Nursing in California

California’s first-time NCLEX pass rates have generally tracked at or above the U.S. average, often by a few points. Across 2016–2020, California sat roughly 2 to 5 points higher than national (for example, 2019 was 91.7% vs 88.2%). Even in earlier dips such as 2014, California (83.5%) still exceeded the national rate (81.7%). The clearest outperformance appears in 2022, when both declined but California remained about 4 points higher (83.7% vs 79.9%), suggesting the state’s programs, on average, were more resilient during that downturn.

Over time, California shows a “dip and recovery” pattern rather than steady linear improvement. After a mid-2010s low around 2013–2014 (about 84%), outcomes strengthened through 2019 (low 90s), softened in 2021–2022 (87.5% then 83.7%), and then rebounded sharply in 2023–2024 (90.4% and 92.7%). The recent direction is clearly upward, and 2024 stands as the strongest year in this series, alongside a larger testing volume.

Context that is widely discussed in board and NCSBN-facing conversations helps explain this volatility: major NCLEX test plan changes (notably the 2013 update and the 2023 Next Generation NCLEX) and pandemic-era training disruptions have repeatedly been linked to temporary drops and uneven recovery across programs, even when overall state averages stay strong. State board reviews in many jurisdictions also routinely point to a long tail of underperforming programs, often concentrated among newer or resource-constrained schools, which can pull down statewide results during stress periods. For students choosing California programs, the data suggest the state performs well overall, but year-to-year swings mean program-level outcomes and stability still matter more than the statewide average.

California’s first-time NCLEX-RN pass rates have usually trailed the national average by a noticeable margin. From 2010–2017, California sat mostly in the low 70s while the U.S. was commonly in the low-to-mid 80s, a gap often around 10 to 14 points. The gap was especially clear in 2014 (about 68% in CA versus about 83% nationally). Even in stronger years like 2019 (about 79% versus about 86%), California remained below the national level.

Over time, the pattern looks like a long period of underperformance followed by a clear rebound rather than steady, linear progress. After improving in 2018–2020 (roughly 77% to 79%), California dipped again in 2021–2022 (about 72% to 73%) while national rates also softened. The last two years show a marked upswing: about 81% in 2023 and about 84% in 2024, though still roughly 4 to 5 points below the national averages in those years.

Context commonly cited in board discussions and NCLEX performance reviews helps explain why California can lag even when improving: state reports have repeatedly highlighted wide variation across programs, with a subset of consistently underperforming schools pulling down the statewide average, and long-standing concerns about rapid program growth and uneven clinical and faculty capacity, particularly among some private programs. This combination means prospective students should look past the statewide average and pay close attention to an individual program’s multi-year pass-rate history and standing with the Board, since outcomes in California have not been uniform across schools even as the overall trend has recently improved.