NCLEX Pass Rates — Iowa Nursing Schools (2025)
As of 2025, 9 Iowa schools reported first-time RN NCLEX pass rates of 66.7–97.4% , per Iowa Board of Nursing — NCSBN 2025 RN NCLEX EOY Report 4. Dataset average 88.4% (national reference 87.5%). Only display-eligible cohorts of 10+ first-time candidates are shown.
Key takeaways
- Iowa institutional average in our dataset: 88.4% (2025).
- Small cohorts (fewer than 10 first-time candidates) are marked display-ineligible and not shown as headline rates.
- Iowa is a Nurse Licensure Compact state — an RN license issued here can authorize practice in other compact states.
- National first-time NCLEX-RN pass rate reference: 87.5% (NCSBN).
- 5 Iowa schools with latest-year pass rates at or above 90%.
88.4%
Iowa first-time RN average (2025)
Source: Iowa Board of Nursing — NCSBN 2025 RN NCLEX EOY Report 4
9
Schools with N≥10 cohorts in 2025
Source: Iowa Board of Nursing — NCSBN 2025 RN NCLEX EOY Report 4
5
Schools at or above 90%
Source: Iowa Board of Nursing — NCSBN 2025 RN NCLEX EOY Report 4
Last verified 2026-08-21. Only display-eligible cohorts (N≥10) are shown.
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First-time NCLEX-RN pass rates — Iowa schools
As of 2025, 9 Iowa schools reported first-time RN NCLEX pass rates of 66.7–97.4% , per Iowa Board of Nursing — NCSBN 2025 RN NCLEX EOY Report 4. Only display-eligible cohorts of 10+ first-time candidates are shown.
Pass rate
Showing 9 of 9 schools.
| Kirkwood Community College | 97.4% | 78 | 2025 |
| Mount Mercy University | 95.2% | 62 | 2023 |
| Allen College | 92.9% | 98 | 2023 |
| University of Iowa College of Nursing | 91.7% | 156 | 2023 |
| North Iowa Area Community College | 91.4% | 35 | 2025 |
| Western Iowa Tech Community College | 89.7% | 29 | 2025 |
| St. Ambrose University | 88.1% | 84 | 2023 |
| Mercy College of Health Sciences | 82.5% | 252 | 2023 |
| Briar Cliff University | 66.7% | 12 | 2022 |
Source: Iowa Board of Nursing — NCSBN 2025 RN NCLEX EOY Report 4
Next step: compare Iowa programs by what matters to you
Iowa schools in this table average 88.4% first-time NCLEX-RN pass (9 schools, N≥10; 5 above 90%). Pass rates tell you how a program performs — these views narrow the same Iowa schools by cost, speed, and seat availability.
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