting the lowest. The gap partly reflects income and school resource differences rather than ability.
• First-generation status. First-generation college applicants score lower on average than students whose parents attended college. In the class of 2026, students whose parents' highest education was a high school diploma averaged 961, compared with 1109 for students with a parent holding a bachelor's degree and 1190 for a graduate degree.
• Income. There is a strong positive correlation between family income and SAT score. In the class of 2026, students from the highest median-family-income quintile averaged 1180 and students from the lowest averaged 923, a 257-point gap.

The takeaway: the SAT average is not one number for everyone. When benchmarking yourself, compare to students applying to similar schools rather than to the national mean. The Total Group Report contains current demographic tables if you want exact figures.

Why SAT Averages Dropped After 2019

The most-asked question about SAT averages is why they fell and whether they are coming back.

The causes, in rough order of impact:

1. Pandemic learning loss. The classes of 2022 through 2025 had significant instructional disruption in middle school or early high school. Math, which depends on sequential skill building, was hit harder than reading.
2. Test-optional policies. When selective colleges dropped the SAT requirement, higher-achieving students kept testing (to demonstrate strength) but many middle-of-the-distribution students stopped, reshaping the pool.
3. SAT School Day expansion. More states adopted school-day testing, which pulls in students who would not have signed up privately. This lowers the average while raising the equity value of the test.
4. Digital transition. The class of 2024 was the first to take the digital SAT in the United States. The format is shorter and more adaptive, but the transition year added some noise.

The class of 2026 mean of 1045 is the highest since the class of 2022, so the decline has reversed for now. Read it with care, though: the class of 2026 had about 99,000 fewer School Day test takers and about 49,000 more weekend-only test takers than the class of 2025, and weekend-only testers average far higher (1179 vs. 909 for school-day-only testers). Part of the rise is a change in who tested.

How to Interpret Your Score Against the Average

A practical framework:

• Below the mean (under 1045). You are in the bottom half of test takers. Strong gains are achievable with structured prep because the middle of the scoring curve moves quickly with focused practice.
• At the mean (around 1045). You are a typical applicant. Open admissions and many regional state universities are a natural fit; selective schools will require real preparation.
• Above the mean, below 1200. You are in the top half but not yet in selective territory. A disciplined 8 to 12 week plan often yields 100 to 150 points at this range.
• 1200 to 1400. Competitive for state flagships and many selective privates. Target section weaknesses rather than general review.
• Above 1400. Top 7 percent. Prep shifts from broad content review to precise error analysis and timing.

If you want a personalized target based on your dream schools, our SAT score calculator lets you model different section combinations against a goal total.

Frequently Asked Questions About Average SAT Scores

What is the average SAT score in 2026?

The most recent national average is 1045 for the graduating class of 2026. Mean EBRW is 528 and mean Math is 517.

What is a better than average SAT score?

Anything above 1045 beats the national mean. Scores above 1200 put you in roughly the top 25 percent, and scores above 1400 put you in the top 7 percent.

Why are SAT averages lower than they used to be?

Pandemic-related learning disruption, expanded school-day testing that broadened the testing pool, and transitions in test policy all pulled the mean below its 2019 peak of about 1059.

What state has the highest average SAT score?

Nebraska had the highest state mean for the class of 2026 at 1270, but only 436 Nebraska students took the SAT, so this reflects a tiny, self-selected group rather than unusually strong instruction.

What state has the lowest average SAT score?

New Mexico reported the lowest state mean for the class of 2026, 876. New Mexico gives the SAT to all 11th graders, and the gap to higher states is driven almost entirely by participation differences.

How does the SAT average compare to the ACT average?

The ACT national composite averaged 19.4 in 2024. That converts loosely to about a 1010 SAT, very close to the SAT national mean. The tests are roughly calibrated to similar distributions.

What was the class of 2025 SAT average?

The class of 2025 averaged 1029 total, with 521 EBRW and 508 Math, across 2,004,965 test takers.

What is the class of 2024 SAT average?

Class of 2024 averaged approximately 1024 total, with 519 EBRW and 505 Math.

Is the digital SAT easier or harder than the paper SAT?

College Board has repeatedly stated that digital SAT scores are directly comparable to paper SAT scores. Averages have held roughly steady since the digital transition, suggesting the difficulty calibration is similar.

What percentile is a 1100 SAT?

An 1100 is about the 62nd SAT user percentile, slightly above the national mean. For the full chart, see our SAT percentile chart.

Are averages different for digital vs paper SAT test takers?

The digital SAT is now in its fourth year, so the population of paper testers in the class of 2026 is too small to draw meaningful comparisons. The 1045 national mean effectively is the digital average.