Nursing education reference
Nursing Education & NCLEX Statistics: 2026 Data
Current, citable figures on NCLEX outcomes, nursing-school capacity, faculty vacancies, and the registered-nurse workforce. Every statistic lists its source and data year.
A clear snapshot
The numbers behind nursing education and the NCLEX.
This page brings together widely cited public data for students, educators, writers, and anyone looking for a grounded view of the nursing pipeline. Exam statistics are separated from school-capacity and workforce data because each source measures something different.
Use the linked source beside each figure when you need the original report or its full methodology. For focused NCLEX review, visit Gatlet’s collection of visual nursing study guides.
Licensure exam outcomes
NCLEX statistics
These results come from NCSBN’s annual examination statistics for the 2025 calendar year.
328,443
NCLEX-RN candidates sat for the U.S. licensure exam in 2025.
This total includes first-time and repeat candidates educated in the United States and internationally.
NCSBN 2025 NCLEX Examination Statistics ↗2025 exam data, published June 202686.7%
First-time, U.S.-educated NCLEX-RN candidates passed in 2025.
192,916 first-time candidates educated in the United States tested that year.
NCSBN 2025 NCLEX Examination Statistics ↗2025 exam data, published June 202687.6%
First-time baccalaureate NCLEX-RN candidates passed in 2025.
The same report lists an 86.1% first-time pass rate for associate-degree candidates.
NCSBN 2025 NCLEX Examination Statistics ↗2025 exam data, published June 202647.3%
First-time internationally educated NCLEX-RN candidates passed in 2025.
52,827 first-time internationally educated candidates tested during the year.
NCSBN 2025 NCLEX Examination Statistics ↗2025 exam data, published June 2026The education pipeline
Nursing-school capacity
These figures describe qualified applications and faculty capacity across the nursing programs surveyed by AACN.
93,176
Qualified applications to U.S. baccalaureate and graduate nursing programs were not accepted in 2025.
AACN reports this number across the programs it surveyed. It is an application count, not a count of individual students.
AACN 2025 Enrollment and Graduations in Baccalaureate and Graduate Programs in Nursing ↗2025 school data, published May 20261,588
Full-time faculty vacancies were reported by 1,075 nursing schools in 2025.
The vacancies represented a 7.2% faculty vacancy rate in AACN’s survey.
AACN 2025 Enrollment and Graduations in Baccalaureate and Graduate Programs in Nursing ↗2025 school data, published May 2026The larger profession
Registered-nurse workforce outlook
BLS employment and projections put today’s study decisions in the context of a large, changing U.S. nursing workforce.
3,465,400
Registered nurses held 3,465,400 jobs in the United States in 2025.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects registered-nurse employment to reach 3,660,100 by 2035.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Registered Nurses Occupational Outlook Handbook ↗2025 employment and 2025-35 projection180,800
Registered-nurse openings are projected each year, on average, from 2025 to 2035.
The projection includes new jobs and openings created when workers leave the occupation permanently.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Registered Nurses Occupational Outlook Handbook ↗2025-35 projection$97,550
The median annual wage for registered nurses was $97,550 in May 2025.
A median means half of workers in the occupation earned more and half earned less.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Registered Nurses Occupational Outlook Handbook ↗May 2025 wage data6%
Registered-nurse employment is projected to grow 6% from 2025 to 2035.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics describes this as faster than the average for all occupations.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Registered Nurses Occupational Outlook Handbook ↗2025-35 projectionSources and methodology
How to read these statistics
The page uses public reports from the National Council of State Boards of Nursing, the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Figures remain tied to the data year named beside them, even when the source was published later.
- National Council of State Boards of Nursing, 2025 NCLEX Examination Statistics, 2025 exam data, published June 2026.
- American Association of Colleges of Nursing, 2025 Enrollment and Graduations in Baccalaureate and Graduate Programs in Nursing, 2025 school data, published May 2026.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Registered Nurses Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2025 employment and 2025-35 projections.
Last checked: October 19, 2026.
For writers and educators
Cite this page
Gatlet. “Nursing Education & NCLEX Statistics: 2026 Data.” Updated October 19, 2026. https://nclexnursinggatlet.org/nclex-nursing-statistics.