ChilliFacts

Jalapeño Scoville Heat

Jalapeño measures 2,500–8,000 SHU, with a typical figure of 5,000 SHU: about 1× a typical jalapeño. It ranks #22 among verified peppers.

Also called chipotle (smoked, dried). Capsicum annuum.

Data checked October 20, 2026 · How we rank and verify

5,000 SHUTypical heat
2,500–8,000 SHUMeasured range
1×Against a jalapeño
Lab testedStatus
Pepper X: 2,693,000 SHUDragon's Breath: 2,480,000 SHUCarolina Reaper: 1,641,183 SHUTrinidad Scorpion Butch T: 1,463,700 SHU7 Pot Primo: 1,400,000 SHUKomodo Dragon: 1,400,000 SHUNaga Viper: 1,382,118 SHUTrinidad Moruga Scorpion: 1,200,000 SHUInfinity: 1,176,182 SHU7 Pot Brain Strain: 1,175,000 SHU7 Pot Douglah: 1,170,000 SHUDorset Naga: 1,032,310 SHUGhost Pepper: 1,001,304 SHUNaga Morich: 1,000,000 SHUDalle Khursani: 393,950 SHUFatalii: 262,500 SHURed Savina: 248,556 SHUHabanero: 225,000 SHUScotch Bonnet: 225,000 SHUDatil: 200,000 SHUKanthari: 80,640 SHUBird's Eye Chilli: 75,000 SHUCayenne: 40,000 SHUTabasco: 40,000 SHUGuntur Chilli: 36,160 SHUKashmiri Chilli: 20,800 SHUSerrano: 15,000 SHUByadgi Chilli: 10,000 SHUJalapeño · 5,0001K SHU10K SHU100K SHU1M SHU
Where Jalapeño sits on the Scoville scale. Each dot is a pepper in our dataset, on a log scale.

Where the number comes from

The widely used range of 2,500-8,000 appears in BBC reporting and is close to Guinness's 3,000-8,000. University extension figures are lower: Texas A&M gives an average of 3,500-4,500, NDSU 2,500-5,000 and UF/IFAS 2,000-8,000. Mild breeding lines (e.g. TAM) run lower. Our typical figure uses the round 5,000 figure cited by AP. The exact range midpoint would be 5,250.

Origin

Mexico (named after Xalapa, Veracruz). A Mexican C. annuum named after the city of Xalapa (Jalapa). It is the world's usual 'heat reference' pepper.

Flavour and looks

Grassy, green-vegetal when unripe.

Colours: green, red (ripe).

Immediate, short-lived

Facts

  • Honest 'times hotter' maths: Pepper X (2,693,000) is 337x the hottest jalapeno (8,000), about 540x a typical one (5,000) and 1,077x the mildest (2,500). Guinness uses the conservative 'at least 336 times'. [4]
  • Texas A&M extension lists the average jalapeno at only 3,500-4,500 SHU. [1]

Hotter and milder

Jalapeño compared

Compare Jalapeño with any other pepper →

Questions

How hot is Jalapeño?

Jalapeño measures 2,500–8,000 SHU, with a typical figure of 5,000 SHU. That makes it a medium pepper.

Is Jalapeño the hottest pepper in the world?

No. It ranks #22 in our verified ranking. The current record holder is Pepper X at 2,693,000 SHU.

Where does Jalapeño come from?

Mexico (named after Xalapa, Veracruz). A Mexican C.

Is the Jalapeño heat figure verified?

Lab tested: Measured by a university, government or peer-reviewed lab. The widely used range of 2,500-8,000 appears in BBC reporting and is close to Guinness's 3,000-8,000.

Sources

  1. Texas AgriLife Extension (Dr. Joe Masabni), 'Jalapeno & Other Hot Peppers': 3,500-4,500 average
  2. NDSU Extension FN584 'From the Garden to the Table: Salsa!': 2,500-5,000
  3. UF/IFAS Gardening Solutions, 'Peppers Ranked by Heat': 2,000-8,000
  4. Guinness World Records (record page, archived 19 Sep 2024): Guinness quotes 3,000-8,000
  5. BBC News, 19 Feb 2011: 2,500-8,000 range (secondary source)
  6. Associated Press via Fox News, Dec 2013: 'around 5,000' (secondary source)