Where does your score sit?
Type in your total and see how many of the 65,322 candidates in 2026 scored at least as much. Not sure of your total? The CAO points calculator works it out from your grades.
455 points put you in the top 34.4% of 2026 candidates.
22,460 of the 65,322 candidates scored 450 or more; 42,862 scored less. CAO publishes the figures in ten-point bands, so everyone from 450 to 459 shares this position.
The short version: average points in the Leaving Cert 2026
- Median: the middle candidate scored between 390 and 399 points. 50.7% scored 390 or more.
- Top half: 400 points or more (48.1% of candidates).
- Top quarter: 480 or more (25.4%).
- Top 10%: 550 or more (10.1%).
- Top 3%: 600 or more (2,033 candidates, 3.1%).
- Maximum 625: 624 candidates (1.0%).
CAO does not publish a mean, only these bands, so treat “average points” as roughly 395. The figures are the nominal best-six score including the Higher Maths bonus, for every candidate in CAO’s table, without reference to course eligibility.
How many students got 625 points in 2026?
624 candidates scored the maximum 625, which is 1.0% of the year. In 2025 it was 737 (1.2%), so the very top thinned out even though the total number of candidates rose from 60,937 to 65,322. Another 648 scored between 610 and 624, and 761 between 600 and 609.
Points distribution 2026, with 2025 alongside
| Points | 2026 candidates | Share of 2026 | Share of 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 625 (maximum) | 624 | 1.0% | 1.2% |
| 600 to 624 | 1,409 | 2.2% | 2.7% |
| 500 to 599 | 11,211 | 17.2% | 18.6% |
| 400 to 499 | 18,193 | 27.9% | 28.2% |
| 300 to 399 | 16,751 | 25.6% | 24.9% |
| 200 to 299 | 10,083 | 15.4% | 14.5% |
| 100 to 199 | 4,511 | 6.9% | 6.6% |
| Under 100 | 2,540 | 3.9% | 3.3% |
| Total | 65,322 | 100% | 100% (60,937) |
Read across and the shift is clear: 2026 has a larger cohort with a slightly smaller share at the top. 20.3% scored 500 or more this year against 22.5% in 2025, and the median band slipped from 400 to 409 down to 390 to 399.
What a “good” score means in practice
A percentile tells you where you stand among candidates, not whether you get a course. Cut-offs depend on how many people with a given score wanted a given course. Undergraduate medicine sits above 700 once HPAT marks are added, while several Level 7 courses take every qualified applicant. Our Round 1 cut-offs page lists the actual points for every course, and you can type in your total there to see which courses it would have reached.
Full ten-point table, 2026
| Points | Candidates | Scored this or more |
|---|---|---|
| 625 | 624 | 624 (1.0%) |
| 610 to 624 | 648 | 1,272 (1.9%) |
| 600 to 609 | 761 | 2,033 (3.1%) |
| 590 to 599 | 356 | 2,389 (3.7%) |
| 580 to 589 | 581 | 2,970 (4.5%) |
| 570 to 579 | 1,063 | 4,033 (6.2%) |
| 560 to 569 | 1,217 | 5,250 (8.0%) |
| 550 to 559 | 1,343 | 6,593 (10.1%) |
| 540 to 549 | 1,414 | 8,007 (12.3%) |
| 530 to 539 | 1,423 | 9,430 (14.4%) |
| 520 to 529 | 1,468 | 10,898 (16.7%) |
| 510 to 519 | 1,065 | 11,963 (18.3%) |
| 500 to 509 | 1,281 | 13,244 (20.3%) |
| 490 to 499 | 1,550 | 14,794 (22.6%) |
| 480 to 489 | 1,790 | 16,584 (25.4%) |
| 470 to 479 | 1,874 | 18,458 (28.3%) |
| 460 to 469 | 1,983 | 20,441 (31.3%) |
| 450 to 459 | 2,019 | 22,460 (34.4%) |
| 440 to 449 | 1,960 | 24,420 (37.4%) |
| 430 to 439 | 1,764 | 26,184 (40.1%) |
| 420 to 429 | 1,751 | 27,935 (42.8%) |
| 410 to 419 | 1,728 | 29,663 (45.4%) |
| 400 to 409 | 1,774 | 31,437 (48.1%) |
| 390 to 399 | 1,691 | 33,128 (50.7%) |
| 380 to 389 | 1,800 | 34,928 (53.5%) |
| 370 to 379 | 1,726 | 36,654 (56.1%) |
| 360 to 369 | 1,715 | 38,369 (58.7%) |
| 350 to 359 | 1,678 | 40,047 (61.3%) |
| 340 to 349 | 1,746 | 41,793 (64.0%) |
| 330 to 339 | 1,690 | 43,483 (66.6%) |
| 320 to 329 | 1,612 | 45,095 (69.0%) |
| 310 to 319 | 1,595 | 46,690 (71.5%) |
| 300 to 309 | 1,498 | 48,188 (73.8%) |
| 290 to 299 | 1,403 | 49,591 (75.9%) |
| 280 to 289 | 1,328 | 50,919 (78.0%) |
| 270 to 279 | 1,268 | 52,187 (79.9%) |
| 260 to 269 | 1,136 | 53,323 (81.6%) |
| 250 to 259 | 1,007 | 54,330 (83.2%) |
| 240 to 249 | 923 | 55,253 (84.6%) |
| 230 to 239 | 784 | 56,037 (85.8%) |
| 220 to 229 | 781 | 56,818 (87.0%) |
| 210 to 219 | 750 | 57,568 (88.1%) |
| 200 to 209 | 703 | 58,271 (89.2%) |
| 190 to 199 | 684 | 58,955 (90.3%) |
| 180 to 189 | 627 | 59,582 (91.2%) |
| 170 to 179 | 558 | 60,140 (92.1%) |
| 160 to 169 | 501 | 60,641 (92.8%) |
| 150 to 159 | 450 | 61,091 (93.5%) |
| 140 to 149 | 435 | 61,526 (94.2%) |
| 130 to 139 | 342 | 61,868 (94.7%) |
| 120 to 129 | 352 | 62,220 (95.3%) |
| 110 to 119 | 235 | 62,455 (95.6%) |
| 100 to 109 | 327 | 62,782 (96.1%) |
| Under 100 | 2,540 | 65,322 (100.0%) |
Frequently asked questions
What is the average Leaving Cert points score in 2026?
The median candidate scored between 390 and 399 points: 50.7% of the 65,322 candidates scored 390 or more, and 48.1% scored 400 or more. CAO publishes the distribution in bands rather than a single mean, so "about 395" is the honest one-number answer.
How many students got 625 points in 2026?
624 candidates, or 1.0% of everyone who sat the exam. That is down from 737 (1.2%) in 2025. A further 1,409 scored between 600 and 624, so 2,033 candidates (3.1%) finished on 600 or more.
Is 400 points a good Leaving Cert result?
It is a little above the middle. 48.1% of 2026 candidates scored 400 or more, so 400 puts you just inside the top half. 480 points is the top quarter (25.4%), and 550 is the top ten percent (10.1%).
What is the maximum number of Leaving Cert points?
625: six H1 grades at 100 points each, plus the 25 bonus points for a H6 or better in Higher Level Maths. Without Higher Maths the ceiling is 600.
Are these the points I need for a course?
No. This page shows how all candidates scored, not what colleges asked for. For entry points, see our Round 1 cut-offs page, which lists the points of the last applicant offered a place on every CAO course.