What Is a Good CCAT Score? Benchmarks by Role (2026)

There is no universal passing score on the CCAT - every employer sets its own bar. But the benchmarks are public enough to set a sensible target. Here's the honest picture.

24
Average (50th %ile)
31
≈ Top 20%
35
Crossover baseline
40+
Elite screens

Criteria's own suggested ranges

Criteria's sample score report lists suggested score ranges by position - each a suggested minimum with an upper bound of 50. Selected examples:

Role familySuggested range
Customer service, retail sales, sales rep, service technician17-50
Office & admin support, paralegal, medical assistance, art & design19-50
Accounting, financial services, HR, management, software development20-50
Marketing & product, nursing, project manager, IT & computing21-50
Analyst, engineering, finance manager, science & research, senior leadership22-50
Data analytics & statistics, legal24-50

Note how modest these minimums are: an average-ish 24 clears every published range. The suggested minimum is where consideration starts, though - competitive applicant pools push effective bars higher.

The employers with published hard bars

Rule-of-thumb targets by role tier

Synthesizing prep-industry estimates (label these approximate, not official): admin/support roles cluster around 20-24, sales and customer success 24-26, marketing and operations 26-28, engineering and tech 28-32, data/analytics and consulting 30-34, senior leadership 32-36+. A score of 31 puts you roughly in the top 20% of all test-takers and is a genuinely competitive result for most jobs; 42+ effectively tops the scale for any role.

Set your target = role bar + safety margin

Score reports are compared against role benchmarks, and proctored verification retakes are common - so the score you can produce reliably is the one that matters. Aim 3-4 points above the bar you believe applies to your role, and verify with practice simulations that you hit it consistently, not once.

Translate any score to a percentile

The average is 24.2; the percentile curve is steep around it (28 ≈ 68th, 31 ≈ 79th, 35 ≈ 90th - estimates from the published norms). Look up any raw score with the CCAT percentile calculator, and see CCAT scores explained for how the raw score, percentile, and sub-scores fit together.

If your target feels far away

The gap from average (24) to competitive (31) is seven points, and practice closes gaps like that: the meta-analytic average gain from repeated practice is 50th → 71st percentile. The plan is in how to prepare for the CCAT; the simulator is here.

Find your current score →