Your ASVAB score report has two kinds of numbers. The AFQT is a percentile from 1 to 99 that sorts you into a category. Each subtest also gets a standard score, where 50 is the average.
The AFQT category chart
officialasvab.com groups AFQT percentiles into these categories. Category IV is split into three bands. The last column is our plain-English reading of each range, taken from what a percentile means.
| Category | AFQT percentile | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| I | 93–99 | Top of the range |
| II | 65–92 | Above the middle |
| IIIA | 50–64 | Upper half of the reference group |
| IIIB | 31–49 | Lower half, below the middle |
| IVA | 21–30 | Well below the middle |
| IVB | 16–20 | Further below the middle |
| IVC | 10–15 | Further below again |
| V | 1–9 | Bottom of the range |
The scale runs from 1 to 99, not 1 to 100. A percentile compares you with a fixed reference group. A 50 means you did as well as or better than about half of that group. It does not mean you answered half the questions correctly. Our AFQT score guide explains the percentile in full.
Where does my score fall?
Is a 90 on the ASVAB good?
A 90 is in category II (65 to 92), near the top of that band. It is also above every minimum listed further down.
Is 40 a good ASVAB score?
A 40 is in category IIIB (31 to 49). It is above the 31 that the Army, Air Force and Marine Corps list for diploma holders. It is below the 50 that the Air Force and Marine Corps list for GED holders.
Is a 52 a good ASVAB score?
A 52 is in category IIIA (50 to 64), the lower end of the upper half. It is above both the 31 and the 50 in the branch table below.
Is 27 or 29 a bad ASVAB score?
Both are in category IVA (21 to 30). Both are below the 31 listed for diploma holders by the Army, Air Force and Marine Corps. Retests are allowed, and our AFQT guide lists the waits.
What is a good score on the ASVAB?
It depends on the branch and on the job you want. The category tells you where you sit in the reference group. The branch minimums tell you the line you must clear to enlist. A job can have its own requirement on top of that.
Subtest standard scores
Each subtest is reported as a standard score with a mean of 50 and a standard deviation of 10. (officialasvab.com, counselors). About half the population scores at or above 50, and about 16% at or above 60 (officialasvab.com, applicants).
Standard scores and the AFQT percentile are different scales, so don't compare them number to number. A 60 on one subtest is a standard score. A 60 AFQT is a percentile. They answer different questions.
The counselors page adds three facts:
- Scoring uses item response theory (the three-parameter logistic model), for both the paper and the computer test.
- On the paper test, a blank counts as wrong, so answer every question.
- Equating keeps scores from the computer-adaptive test and the paper test comparable.
Air Force composites
The Air Force qualifies you for jobs with four composites, known as MAGE. airforce.com lists the subtests behind each one, and reports each as a percentile:
| Composite | Subtests |
|---|---|
| Mechanical | AR, AS, MC, PC, WK |
| Administrative | MK, PC, WK |
| General | AR, PC, WK |
| Electronics | AR, EI, GS, MK |
AR is Arithmetic Reasoning, AS is Auto and Shop Information, MC is Mechanical Comprehension, PC is Paragraph Comprehension, WK is Word Knowledge, MK is Mathematics Knowledge, EI is Electronics Information and GS is General Science. The Air Force adds PC and WK together into a Verbal Expression (VE) score.
The line-score formulas for the other branches were not published on the pages we checked. Ask a recruiter which scores your target job uses. Our GT score guide covers the GT score.
Branch minimums
Each Service sets its own minimum and can change it. These are the figures on the branch sites on 27 October 2026.
| Branch | Diploma | GED or nontraditional credential | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Army | 31 | Ask a recruiter | goarmy.com |
| Air Force | 31 | 50 | airforce.com |
| Marine Corps | 31* | 50 or more | marines.com |
*marines.com calls this the minimum ASVAB score.
We couldn't confirm Navy, Coast Guard or Space Force minimums on their own sites. Ask a recruiter for the current number. The full comparison is in our minimum scores by branch article.
Is the ASVAB hard?
That depends on your starting point and how you study, and no one can say in advance how a score will change. Find your weakest subtest, take a short practice set, and mark every miss. The free ASVAB practice page is a place to start. If your gap is in the four AFQT subtests, the Prepanchor AFQT Core Pack for the ASVAB covers them. Prepanchor practice sets end with an estimated practice range, which is not a prediction of an official score. The ASVAB exam guide explains the test, and the study guide covers every subtest.
FAQ
Can I get an AFQT of 100?
No. The scale runs from 1 to 99.
Is an AFQT percentile the same as a percent correct?
No. It compares you with a fixed reference group.
Do the branches all use the same line scores?
We only confirmed the Air Force composites above. Ask a recruiter about the others.