First-time, U.S.-educated candidates passed the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses at an 86.7% rate in 2025, with results ranging from 92.9% in North Dakota to 77.8% in Alaska.
The figures come from newly released data in the National Council of State Boards of Nursing’s annual “NCLEX Examination Statistics.” The report covers the 192,916 first-time, U.S.-educated candidates who took the RN licensure exam between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31, 2025. Of those, 167,272 passed. The NCLEX-RN is the gateway to RN licensure, making pass rates an early signal of the pipeline health systems depend on to fill bedside vacancies.
Some of the largest states trailed the national average. Florida (81.8%) and New York (82.3%) — the first- and third-largest states, respectively, by candidate volume — ranked near the bottom, while fellow high-volume states California (89.0%) and Texas (88.6%) placed among the stronger performers.
The top of the ranking skewed toward smaller states, where a mere few dozen candidates can swing the rate. Here is each state’s pass rate and candidate volume:
| Rank | State | Pass rate | Candidates |
| 1 | North Dakota | 92.9% | 647 |
| 2 | Vermont | 92.6% | 390 |
| 3 | South Carolina | 91.6% | 3,216 |
| 3 | South Dakota | 91.6% | 740 |
| 5 | Tennessee | 90.9% | 4,369 |
| 6 | Wyoming | 90.8% | 304 |
| 7 | Idaho | 90.7% | 1,276 |
| 7 | Montana | 90.7% | 572 |
| 9 | Delaware | 90.6% | 489 |
| 10 | Nebraska | 90.4% | 1,238 |
| 10 | Pennsylvania | 90.4% | 7,742 |
| 12 | Kansas | 90.1% | 1,804 |
| 13 | Arizona | 89.9% | 5,020 |
| 14 | New Hampshire | 89.8% | 865 |
| 15 | Maine | 89.7% | 936 |
| 15 | North Carolina | 89.7% | 5,236 |
| 17 | Louisiana | 89.5% | 2,593 |
| 18 | Mississippi | 89.4% | 2,146 |
| 19 | California | 89.0% | 16,255 |
| 20 | Oregon | 88.8% | 1,888 |
| 21 | Missouri | 88.7% | 3,661 |
| 22 | Texas | 88.6% | 16,454 |
| 23 | Virginia | 88.5% | 4,987 |
| 24 | Wisconsin | 88.4% | 3,890 |
| 25 | Nevada | 88.3% | 2,052 |
| 26 | Colorado | 87.8% | 2,214 |
| 26 | Hawaii | 87.8% | 507 |
| 28 | Maryland | 87.6% | 2,856 |
| 29 | Indiana | 87.3% | 4,093 |
| 30 | Alabama | 87.2% | 4,111 |
| 30 | Arkansas | 87.2% | 2,402 |
| 32 | Massachusetts | 87.1% | 3,740 |
| 33 | New Jersey | 86.9% | 4,549 |
| 34 | Connecticut | 86.8% | 2,275 |
| 34 | Iowa | 86.8% | 2,122 |
| 36 | West Virginia | 86.2% | 1,657 |
| 37 | Georgia | 86.0% | 5,468 |
| 38 | Michigan | 85.9% | 4,844 |
| 39 | District of Columbia | 85.8% | 275 |
| 40 | Kentucky | 85.3% | 3,598 |
| 41 | New Mexico | 85.2% | 1,004 |
| 42 | Rhode Island | 84.9% | 790 |
| 42 | Washington | 84.9% | 3,062 |
| 44 | Illinois | 84.8% | 6,351 |
| 45 | Ohio | 84.0% | 8,529 |
| 46 | Minnesota | 83.4% | 3,435 |
| 47 | New York | 82.3% | 11,418 |
| 48 | Florida | 81.8% | 17,403 |
| 49 | Oklahoma | 80.5% | 2,755 |
| 50 | Utah | 79.1% | 4,368 |
| 51 | Alaska | 77.8% | 248 |
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