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 2024 calendar year.
317,867
NCLEX-RN candidates sat for the U.S. licensure exam in 2024.
This total includes first-time and repeat candidates educated in the United States and internationally.
NCSBN 2024 NCLEX Examination Statistics ↗2024 exam data91.2%
First-time, U.S.-educated NCLEX-RN candidates passed in 2024.
186,760 first-time candidates educated in the United States tested that year.
NCSBN 2024 NCLEX Examination Statistics ↗2024 exam data91.9%
First-time baccalaureate NCLEX-RN candidates passed in 2024.
The same report lists an 88.4% first-time pass rate for associate-degree candidates.
NCSBN 2024 NCLEX Examination Statistics ↗2024 exam data53.8%
First-time internationally educated NCLEX-RN candidates passed in 2024.
58,995 first-time internationally educated candidates tested during the year.
NCSBN 2024 NCLEX Examination Statistics ↗2024 exam dataThe 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.
3.47M
Registered nurses held about 3.47 million jobs in the United States in 2025.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects registered-nurse employment to reach about 3.66 million 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 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, 2024 NCLEX Examination Statistics, 2024 exam data.
- 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: September 17, 2026.
For writers and educators
Cite this page
Gatlet. “Nursing Education & NCLEX Statistics: 2026 Data.” Updated September 17, 2026. https://nclexnursinggatlet.org/nclex-nursing-statistics.