Speaking 23 sits at the floor of TOEFL band 4.5. It carries a percentile rank of 63 in the ETS 2024 total group. Listening 20, the floor of the same band, carries a percentile rank of 30. ETS moved the TOEFL iBT to a 1–6 band scale on 21 January 2026, and US universities have been resetting their cutoffs against it since. This post maps the published distribution against the published requirements.

TOEFL Score Distribution

Mean TOEFL iBT total score was 86 with a standard deviation of 19 across January–December 2024 test takers.

A total of 88 carries a percentile rank of 47 in the 2024 total group. A total of 100 carries 75.

Band 4.5 corresponds to a legacy total of 86 or higher. Band 4 corresponds to 72 or higher.

Speaking averaged 20.7 in 2024, the lowest section mean, on a standard deviation of 4.6.

US institutions hosted 1,177,766 international students in 2024/25, up 4.5% on 2023/24.

Graduate students made up 488,481 of that total against 357,231 undergraduates.

What Does the TOEFL Score Distribution Look Like?

ETS publishes percentile ranks for the total score in four-point steps. The steps are largest between 80 and 104, where each four-point move shifts a test taker seven to ten percentile points.

The mean of 86 does not sit at the middle of the group. A total of 88 carries a percentile rank of 47 and a total of 92 carries 56, which places the midpoint of the 2024 distribution above the mean.

Total score	Percentile rank	Total score	Percentile rank
116	99	88	47
112	96	84	39
108	91	80	32
104	84	76	26
100	75	72	20
96	65	68	16
92	56	64	13

Source: ETS, TOEFL iBT Test and Score Data Summary 2024, Table 2 (Total Group), January–December 2024.

TOEFL Score Distribution By Applicant Type

ETS reports separate percentile tables by the reason a test taker gave for sitting the exam. Graduate applicants outside business posted a mean of 88 on a standard deviation of 17, against 85 and 19 for undergraduate applicants.

The tighter spread compresses the scale where cutoffs cluster. A total of 84 carries a percentile rank of 41 for undergraduate applicants and 33 for graduate applicants. Same score, eight points apart, driven by the reference group. Applicants comparing banded exams across systems hit the same problem in the JLPT level breakdown for US learners, where CEFR anchoring changed how scores read to admissions offices.

Total score	Undergraduate	Graduate, non-business	Graduate, business
108	91	89	91
104	84	81	83
100	75	72	74
96	66	61	63
92	57	51	53
88	48	42	43
84	41	33	35
80	34	26	28
76	28	21	22
72	23	16	17
Mean / S.D.	85 / 19	88 / 17	87 / 18

Source: ETS, TOEFL iBT Test and Score Data Summary 2024, Tables 5, 6 and 7, January–December 2024.

How the 1–6 Bands Map to Old TOEFL Totals

Score reports issued from 21 January 2026 carry a 1–6 band in half-point steps. The overall band is the average of the four section bands, rounded to the nearest half band.

ETS also publishes a comparison table for tests taken before that date. The bands are unevenly spaced against the old scale: 4 to 4.5 covers 14 legacy points, while 5.5 to 6 covers seven.

Band	Total (0–120)	Reading	Listening	Speaking	Writing
6	114+	29–30	28–30	28–30	29–30
5.5	107+	27–28	26–27	27	27–28
5	95+	24–26	22–25	25–26	24–26
4.5	86+	22–23	20–21	23–24	21–23
4	72+	18–21	17–19	20–22	17–20
3.5	58+	12–17	13–16	18–19	15–16
3	44+	6–11	9–12	16–17	13–14

Source: ETS, TOEFL Score Comparison for tests taken before 21 January 2026, published 2026.

Which TOEFL Section Filters Hardest?

Speaking recorded the lowest section mean in 2024 at 20.7, on the narrowest spread at 4.6. Listening recorded the highest mean at 22.1 on a spread of 6.2.

That matters because the band floors do not sit at the same place in each section. Speaking band 4.5 starts at 23; Listening band 4.5 starts at 20.

Section	Mean	S.D.	Band 4.5 range	Band 5 range
Reading	21.9	6.5	22–23	24–26
Listening	22.1	6.2	20–21	22–25
Speaking	20.7	4.6	23–24	25–26
Writing	21.1	4.6	21–23	24–26

Source: ETS, TOEFL iBT Test and Score Data Summary 2024, Table 2, January–December 2024; ETS TOEFL Score Comparison table, 2026.

Percentile rank at each band floor

Reading the section percentile ranks at those floors shows the gap. Speaking 25, the entry point to band 5, carries a percentile rank of 83. Listening 22, the entry point to the same band, carries 40.

Section	Band 4.5 floor	Percentile rank	Band 5 floor	Percentile rank
Reading	22	41	24	52
Listening	20	30	22	40
Speaking	23	63	25	83
Writing	21	40	24	68

Source: ETS, TOEFL iBT Test and Score Data Summary 2024, Table 2 section columns, January–December 2024; band floors from ETS TOEFL Score Comparison table, 2026.

Harvard Griffin GSAS requires an overall 5 with Speaking 4.5. Purdue’s Psychological Sciences programme sets Listening at 5 but Speaking at 4, which inverts the usual ordering.

