The National Council Licensure Examination, or NCLEX, averaged an 87.8% passage rate in 2023, according to the National Council of State Boards of Nursing.
The council surveyed more than 2,000 nursing programs to assess average number of clinical hours, major changes to leadership and the average NCLEX passage rate. In a dashboard, the organization published a map with each state’s average NCLEX pass rate.
Compared to a pass rate of 79.1% in early 2024, the rate among registered nurses decreased to 71.6% in early 2025. Nursing leaders told Becker’s this decline could be connected to the NCLEX’s new format, which rolled out in 2023.
Nineteen states either do not participate in the NCLEX or do not have public data. Here is each state’s mean NCLEX pass rate:
Alabama — data unavailable
Alaska — 90.5%
Arizona — 82.4%
Arkansas — 77.2%
California — data unavailable
Colorado — data unavailable
Connecticut — data unavailable
Delaware — 91.4%
Florida — data unavailable
Georgia — 91.7%
Hawaii — data unavailable
Idaho — 83.6%
Illinois — 88.4%
Indiana — 89.8%
Iowa — 87.1%
Kansas — 81.5%
Kentucky — 87.8%
Louisiana — data unavailable
Maine — data unavailable
Maryland — data unavailable
Massachusetts — data unavailable
Michigan — 87.5%
Minnesota — 88.4%
Mississippi — 92.9%
Missouri — 85.3%
Montana — 88.6%
Nebraska — 95.3%
Nevada — 90.0%
New Hampshire — data unavailable
New Jersey — 81.2%
New Mexico — data unavailable
New York — data unavailable
North Carolina — 89.9%
North Dakota — 97.8%
Ohio — 88.5%
Oklahoma — 89.6%
Oregon — 84.5%
Pennsylvania — data unavailable
Rhode Island — data unavailable
South Carolina — 93%
South Dakota — data unavailable
Tennessee — 90%
Texas — 90.5%
Utah — data unavailable
Vermont — data unavailable
Virginia — 82.3%
Washington — 88.4%
West Virginia — 79.1%
Wisconsin — data unavailable
Wyoming — 95.1%
