What does percentile mean?
A percentile indicates a position within a set of measurements or results. For example, a value at the 90th percentile is higher than or equal to 90 percent of the values in the comparison group. Percentiles are commonly used to describe standardized test scores, income distributions, growth measurements, and performance data, making it easier to compare an individual result with a wider population. The 50th percentile is the median, while higher percentiles indicate progressively more favourable positions in the distribution. A percentile does not by itself tell the whole story: distributions can be uneven, and comparisons are meaningful only when the same measurement and comparable population are used. In ordinary language, “in the 95th percentile” often means being at or above the 95th percentile, though more exact wording can distinguish percentile value from percentile rank.
nounA value on a scale from 0 to 100 indicating the percentage of a distribution that falls below a particular score. A score at the 90th percentile is higher than or equal to 90 percent of the scores in the group being compared.
- A value in a statistical distribution indicating the percentage of values at or below a given score.
- The position of a score or observation within a distribution, often expressed as a rank from 0 to 100.
"Her result placed her in the 98th percentile nationally."
"The score was higher than the value at the 75th percentile for the control group."
"A result in the 99th percentile indicates an unusually strong performance relative to the comparison group."
Used when referring to several values or positions within a distribution, as in “the highest and lowest percentiles.”
"The chart compares results across the 10th, 50th, and 90th percentiles."
A percentile is a place in the race, not the speed of the car: it tells you how a score compares with the rest of the group.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does percentile come from?
The word belongs to the Latin-derived vocabulary of measurement. It developed through the influence of French centile and is related to English percent and percentage, all expressing the idea of division into or comparison with a hundred parts. In its statistical sense, it denotes a point marking a stated percentage of a ranked distribution.
How percentile is actually used
In general use, percentile is often treated as equivalent to percentile rank, although technically the percentile is the value marking a specified point in a distribution. It is common to say that someone is in the 90th percentile, while more precise statistical writing may distinguish between being at the 90th percentile and having a percentile rank of 90.
Easily confused with percentile
A percentage expresses an amount as part of a whole, whereas a percentile indicates a position within a ranked distribution.