alt Hacker NewsI think you will find that fifty percent of people are of below average intelligence regardless of where you live.
The average does tend to vary from state to state. It actually is a bit lower in the southern and midwestern states, but only by a few points.
https://worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/average-iq-...
This is just an extrapolation of NAEP testing. It's more or less a chart of SES and how many students in each state need English language supports.
People tend to believe without questioning it that there are geographical/regional surveys of "IQ". But have you ever been compelled to take an IQ test as part of a survey like that? I've never heard of that happening. In fact: those kinds of surveys do not exist.