You took the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale and got a number between 10 and 40. This is the most widely used measure of global self-esteem, meaning how you feel about yourself as a person overall. Here's what your score actually tells you.
The quick answer
| Score | What it suggests |
|---|---|
| 10-25 | Low self-esteem |
| 26-29 | Normal self-esteem |
| 30-40 | High self-esteem |
The average US adult scores about 33. Roughly two thirds score between 27 and 38, which is one standard deviation either side of that average (Sinclair et al., 2010, N = 503).
That matters for reading your own result. The low band does not sit near the average. It sits well below it.
Why other pages give completely different numbers
You will find sites saying the average is 22, or that anything under 15 is low self-esteem. Those numbers are not wrong. They belong to a different scoring of the same ten questions.
The RSE is scored two ways. Ours gives each item 1 to 4 points, so a total runs 10 to 40. Rosenberg's original gives each item 0 to 3 points, so a total runs 0 to 30. Same questions, same answers, ten points apart.
| Our scoring | Original scoring | |
|---|---|---|
| Total range | 10-40 | 0-30 |
| Suggests low self-esteem | 25 and under | Under 15 |
| Average US adult | About 33 | 22.6 |
Convert one to the other and the two cutoffs land within a point. They mostly agree about who has low self-esteem. The averages look wildly different only because of the ten-point shift.
Before you compare your number to anything you read elsewhere, check which range that page is using. A 22 sits in the low band on our scale and almost exactly on the average on the original.
What the RSE measures
The 10 questions assess your overall sense of self-worth. Not how you feel about specific abilities or areas of your life, but how you feel about yourself as a person.
The questions cover:
- Whether you feel satisfied with yourself
- Whether you think you have good qualities
- Whether you feel like a person of worth
- Whether you can do things as well as others
- Whether you take a positive attitude toward yourself
And the flip side:
- Whether you feel like a failure
- Whether you feel useless at times
- Whether you wish you had more self-respect
- Whether you think you're "no good"
- Whether you lack things to be proud of
Your score reflects the balance between positive and negative self-evaluations.
Understanding "global" self-esteem
The RSE measures global self-esteem, your overall sense of self-worth as a person.
This is different from:
- Academic self-esteem (how smart you think you are)
- Social self-esteem (how likeable you think you are)
- Physical self-esteem (how you feel about your appearance)
- Professional self-esteem (how competent you feel at work)
You can have low global self-esteem but high confidence in specific areas. A person might think "I'm good at my job" while also thinking "I'm fundamentally not a worthwhile person." The RSE captures that deeper, more general self-evaluation.
What to do based on your score
These are the same three bands the assessment itself uses to interpret your result. Percentages below come from that average of 33 and its spread. Treat them as orientation, not exact ranks.
Score 30-40 (high self-esteem)
You have a generally positive view of yourself. This is associated with:
- Greater life satisfaction
- Better resilience to setbacks
- Healthier relationships
- Lower risk of depression and anxiety
High self-esteem isn't the same as narcissism or arrogance. Healthy high self-esteem means you value yourself while also being able to acknowledge your flaws and accept criticism.
This is where most adults land. About three quarters of the population scores 30 or above, so a score here is common rather than exceptional.
Note: A perfect 40 means you gave the most positive answer available ten times out of ten. If you scored at the ceiling, it's worth asking whether you answered how you genuinely feel or how you think you "should" feel.
Score 26-29 (normal self-esteem)
You have a reasonably balanced view of yourself, with room for both self-acceptance and self-improvement.
One thing the label hides: this band is narrower than "normal" makes it sound. Only about one adult in seven scores here, and most people score above it. So a result here sits closer to the low end of the population than the middle. That is not a problem in itself.
Building self-worth can improve well-being from here. "Normal" is not the same as "nothing to work on".
Score 10-25 (low self-esteem)
Your score suggests you're struggling with how you see yourself. Low self-esteem at this level is associated with:
- Higher risk of depression and anxiety
- Difficulty in relationships
- Reduced motivation and persistence
- Physical health impacts
Consider:
- Talking to a therapist, especially one who uses cognitive-behavioral approaches
- Identifying the sources of your negative self-view
- Being aware that low self-esteem often co-occurs with depression. If you are also feeling hopeless, unmotivated, or experiencing other depression symptoms, addressing that may help self-esteem too
Near the bottom of the range
A total in the low teens means something specific: you disagreed with almost every positive statement about yourself and agreed with almost every negative one. That is worth telling someone about. Therapy helps, and treating depression helps too when depression is part of what's going on.
