2026 Data · All 50 States
Real Estate Exam Pass Rates by State
The national first-time pass rate is 54%. Click2CE students pass at 92%.
Hardest 5 states
- Nevada45%
- Florida47%
- Colorado49%
- North Carolina52%
- Georgia53%
Easiest 5 states
- Montana72%
- Wyoming72%
- North Dakota71%
- South Dakota68%
- Alaska65%
Why pass rates vary so much
Six factors explain almost all of the state-to-state variation.
Exam difficulty and question depth
States that draw from a deeper question pool with more nuanced state-law gotchas (FL, CA, NV) consistently rank lowest in pass rate. Wyoming and Montana use shorter, more straightforward state sections.
Pre-license hour requirements
Counterintuitively, longer pre-license courses do NOT guarantee higher pass rates. California requires 135 hours and California pass rate is 55%; Wyoming requires 54 hours and pass rate is 72%. Course quality matters more than course length.
Dual-section scoring requirements
Nevada and Washington require 75% and 70% (respectively) on BOTH the national AND state sections independently. Failing either section fails the exam — a major reason NV pass rate is 45% and WA is 56% despite competent students.
Testing provider
PSI and Pearson VUE administer most state exams. Item difficulty calibration differs slightly between providers, but the bigger factor is which question pool the state licenses from each vendor.
Quality of pre-license and exam prep
States with weaker prep-course markets (driven by pricing pressure or limited approved providers) see lower pass rates. The 92% Click2CE pass rate is driven primarily by AI-powered weak-spot targeting and state-specific question-bank curation.
State law complexity
Florida (transaction-broker default, doc stamps + intangible tax, FREC composition), California (DRE, community property, FEHA classes, Prop 13), and Nevada (NRS 645 + dual-section + GBS deeds) test more state-specific concepts than the average state — which mathematically lowers their first-attempt pass rate.
How Click2CE compares
First-attempt pass rate, head to head.
Click2CE figure based on internal Pass Guarantee records and student-reported outcomes. National average from ARELLO and aggregated state real estate commission reports. Competitor average is an industry estimate.
Full 50-state pass-rate table
Click any state to see exam details and Click2CE prep.
| State | Pass Rate | Provider | Dual Section? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 60% | PSI | Yes |
| Alaska | 65% | Pearson VUE | Yes |
| Arizona | 56% | Pearson VUE | No |
| Arkansas | 60% | PSI | Yes |
| California | 55% | PSI | No |
| Colorado | 49% | PSI | Yes |
| Connecticut | 62% | PSI | Yes |
| Delaware | 64% | Pearson VUE | Yes |
| Florida | 47% | Pearson VUE | No |
| Georgia | 53% | PSI | Yes |
| Hawaii | 60% | PSI | Yes |
| Idaho | 65% | Pearson VUE | Yes |
| Illinois | 60% | PSI | Yes |
| Indiana | 62% | PSI | Yes |
| Iowa | 64% | PSI | Yes |
| Kansas | 65% | Pearson VUE | Yes |
| Kentucky | 60% | PSI | Yes |
| Louisiana | 58% | PSI | Yes |
| Maine | 65% | Pearson VUE | Yes |
| Maryland | 60% | PSI | Yes |
| Massachusetts | 60% | PSI | Yes |
| Michigan | 56% | PSI | Yes |
| Minnesota | 64% | Pearson VUE | Yes |
| Mississippi | 60% | Pearson VUE | Yes |
| Missouri | 60% | PSI | Yes |
| Montana | 72% | PSI | No |
| Nebraska | 65% | PSI | Yes |
| Nevada | 45% | PSI | Yes |
| New Hampshire | 60% | Pearson VUE | Yes |
| New Jersey | 65% | PSI | No |
| New Mexico | 60% | PSI | Yes |
| New York | 58% | Pearson VUE | No |
| North Carolina | 52% | Pearson VUE | Yes |
| North Dakota | 71% | Pearson VUE | Yes |
| Ohio | 60% | PSI | Yes |
| Oklahoma | 62% | Pearson VUE | Yes |
| Oregon | 60% | PSI | Yes |
| Pennsylvania | 60% | PSI | Yes |
| Rhode Island | 65% | PSI | Yes |
| South Carolina | 58% | PSI | Yes |
| South Dakota | 68% | Pearson VUE | Yes |
| Tennessee | 56% | PSI | Yes |
| Texas | 56% | Pearson VUE | Yes |
| Utah | 62% | Pearson VUE | Yes |
| Vermont | 65% | PSI | Yes |
| Virginia | 58% | PSI | Yes |
| Washington | 56% | PSI | Yes |
| West Virginia | 62% | AMP | Yes |
| Wisconsin | 65% | Pearson VUE | Yes |
| Wyoming | 72% | Pearson VUE | No |
Pass rates fluctuate quarterly and vary by reporting period. Figures shown reflect averages across the most recent two reporting years from state real estate commission reports, ARELLO, and PSI/Pearson VUE published summaries. "Dual section" means the state requires passing the national and state sections independently rather than a combined score.
Frequently asked questions
What is the national average real estate exam pass rate?
Approximately 54% across all U.S. states for first-time test-takers (combined salesperson/broker, 2024-2025 reporting). The figure varies by source and reporting period; ARELLO (Association of Real Estate License Law Officials) and individual state real estate commissions are the primary public data sources.
Which state has the hardest real estate exam in the country?
Nevada — first-time pass rate of approximately 45%. The combination of dual-section scoring (75% required on BOTH national and state sections independently), heavy NRS 645 statutory testing, a dense 40-question state section, and tight 3.5-hour time limit (for the 120-question total exam) make NV consistently the lowest pass-rate state. Florida (47%) and Colorado (49%) round out the bottom three.
Which states have the highest real estate exam pass rates?
Wyoming and Montana tie around 72%, followed by North Dakota at 71%, South Dakota at 68%, and Idaho/Kansas/Maine/Alaska in the 65% range. These states tend to have shorter state-law sections, less complex regulatory frameworks, and smaller licensing programs (which can mean better instructor-to-student ratios in pre-license courses).
How does the Click2CE pass rate compare to the national average?
Click2CE’s internal student first-time pass rate is approximately 92% across states with sufficient sample size, compared to the ~54% national average and ~60% typical competitor average. The difference is driven by AI-powered weak-spot targeting (the Click2CE AI Tutor identifies which topics you’re missing and weights your practice toward those gaps), state-specific question-bank curation, and the Pass Guarantee structure that aligns our incentives with your outcome.
Why do pass rates vary so much from state to state?
Six factors: (1) exam content depth and gotcha density, (2) dual-section scoring requirements that fail candidates who pass overall but miss one section, (3) testing-provider question-pool calibration, (4) quality and pricing of the local pre-license market, (5) state-law complexity, and (6) the difficulty of the math section. The first three factors account for most of the variation.
Where does this pass-rate data come from?
The data is compiled from publicly available state real estate commission reports, ARELLO statistics, PSI and Pearson VUE published exam summaries, and our own Click2CE Pass Guarantee records (for the Click2CE figure). Pass rates fluctuate quarter-to-quarter; the figures shown reflect averages across the most recent two reporting years.
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