What Is the Average Rice Purity Score? A Look by Age
Is your score normal for your age? Here's what we know, and what we don't, about average Rice Purity Test scores for teens, college students and adults.
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"Is my score normal?" is probably the most common question people ask after taking the Rice Purity Test. The honest answer is: it depends on your age, and the data is fuzzier than most websites admit. This article walks through what's typical at each stage of life, why averages are so slippery, and where to find real numbers.
Why there's no official average
You'll find plenty of websites quoting precise averages like "the average 18-year-old scores 74.5". Be skeptical. There's no official, scientific study of Rice Purity scores. The numbers floating around usually come from:
- Informal polls on social media.
- Self-reported scores from a single website's visitors.
- Small surveys of specific groups, such as one college class.
All of these have the same problem: the people who take an online purity test are not a random sample. People who are proud of their score, or who find the test funny, are more likely to take it and share it. Some answer as a joke. Others take it many times.
That doesn't make averages useless, but it means you should treat them as rough signals, not standards.
The one real historical number
The best-documented average comes from the very beginning. According to Rice University's student newspaper, the Rice Thresher, the 119 women who took the original 1924 purity test had an average score of 62. Of course, that was a completely different test, written for a completely different era, so it doesn't tell us much about today.
Typical scores by life stage
Rather than inventing precise figures, here's a realistic picture of what's common at each stage, based on how the test is built and what people widely report. Use it as a loose guide.
| Age group | Commonly reported range | Why |
|---|---|---|
| 13–15 | 85–100 | Few of the items apply yet |
| 16–17 | 75–95 | Dating, parties and first rule-breaking |
| 18–19 | 65–90 | Leaving home, college, nightlife |
| 20–22 | 50–80 | Relationships, alcohol, more independence |
| 23–29 | 40–70 | Years of adult experiences accumulate |
| 30+ | 30–65 | Scores tend to level off |
Notice how wide those ranges are. Two 20-year-olds can easily be 40 points apart and both be perfectly typical.
Why scores drop with age
The Rice Purity Test asks whether you have ever done something. That means:
- Scores can never go up. Once an item is checked, it stays checked.
- Many items are simply life milestones. Going on a date, staying out all night or traveling with friends aren't wild. They're just part of growing up.
- The biggest drops happen in the late teens and early twenties, when people gain independence, move away from home and start college or work.
After the mid-twenties, most people's scores change more slowly. The remaining unchecked items tend to be the more extreme ones that many people never do.
Other factors that affect your score
Age is the biggest factor, but not the only one:
- Culture and religion. Values around dating, alcohol and family strongly shape which items apply.
- Where you live. Drinking ages, local laws and social norms differ between countries.
- Social circle. Friends who party often, or rarely, influence what you experience.
- Personality. Some people are naturally more adventurous or risk-tolerant.
- Relationships. Long-term relationships check off many romance and intimacy items.
Where to find real, live data
We built a live statistics page that shows the actual distribution of scores from everyone who takes the test on this site, including the average and median for each version. It's still a self-selected sample, but it's transparent: you can see exactly how scores are spread out, rather than relying on a single quoted figure.
A tip when reading it: pay attention to the median, the middle score. Joke submissions of 0 or 100 can pull the average around, but the median is much more stable.
So, is your score normal?
Almost certainly, yes. Unless you're 14 with a score of 10 or 35 with a perfect 100 (both unusual, though still not wrong), your score is well within the huge range of normal human experience.
More importantly, "normal" isn't a goal. The test was invented as an icebreaker. Its whole point was to show how varied people's lives are, not to push everyone toward the same number.
Frequently asked questions
What is the average Rice Purity score for a 16-year-old?
There's no official figure, but many 16-year-olds report scores somewhere in the 75–95 range.
What is the average Rice Purity score for college students?
College students commonly report scores in the 60s to 80s, with freshmen usually higher than seniors.
What's the average score for adults?
Adults over 25 often report scores between about 30 and 70, but the variation is enormous.
Why do websites show different averages?
Each site's visitors are different, and none of them are a scientific sample. That's why we show our full distribution instead of a single headline number.
See how you compare
Take the Rice Purity Test and you'll instantly see what percentage of people scored above and below you, based on our anonymous live data.