We don't publish a separate "very low" band, and you may see one elsewhere. A cutoff of 15 gets quoted often, but it belongs to the 0-30 scoring described above. There it marks the start of low self-esteem, not the bottom of it. On our scale, 15 is close to the floor.
What self-esteem isn't
It's not the same as confidence. Confidence is about specific abilities ("I'm confident I can give this presentation"). Self-esteem is about your worth as a person ("I matter regardless of how the presentation goes").
It's not about accomplishments. High achievers can have low self-esteem. Self-esteem comes from how you evaluate yourself, not from what you've done.
It's not fixed. Self-esteem changes throughout life. It tends to be lower in adolescence, gradually increases through adulthood, and can shift based on life circumstances, relationships, and mental health.
It's not about never having self-doubt. Even people with healthy self-esteem have moments of insecurity. The difference is that those moments don't define their overall self-view.
The connection to depression
Low self-esteem and depression are closely related, but they're not the same thing.
- Low self-esteem can be a risk factor for developing depression
- Depression almost always involves negative self-evaluation
- Treating depression often improves self-esteem
- But some people have low self-esteem without clinical depression
If your RSE score is low, it's worth considering whether you might also have depression. The PHQ-9 can help screen for that.
Can self-esteem change?
Yes. Self-esteem isn't a permanent trait. It can be improved through:
Therapy: Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is particularly effective. It helps identify and challenge the negative beliefs you hold about yourself.
Accomplishments and mastery: Achieving things you care about can gradually shift self-perception, though this works best when combined with changing how you interpret your experiences.
Relationships: Supportive relationships can improve self-esteem; critical or abusive relationships can damage it.
Treating underlying conditions: If depression or anxiety is contributing to low self-esteem, addressing those conditions often helps self-worth improve too.
Common questions
Is low self-esteem a mental illness?
No, low self-esteem isn't a diagnosis. But it's a risk factor for mental health problems and commonly co-occurs with depression, anxiety, and eating disorders. It's clinically significant even when it doesn't meet criteria for a disorder.
Why do some questions ask about negative things?
The RSE includes both positive items ("I feel I have good qualities") and negative items ("I feel useless at times"). Including both helps get a more accurate picture of how you actually feel, rather than just measuring your willingness to endorse positive statements.
My score seems lower than how I actually feel. Why?
You might be more self-critical when answering questions directly than you are in daily life. Or you might have domain-specific confidence that doesn't translate to global self-worth. The score reflects your answers in the moment. It's data, not destiny.
My score is high but I still feel insecure sometimes. Is that a problem?
No. Everyone experiences insecurity at times. High self-esteem means your overall self-evaluation is positive, not that you never doubt yourself. Situational insecurity is normal.
Can self-esteem be too high?
Genuine high self-esteem is healthy. But some researchers distinguish between secure high self-esteem (stable, not dependent on external validation) and fragile high self-esteem (defensive, easily threatened). Very high scores might occasionally reflect defensiveness rather than genuine self-acceptance.
Tracking over time
Unlike symptom measures (PHQ-9, GAD-7), self-esteem doesn't change week to week. The RSE is more useful for:
- Establishing a baseline
- Tracking change over months of therapy
- Evaluating whether life changes have affected self-perception
Taking it monthly during therapy is reasonable. Weekly is probably too often to see meaningful change. You can retake the RSE whenever you want a fresh baseline, or read more about the scale itself.
The bottom line
Your RSE score reflects how you feel about yourself as a person, your global self-worth. Scores of 26-40 are in the normal-to-high range, and the average US adult sits around 33 (Sinclair et al., 2010). Scores of 25 and below suggest low self-esteem, which is associated with psychological vulnerability and may benefit from attention. None of this is a diagnosis: the RSE measures how you rated ten statements, not whether you have a condition. Self-esteem isn't fixed either. It can improve through therapy, life experiences, and addressing conditions like depression that feed a negative self-view.