TOEFL Score Requirements at US Universities

Institutions set their own minimums; ETS states there is no passing or failing score. Five of the twelve pre-2026 minimums listed below sat at 79 or 80, a cluster with no band boundary near it.

Admissions offices split on which way to round. Rounding to 4 puts the floor at a legacy 72, which carries a percentile rank of 20. Rounding to 4.5 puts it at 86, between the 39 at total 84 and the 47 at total 88.

Institution	Level	Before 21 Jan 2026	2026 band	Legacy equivalent
Harvard Griffin GSAS	Graduate	95, Speaking 23	5, Speaking 4.5	95+
UCLA graduate education	Graduate	87	4.5	86+
Purdue Psychological Sciences	Graduate	88, sections 22	4.5, R4.5 L5 S4 W4.5	86+
Georgia Graduate School	Graduate	80, Spk/Wr 20	4.5, Spk/Wr 4	86+
University of California	Undergraduate	80	4.5	86+
University of Alabama	Undergraduate	79	4.5	86+
University of Kansas	Undergraduate	79, subscore 18	4.5, subscore 4	86+
University of Miami	Undergraduate	80	4.5	86+
Arizona State Graduate	Graduate	80	4	72+
Arizona Graduate College	Graduate	79	4	72+
West Texas A&M	Undergraduate	74	4	72+
Arizona State, general	Undergraduate	61	3.5, sections 3.5	58+

Source: institutional admissions pages as published, accessed August 2026; legacy equivalents from the ETS TOEFL Score Comparison table, 2026. Georgia applies its band minimum to exams taken on or after 22 January 2026.

Alabama, Kansas, Miami, Georgia and the University of California went up. Arizona State’s graduate college, Arizona and West Texas A&M went down. A test taker at 79 clears the 72 floor and misses the 86 floor, decided by the rounding.

ETS notes that institutions are updating at different times and that some pages still carry 0–120 minimums. Score reports show both formats through a two-year transition, which is worth checking before you convert anything yourself. Anyone tracking how English proficiency benchmarks have shifted across systems will recognise the pattern.

TOEFL Score Distribution By Country of Origin

India sent 363,019 students to US institutions in 2024/25, 30.8% of the total. China sent 265,919, or 22.6%. Nepal grew fastest among the top ten at 48.7%, followed by Vietnam at 15.9%.

Place of origin	Students, 2024/25	Share of total	Change on 2023/24
India	363,019	30.8%	+9.5%
China	265,919	22.6%	-4.1%
South Korea	42,293	3.6%	-2.0%
Canada	29,903	2.5%	+3.1%
Vietnam	25,584	2.2%	+15.9%
Nepal	24,890	2.1%	+48.7%
Taiwan	23,263	2.0%	+0.5%
Nigeria	21,847	1.9%	+9.1%
Bangladesh	20,156	1.7%	+17.9%
Brazil	17,277	1.5%	+2.4%

Source: IIE Open Doors 2025 Fast Facts, 2024/25 academic year.

ETS 2024 mean total score by country

ETS publishes mean total scores by native country and states plainly that ranking countries on TOEFL scores is a misuse of the data, since test-taker groups differ in size and selection. The figures below describe 2024 cohorts, not national ability, and are listed in enrolment order.

India’s cohort mean of 94 clears an 86 floor. China’s 85 does not. Viet Nam recorded a total mean of 74, with a Speaking mean of 12 against a Reading mean of 23. Score means for the same countries track the demand patterns visible in language app usage data and in FSI hours-to-proficiency estimates.

Country	Mean total	Country	Mean total
India	94	Nepal	86
China	85	Taiwan	86
South Korea	86	Nigeria	82
Canada	96	Bangladesh	90
Viet Nam	74	Brazil	88

Source: ETS, TOEFL iBT Test and Score Data Summary 2024, Table 16, January–December 2024.

International students by academic level

Graduate enrolment reached 488,481 in 2024/25, down 2.7%, while undergraduate enrolment rose 4.2% to 357,231. Optional Practical Training grew 21.2% to 294,253. Nondegree study accounted for 37,801.

The graduate group is the larger reference pool for US admissions, and it is the one with the tighter percentile scale. Broader patterns in US state-level bilingualism data and in global speaker counts by language give some context for where these cohorts originate.

FAQ

What is the average TOEFL score?

The mean TOEFL iBT total score was 86 with a standard deviation of 19 across January–December 2024 test takers, per ETS. Graduate applicants outside business averaged 88; undergraduate applicants averaged 85.

What TOEFL band do most US universities require?

The minimums listed above cluster at bands 4 and 4.5. Band 4 corresponds to a legacy total of 72 or higher, band 4.5 to 86 or higher, per the ETS score comparison table.

Is a TOEFL score of 100 good?

A total of 100 carries a percentile rank of 75 in the ETS 2024 total group, 75 for undergraduate applicants and 72 for graduate applicants outside business. It clears every 4.5 cutoff listed above.

Reddit threads say schools still list 0–120 minimums. Is that right?

Yes. ETS states institutions are updating at different times and some pages still show 0–120. Score reports carry both the 1–6 band and a comparable 0–120 total through a two-year transition.

Which TOEFL section is hardest to clear, according to Reddit and the data?

Reddit applicants most often name Speaking, and the published ranks agree. Speaking 25, the band 5 floor, carries a percentile rank of 83 against 40 for Listening 22.