What Is a Good ASVAB Score?
7 min read · Updated
There is no single ASVAB score, and this confuses almost everyone at the start. The exam produces one number that decides whether you can enlist at all, and a set of other numbers that decide what you are allowed to do once you are in.
The AFQT is the one that gets you in
Four of the sections combine into the Armed Forces Qualification Test score: Arithmetic Reasoning, Mathematics Knowledge, Word Knowledge and Paragraph Comprehension. Nothing else counts toward it. If your study time is limited, that is where it goes.
It is a percentile, not a percentage
An AFQT of 50 does not mean you answered half the questions correctly. It means you scored higher than 50 percent of a reference group of test takers. That is why a 31 is a pass rather than a fail, and why the scale stops at 99.
Minimum AFQT by branch
| Branch | Minimum with a high school diploma |
|---|---|
| Army | 31 |
| Navy | 31 |
| Marine Corps | 31 |
| Air Force | 31 |
| Space Force | 31 |
| Coast Guard | 36 |
Treat those as floors rather than targets. Every branch admits well above its own minimum when recruiting is comfortable, and the number needed with a GED rather than a diploma is higher. Your recruiter is the authority on what is being accepted this month.
What to actually aim for
| AFQT | What it opens |
|---|---|
| 31 to 49 | Enlistment possible, job choice narrow |
| 50 to 64 | Comfortably qualified, most branches, decent range of roles |
| 65 to 79 | Strong. Most technical roles and many bonuses in reach |
| 80 to 99 | Nearly everything, including the most competitive fields |
Line scores decide the job
The other sections feed composite line scores, and each branch builds them differently. An Army mechanical maintenance score combines different sections from a Navy electronics score. This is why someone with a modest AFQT can still land a technical role, and why someone with a high AFQT can be turned down for one: the sections you neglected are the ones that composite needed.
Before you retake
You can retake after one calendar month, again after another month, then the wait becomes six months. Your most recent score is the one that counts, which means a retake can lower a good score as well as raise a poor one. Do not sit it again casually.