The USMLE pass rates and score norms that define the playing field — national first-time pass rates for Step 1, Step 2 CK, and Step 3, with year and source on every figure.
Unofficial guide. This site is independent — not affiliated with the AAMC, NBME, USMLE, LCME, or NRMP. These are national figures from the official published sources, summarized here with citations. Your school has its own cohort numbers, which it reports to you directly.
Step 1 became pass/fail in January 2022, and the passing standard was raised from 194 to 196 at the same time. The "pass/fail effect" is visible below: the national first-time pass rate for U.S. MD students fell from 95% to 91% in one year.
| Year | U.S. MD first-time | U.S. DO first-time |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 95% | 94% |
| 2022 | 91% | 91% |
| 2023 | 90% | 86% |
| 2024 | 89% | 86% |
Source: USMLE Performance Data, published by the NBME (usmle.org → Performance Data). "First-time" means first attempt; eventual pass rates are higher and are a different number — never conflate them.
Since Step 1 went pass/fail, Step 2 Clinical Knowledge is the score residency programs see — and its pass rate is far higher than Step 1's, while the mean score has stayed put.
| Measure | Figure | Period |
|---|---|---|
| U.S. MD first-time pass rate | 98% | 2022–2024 |
| U.S. DO first-time pass rate | 96% | 2022–2024 |
| Mean score (first-time takers) | 249 | 2023–2024 |
| Passing standard | 218 | Raised July 2025 |
| Repeat-taker pass rate, U.S. MD | ∼74% | — |
| Repeat-taker pass rate, U.S. DO | ∼72% | — |
Source: USMLE Performance Data (NBME). Note the repeat-taker collapse: failing once roughly doubles the odds of failing again. First-attempt pass is a career variable, not just a school metric.
| Measure | Figure | Period |
|---|---|---|
| U.S. MD first-time pass rate | ∼97% | 2023 |
Source: USMLE Performance Data (NBME). Step 3 is taken during residency — mentioned here for completeness; it doesn't affect your residency application.
The residency stakes. The 2024 NRMP Program Director Survey found that 77% of program directors consider failed Step attempts when deciding whom to interview. That makes the first-attempt pass rate above more than a school statistic — it's the number that protects your application.
Source: NRMP 2024 Program Director Survey.
Enter your MCAT and preclinical performance to get an estimated Step 1 pass likelihood and projected Step 2 CK range — benchmark-based, fully transparent about its limits.
Try the estimator →See what Step 2 CK scores actually matched to each specialty in the 2024 NRMP Charting Outcomes — observed rates by score band, all 16 specialties.
Explore the match data →Back to the overview: what Step 1 (pass/fail) and Step 2 CK (scored) mean for you, and where the SI exam resources live.
Read the overview →Figures as published through 2026-09-30. The NBME and NRMP publish new data on their own schedules; check the official sites for the latest editions.