Exams · NCLEX-RN
What Is a Good NCLEX Pass Rate?
How to read a nursing program's NCLEX pass rate, why cohort size and the year matter, what California requires, and the red flags worth asking a program about.
By the SEAPHE Editorial Team
Reviewed by a practicing registered nurse (RN, BSN)
"Our NCLEX pass rate is 95%!" is one of the most common lines in nursing school marketing. It can be meaningful, or it can be one lucky year from a class of twelve. The first-time NCLEX-RN pass rate is still the best single public signal of whether a program gets its graduates licensed, as long as you read it carefully. This guide shows how, using five years of California Board of Registered Nursing (BRN) data.
The short answer
A good pass rate is one that sits at or above the state average for the same year, over several years, with enough testers to mean something. In California, that has meant roughly the high 80s to low 90s in recent years. Anything below 75% falls under the BRN's minimum standard. A single number with no year or tester count attached is not enough to judge a program.
What the pass rate measures
The figure that matters is the first-time pass rate: of a program's graduates who took the NCLEX-RN for the first time in a given year, the share who passed. The BRN publishes it for every approved program, along with the number of testers. Some schools advertise an "ultimate" or "eventual" pass rate that includes retakes. That number is usually higher and is not comparable.
The exam itself changed recently. NCSBN launched the Next Generation NCLEX on April 1, 2023, with new item types focused on clinical judgment, and kept the passing standard unchanged. Today's test runs 85 to 150 items with up to five hours of testing time (NCSBN, 2025 NCLEX Examination Statistics).
The official floor: 75%
California regulation requires every nursing program to "maintain a minimum pass rate of seventy-five percent (75%) for first time licensing examination candidates" (16 CCR § 1431). A program that falls below 75% in an academic year must assess what went wrong and send the BRN a written improvement plan. Two consecutive years below 75% triggers a Board approval visit, and the Board may place the program on warning status or revoke its approval.
In 2024–25, 6 of the 154 programs with first-time testers were under 75%. Over the five years in our data, 9 programs were below 75% in at least two consecutive years, several of them with only a handful of testers. Seventy-five percent is a regulatory floor, not a goal.
The real benchmark: the same year's state average
Pass rates rise and fall statewide from year to year, so compare a program against the average for the same year rather than a fixed number:
California first-time NCLEX-RN pass rate by academic year
All BRN-approved programs, tester-weighted
| Year | Testers | Programs | Below 75% | State rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020–21 | 12,608 | 140 | 8 | 89.2% |
| 2021–22 | 14,503 | 144 | 16 | 85.9% |
| 2022–23 | 14,905 | 143 | 12 | 85.7% |
| 2023–24 | 14,587 | 152 | 6 | 94.0% |
| 2024–25 | 15,874 | 154 | 6 | 90.2% |
Source: California BRN NCLEX-RN pass rates, retrieved Oct 7, 2026; SEAPHE calculation.
A program at 88% looked strong in 2022–23, when the state averaged 85.7%, and below par in 2023–24, when it averaged 94.0%. The BRN counts academic years from July 1 to June 30, so 2023–24 was the first full year of the Next Generation NCLEX. The jump coincided with it; this data cannot tell us what caused it.
For national context, NCSBN reports that 86.7% of first-time, U.S.-educated candidates passed the NCLEX-RN in calendar year 2025, out of 192,916 testers. Because the BRN reports by academic year, the two are not an exact match.
One more caution about averages: they are weighted by testers, so big programs dominate. West Coast University alone accounted for about 35% of California's BSN first-time testers over the five years. Every SEAPHE school profile charts a program's rate against the state line for each year.
Why cohort size matters
Each tester is a bigger slice of a small program's rate. With 20 testers, one failure costs five percentage points. With 200 testers, it costs half a point. In 2024–25 the median California program had 63 first-time testers, 22 programs had fewer than 30, and 5 had just one, making their rate either 0% or 100%.
You can see the effect over time. Among the 27 programs that reported all five years and averaged fewer than 40 testers a year, the median gap between their best and worst year was 22.2 percentage points. Among the 15 programs averaging 150 or more testers, it was 8.7 points. A 100% year from a small program is worth celebrating, but it is weak evidence on its own.
