What Is the Mean SAT Score?
If you have done with the SAT, being Indian/NRI students you are obviously curious about how your SAT score would stack up against average SAT scores.
The fact is, there are a lot of things that should be considered to look at averages on the SAT.
Now, you are seeking the answers of questions like “What is the average SAT score”? “Which averages are significant for you? Might be more in the list.
Before finding out your answers, you should know which group of people you are seeking. The following article has described as per the national averages along with averages by gender, high school type, ethnicity, family income, and state.
National SAT Average Score
As per the College Board's 2018 total group report, the national SAT average scores are:
Subject |
Average Score |
Math |
532 |
EBRW |
536 |
Total |
1068 |
The above figure shows that if your’ SAT score is above than 1068, then you are above the national average and if it’s lower than 1068, then you are standing below the national average.
Gender SAT Average Score
If you want to know about the average scores categorized as per gender, then look at the following table:
Gender |
EBRW |
Math |
Total |
Female |
539 |
522 |
1061 |
Male |
534 |
542 |
1076 |
No Response |
406 |
374 |
779 |
There are two sections on the SAT: Math and Evidence-Based Reading and Writing (EBRW). Each section is out of 800 points and then combined for a total score out of 1600.
Kindly note that each section listed above is out of 800 and the combined total score will be out of 1600.
Have you noticed that the females outperform males by 5 points on EBRW while males exceed females on Math by 20 points?
Guys! Please don’t ignore the differences in EBRW and math scores as these are imperative.
Average SAT Scores by Ethnicity
You guys already know that while entering into a college for taking admission, you got asked by telling about your ethnicity. Let’s see the average SAT scores by ethnicity:
Ethnicity |
# of Test Takers |
EBRW |
Math |
Total |
American Indian/Alaska Native |
10,946 |
480 |
469 |
949 |
Asian |
217,971 |
588 |
635 |
1223 |
Black/African American |
263,318 |
483 |
463 |
946 |
Hispanic/Latino |
499,442 |
501 |
489 |
990 |
Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander |
5,620 |
498 |
489 |
986 |
White |
930,825 |
566 |
557 |
1123 |
Two or More Races |
77,078 |
558 |
543 |
1101 |
No Response |
131,339 |
472 |
481 |
954 |
Total |
2,136,539 |
536 |
531 |
1068 |
Family Income Average SAT Score
The College Board also allows students to report their family income. Most don’t, but there’s a definite trend among those who do.
Again, while filling up your application, you have to disclose about your family as it is mandatory for some colleges. Hence, knowing about the Average SAT Score by family, look at the following table:
Family Income |
Number Taking |
Reading |
Math |
Writing |
Total |
Less than $20,000 |
124,290 |
435 |
453 |
426 |
1314 |
$20,001-$40,000 |
158,909 |
465 |
477 |
452 |
1394 |
$40,001-$60,000 |
132,182 |
488 |
495 |
471 |
1454 |
$60,001-$80,000 |
115,998 |
503 |
509 |
485 |
1497 |
$80,001-$100,000 |
119,593 |
517 |
527 |
501 |
1545 |
$100,001-$140,000 |
146,434 |
530 |
539 |
513 |
1582 |
$140,001-$200,000 |
98,275 |
542 |
553 |
528 |
1623 |
More than $200,000 |
87,482 |
569 |
586 |
562 |
1717 |
No Response |
659,426 |
482 |
501 |
473 |
1456 |
Note: The SAT Scores mentioned above are of Old SAT. So, you don’t need to worry about the SAT scores of Reading & Writing sections, which is over 400.
Have you noticed in the above table that a higher average score on the SAT is basically related with higher family income? The fact is, this trend has been observing for a number of years.
Besides, there are some other reasons why higher-income families tend to score high SAT is that they become able to attend better classes as well as resources.
Average SAT Score by School Type
Kindly note that the below-mentioned average SAT score by school type has come from the year of 2016 as 2017 and 2018 reports have not yet released.
School Type |
Reading |
Math |
Writing |
Total |
Public |
487 |
494 |
472 |
1453 |
Religiously Affiliated |
532 |
537 |
525 |
1594 |
Independent |
530 |
579 |
536 |
1645 |
Other or Unknown |
491 |
580 |
498 |
1569 |
Have you noticed that students belong to the independent colleges have the highest averages as compared with private colleges? Moreover, you can take the help of the following table if you want converted average scores for your reference:
School Type |
Math (New) |
EBRW |
New Total |
Public |
520 |
540 |
1060 |
Religiously Affiliated |
560 |
590 |
1150 |
Independent |
560 |
590 |
1150 |
Other or Unknown |
520 |
550 |
1070 |
Average SAT Score by State
To know about the SAT average score by state, look at the following:
State |
# of Test Takers |
EBRW |
Math |
Total |
Alabama (6%) |
2,878 |
595 |
571 |
1166 |
Alaska (43%) |
3,334 |
562 |
544 |
1106 |
Arizona (29%) |
20,188 |
577 |
572 |
1149 |
Arkansas (5%) |
1,591 |
592 |
576 |
1169 |
California (60%) |
262,228 |
540 |
536 |
1076 |
Colorado (100%) |
58,790 |
519 |
506 |
1025 |
Connecticut (100%) |
44,700 |
535 |
519 |
1053 |
Delaware (100%) |
11,055 |
505 |
492 |
998 |
District of Columbia (92%) |
4,985 |
497 |
480 |
977 |
Florida (97%) |
176,746 |
522 |
493 |
1014 |
Georgia (70%) |
74,240 |
542 |
522 |
1064 |
Hawaii (56%) |
7,880 |
550 |
549 |
1099 |
Idaho (100)% |
20,484 |
508 |
493 |
1001 |
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