The National Association of State Boards of Accountancy has released a new report that analyzes CPA exam candidate success and trends across jurisdictions and institutions for 2025.
Designed with jurisdiction and university analysis in mind, The NASBA Report: Candidate Performance on the Uniform CPA Examination (2025 Edition), features comprehensive statistical data from all four testing quarters for 2025, including the three primary CPA exam content areas: Auditing and Attestation (AUD), Financial Accounting and Reporting (FAR), and Taxation and Regulation (REG).
The report also includes data on the three CPA exam disciplines: Business Analysis and Reporting (BAR), Information Systems and Controls (ISC), and Tax Compliance and Planning (TCP).
The 2025 edition of the report provides summary performance for candidates applying to each jurisdiction, with trending data for number of sections, number of unique candidates, average age, and percent pass while also providing university rankings and statistics based upon examination data.
Additional features include performance data for the top 20 international countries based on candidate-reported home addresses, as well as jurisdiction rankings across key performance metrics. Section descriptions are also included to explain each view and provide context for the reported metrics, NASBA says.
In 2025, the three states with the highest pass rates were Nebraska (64.7%), Utah (62.4%), and Kansas (61.8%).
Nebraska also had the highest pass rate in 2024 (61.9%), followed by Utah (58.6%) and Montana (57.4%).
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Performance metrics indicate 87,660 candidates took the CPA exam in 2025, up from 74,165 candidates the previous year. Of those 87,660 candidates, 36,590 were new candidates, with 23,978 candidates passing their final section of the exam.
NASBA began gathering data on CPA exam candidates in 1982 and has published reports on performance and selected characteristics since 1985.
Background data for the publication was obtained from board of accountancy submissions of eligible candidate information into NASBA’s National Candidate Database and then analyzed and compiled by NASBA staff.
Sold in softback format, the 2025 edition is available for $300. Orders can be placed through NASBAreport.com.
Questions regarding The NASBA Report: Candidate Performance on the Uniform CPA Examination (2025 Edition) and other candidate performance products should be directed to cpb@nasba.org.
Photo credit: Viktor Prazis/Freepik
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Tags: Accounting, CPA exam, CPA exam pass rates, NASBA, states