Look at five years, not one
Multi-year averages smooth out lucky and unlucky cohorts. Among the 136 active California programs with at least 100 first-time testers over five years, 74 averaged 90% or higher, and 5 averaged below 80%. Our NCLEX pass rate table shows each program's five-year, tester-weighted average next to its yearly results, and you can sort or filter by degree type.
Also look at the direction. A program that has climbed from the low 80s to above the state average may have fixed real problems. One that has slid for three straight years deserves questions, even if its average still looks fine.
Pass rates and attrition belong together
A pass rate leaves out everyone who never reached the exam. The BRN's 2024–25 annual school report put statewide attrition at 7.4% and on-time completion at 84.6%, with generic ADN programs at 8.8% attrition and BSN programs at 83.1% on-time completion. A program that dismisses many struggling students before graduation can post a high pass rate without teaching more students through. SEAPHE school profiles show each program's self-reported attrition and on-time completion by year.
Red flags and questions to ask
- No year or tester count. Ask for first-time rates and tester numbers for each of the last three to five years, then check them against the BRN table.
- "Ultimate" pass rates. Ask for the first-time rate instead.
- Rates below the state average for several years, or any year below 75%. Ask what changed and what the improvement plan includes.
- High pass rate, high attrition. Ask how many students who start graduate on time, and how many are dismissed.
- Exit-exam gates. Some programs require students to pass a standardized predictor exam before they graduate or are cleared to test. Ask whether that applies and how many students were delayed.
- Brand-new programs. A program without NCLEX results yet is not necessarily bad, but you are taking on more uncertainty. Ask about faculty, clinical placements and national accreditation plans.
A quick way to rate what you see
This is SEAPHE's reading guide, not an official standard:
- Strong: at or above the state average in most of the last five years, with a steady or rising trend and at least a few dozen testers a year.
- Worth a closer look: mostly a few points below the state average, very small cohorts, or a recent drop.
- Concerning: any recent year below 75%, or a five-year average well below the state average.
Pass rates are one piece. Combine them with cost, completion and admission odds using our BSN checklist or ADN vs. BSN guide, and shortlist programs in the program finder.
Frequently asked questions
What is the minimum NCLEX pass rate for California nursing programs?
75% for first-time testers in an academic year, under 16 CCR § 1431. Falling below it requires a written assessment and plan; two consecutive years below it triggers a BRN approval visit.
Is a 100% pass rate always a good sign?
It is never a bad sign, but check the tester count. In 2024–25, 17 California programs reported 100%, and some of those had very few testers. A program at 93% with 300 testers is stronger evidence than 100% with six.
Why does the state average differ between sources?
Different data collections. SEAPHE's 90.2% for 2024–25 comes from the BRN's program pass-rate tables (15,874 testers). The BRN's annual school survey, which programs fill out themselves, reported 89.9% of 13,949 testers. NCSBN's national figures use calendar years. Compare like with like.
Do ADN or BSN programs have higher pass rates?
In California, ADN graduates have been slightly ahead: 92.1% versus 89.0% in 2024–25. See ADN vs. BSN in California.
How long is the NCLEX-RN?
Between 85 and 150 items, with up to five hours of testing time. In 2025, first-time U.S.-educated candidates averaged 103 items and 2 hours 14 minutes, according to NCSBN. More on our exams hub.
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Sources
- California Board of Registered Nursing, NCLEX-RN Pass Rates, First Time CA Educated Exam Testers, 2020–21 to 2024–25 (retrieved Oct 7, 2026).
- California Code of Regulations, Title 16, § 1431, Licensing Examination Pass Rate Standard (via Cornell LII).
- National Council of State Boards of Nursing, 2025 NCLEX Examination Statistics (published 2026), Tables 1 and 3.
- University of California, San Francisco for the California BRN, 2024–2025 BRN Annual School Report: Data Summary, Pre-Licensure Programs (Tables 19 and 63).
- California Board of Registered Nursing, Accreditation, Attrition, and On Time Completion Rates (retrieved Oct 7, 2026).
Last reviewed Oct 2026. Figures change every year; check each source for the latest release.