Short answer: ranked by first-time pass rate, averaged over the last two July exams (NCBE data):
- Easiest: Utah (89.5%), Iowa (87%), Minnesota and Missouri (86% each).
- Hardest: Nevada (63.5%), North Dakota (70.5%), Rhode Island and Vermont (72% each), and Maine (73%).
- California, often called the hardest, isn't ranked yet. Its July 2026 results are due October 30, 2026; in July 2025 its first-time rate was 70%.
Pass rates measure who takes the exam as much as the exam itself, so read the caveats below before choosing a state on these numbers.
How we ranked
- First-time takers only. Overall rates mix in repeaters, who pass far less often, and the repeater share differs from state to state.
- July 2025 and July 2026, averaged. February cohorts are smaller and differ from July ones, so February 2026 is left out of the ranking.
- Every jurisdiction with both July rates in NCBE's table. That's 42. The rest are listed after the table with the reason.
All rates are from NCBE's bar pass rates by jurisdiction page, last updated by NCBE on October 26, 2026 and checked on October 27.
Bar exam pass rates by state, ranked
| Rank | Jurisdiction | Two-July average | July 2026 | July 2025 | Passing score (July 2026) | Exam |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Utah | 89.5% | 90% | 89% | 260 | UBE |
| 2 | Iowa | 87% | 91% | 83% | 260 | UBE |
| 3 | Minnesota | 86% | 84% | 88% | 260 | UBE |
| 3 | Missouri | 86% | 85% | 87% | 610 | NextGen |
| 5 | District of Columbia | 85% | 83% | 87% | 266 | UBE |
| 6 | North Carolina | 84.5% | 82% | 87% | 270 | UBE |
| 6 | Oregon | 84.5% | 90% | 79% | 615 | NextGen |
| 8 | Kansas | 83.5% | 80% | 87% | 266 | UBE |
| 8 | Massachusetts | 83.5% | 81% | 86% | 270 | UBE |
| 8 | South Carolina | 83.5% | 82% | 85% | 266 | UBE |
| 11 | Montana | 83% | 80% | 86% | 266 | UBE |
| 12 | Illinois | 82% | 80% | 84% | 266 | UBE |
| 12 | Kentucky | 82% | 83% | 81% | 266 | UBE |
| 12 | Virginia | 82% | 79% | 85% | 140 | Own exam |
| 15 | Oklahoma | 81.5% | 82% | 81% | 260 | UBE |
| 15 | Pennsylvania | 81.5% | 81% | 82% | 270 | UBE |
| 15 | Texas | 81.5% | 79% | 84% | 270 | UBE |
| 18 | Ohio | 81% | 82% | 80% | 270 | UBE |
| 19 | Maryland | 80.5% | 85% | 76% | 616 | NextGen |
| 19 | Tennessee | 80.5% | 80% | 81% | 270 | UBE |
| 21 | Hawaii | 80% | 83% | 77% | 132 | Own exam |
| 21 | Indiana | 80% | 77% | 83% | 264 | UBE |
| 21 | Louisiana | 80% | 78% | 82% | — | Own exam |
| 21 | South Dakota | 80% | 82% | 78% | — | Own exam |
| 25 | Colorado | 79.5% | 79% | 80% | 270 | UBE |
| 25 | Nebraska | 79.5% | 79% | 80% | 270 | UBE |
| 27 | Georgia | 78.5% | 75% | 82% | 270 | Own exam |
| 28 | Alabama | 77.5% | 77% | 78% | 260 | UBE |
| 29 | Arizona | 77% | 74% | 80% | 270 | UBE |
| 29 | Arkansas | 77% | 75% | 79% | 270 | UBE |
| 29 | New York | 77% | 76% | 78% | 266 | UBE |
| 32 | Florida | 76.5% | 75% | 78% | 136 | Own exam |
| 32 | New Mexico | 76.5% | 72% | 81% | 260 | UBE |
| 34 | Delaware | 76% | 71% | 81% | 143 | Own exam |
| 35 | Wyoming | 75.5% | 76% | 75% | 270 | UBE |
| 36 | Wisconsin | 75% | 63% | 87% | 260 | UBE |
| 37 | Michigan | 73.5% | 71% | 76% | 268 | UBE |
| 38 | Maine | 73% | 68% | 78% | 270 | UBE |
| 39 | Rhode Island | 72% | 69% | 75% | 270 | UBE |
| 39 | Vermont | 72% | 75% | 69% | 270 | UBE |
| 41 | North Dakota | 70.5% | 69% | 72% | 260 | UBE |
| 42 | Nevada | 63.5% | 56% | 71% | 75 | Own exam |
Passing scores are each jurisdiction's July 2026 standard: 260 to 270 on the UBE's 400-point scale, 610 to 616 for the three NextGen states that report rates, and each state's own scale for the rest (so Delaware's 143 and Nevada's 75 can't be compared with anyone else's). Iowa's 260 took effect in July 2026; it was 266 before.
Not ranked yet
| Jurisdiction | July 2025 first-time rate | Why it isn't ranked |
|---|---|---|
| Mississippi | 86% | July 2026 results not in NCBE's table yet |
| Alaska | 76% | July 2026 results not in NCBE's table yet |
| New Jersey | 75% | July 2026 results not in NCBE's table yet |
| California | 70% | July 2026 results due October 30, by 4:00 p.m. |
| New Hampshire | 70% | Released a pass list, no rates in NCBE's table |
| Connecticut | 66% | Released a pass list, no rates in NCBE's table |
| Washington | 82% | July 2026: 74% overall, no first-time figure |
| West Virginia | 82% | July 2026: 62% overall, no first-time figure |
| Idaho | Not reported | July 2026 first-time rate 87%, no July 2025 figure |
Guam, Palau, Puerto Rico, the Northern Mariana Islands and the US Virgin Islands have very small cohorts or no first-time figures. The July 2026 results by state tracker updates as the remaining states post.
What these numbers don't tell you
- Most of these states give the same exam. A Uniform Bar Exam taker in Utah answers the same questions as one in Maine. The differences come from the passing score and from who sits the exam.
- The passing score moves the line. UBE states set theirs between 260 and 270, so a 266 in a 260 state passes and the same 266 fails in a 270 state.
- The candidates differ. First-time rates depend on which law schools feed each state and how many applicants come from elsewhere.
- Small states swing. Wisconsin's first-time rate went from 87% to 63% between the two Julys on about 120 examinees a year. Treat any state with fewer than 100 examinees with care.
- Nevada has changed its exam. Its board says July 2026 was the last administration of its traditional bar exam; it now licenses through the Nevada Plan.
What NextGen changes
On the NextGen exam every announced passing score sits between 610 and 620, and most states kept the standard they had on the old exam. That narrows one source of difference between states, but not the other: pass rates will still vary with each state's candidates. Only 10 jurisdictions gave NextGen in July 2026, so there's little NextGen pass-rate data to compare yet. To check where a specific score passes, use the score calculator; for each state's number, see passing scores by state.
Sources
- NCBE, bar pass rates by jurisdiction: July 2026, February 2026 and July 2025 tables, last updated October 26, 2026, checked October 27
- NCBE, NextGen UBE minimum passing scores and UBE minimum scores
- State Bar of Nevada, the Nevada Plan (July 2026 was the last administration of the traditional exam)
- Release dates for California and the other states still to report: the results tracker and the boards it cites
