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Hardest Bar Exams by State 2023
By the time you finish studying law, you must decide where you want to practice. This is the state where you’ll take the bar exam, so it’s a crucial decision to make. The level of difficulty of the bar exam varies by state. Some states have lower pass rates and notably more difficult exams than others.
Don’t get scared by pass rates from a particular state. Instead, consider the exam’s format, the type of material on the exam, and the exam duration. We normally consider human factors when defining the hardest bar exam. So don’t let your career be determined by the estimates alone because you play the biggest role in your bar exam results!
Here are the hardest bar exams by state.
State | Overall Pass Rate 🔼 |
|---|---|
| Alabama | 31% |
| Maryland | 32% |
| California | 33% |
| Connecticut | 35% |
| Michigan | 35% |
| Idaho | 36% |
| Maine | 36% |
| Tennessee | 36% |
| Oklahoma | 37% |
| Mississippi | 38% |
California
The California Bar Exam has one of the lowest pass rates in the country. The exam takes full days, including a performance test to evaluate your ability to handle several legal challenges involving a client. Besides the performance test, the exam also comprises five essay questions and the Multistate Bar Examination, which all the applicants must take nationwide.
Surprisingly, the bar exam in California used to be even harder to pass! The cut score to pass was 1440 out of 2000 (it is now 1390) and the exam took three full days to complete.
Arkansas
Arkansas has the second most notorious and difficult bar exam in America. Although Hillary Clinton once said it was simpler than the Washington, D.C., bar examination. Just like in California, it’s also a two-day exam. The difficulty level is due to the local laws and the number of states on the exam. If you wish to practice law in Arkansas, ensure you study for your bar exam smartly.
Washington
There are three law schools in Washington, producing a higher number of students annually who sit for a two-day bar exam. Seattle is one of the most moving cities due to many out-of-state bar examinees. It contains much more material than bar exams in other states, leading to its notoriety as a difficult bar exam. If you wish to practice law in Washington, prepare for a tough exam!
Louisiana
This three-day-long exam is uniquely difficult. Louisiana prepares its law student differently from any other state in the country – its four law schools teach civil (the tradition in Europe and France) and common law (the tradition in England and other 49 states). So, if you want to practice law in Louisiana successfully, you must go to law school in the state, learn the unique legal system there, and then sit for a bar exam that is entirely different from other states.
Nevada
There is one law school in Nevada, and it offers two and half-day bar exams alongside one of the lowest pass rates in the U.S. This is due to the combination of unique laws and higher required aggregates to pass.
- The table below lists percentage pass rates for the February 2023 bar exam as reported by each jurisdiction following release of their exam results.
- Exception: Delaware data is from July 2022
- Passing scores in South Dakota vary by jurisdiction
State | Overall Pass Rate | First Time Pass Rate | Repeater Pass Rate | # of Exam Takers | Passing Score | UBE State |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 31% | 49% | 21% | 297 | 260 | |
| Maryland | 32% | 49% | 24% | 358 | 266 | |
| California | 33% | 45% | 28% | 3,765 | 1390 | |
| Connecticut | 35% | 57% | 24% | 161 | 266 | |
| Michigan | 35% | 45% | 25% | 337 | 268 | |
| Idaho | 36% | 60% | 20% | 76 | 272 | |
| Maine | 36% | 51% | 17% | 69 | 270 | |
| Tennessee | 36% | 54% | 26% | 292 | 270 | |
| Oklahoma | 37% | 55% | 26% | 160 | 264 | |
| Mississippi | 38% | 48% | 24% | 56 | 132 | |
| Florida | 39% | 55% | 26% | 2,108 | 136 | |
| Massachusetts | 40% | 60% | 28% | 494 | 270 | |
| New York | 40% | 56% | 31% | 3,660 | 266 | |
| Oregon | 40% | 58% | 26% | 156 | 270 | |
| Arizona | 41% | 60% | 12% | 232 | 273 | |
| Nebraska | 41% | 42% | 40% | 66 | 270 | |
| Louisiana | 42% | 49% | 38% | 190 | ||
| Ohio | 42% | 60% | 31% | 358 | 270 | |
| Wisconsin | 42% | 67% | 17% | 83 | 258 | |
| Illinois | 43% | 62% | 35% | 753 | 266 | |
| New Mexico | 44% | 72% | 24% | 77 | 260 | |
| Pennsylvania | 44% | 55% | 37% | 537 | 272 | |
| Rhode Island | 44% | 67% | 31% | 41 | 270 | |
| District of Columbia | 45% | 55% | 35% | 606 | 266 | |
| Minnesota | 45% | 62% | 29% | 165 | 260 | |
| Texas | 45% | 59% | 34% | 1,151 | 270 | |
| Colorado | 47% | 54% | 42% | 264 | 270 | |
| Missouri | 47% | 59% | 38% | 223 | 260 | |
| North Carolina | 47% | 63% | 29% | 416 | 270 | |
| South Carolina | 47% | 66% | 29% | 174 | 266 | |
| Washington | 47% | 56% | 37% | 264 | 270 | |
| Arkansas | 48% | 59% | 40% | 99 | 270 | |
| Georgia | 49% | 66% | 37% | 495 | 270 | |
| Indiana | 50% | 62% | 42% | 169 | 264 | |
| New Hampshire | 50% | 53% | 47% | 30 | 270 | |
| Iowa | 51% | 70% | 35% | 49 | 266 | |
| Kansas | 51% | 63% | 38% | 45 | 266 | |
| Kentucky | 52% | 52% | 52% | 115 | 266 | |
| Wyoming | 52% | 48% | 57% | 29 | 270 | |
| Delaware | 53% | 64% | 27% | 143 | ||
| Nevada | 53% | 65% | 36% | 199 | 75 | |
| Hawaii | 54% | 58% | 48% | 102 | 133 | |
| North Dakota | 54% | 69% | 43% | 39 | 260 | |
| South Dakota | 55% | 90% | 37% | 29 | ||
| West Virginia | 55% | 50% | 56% | 55 | 270 | |
| Montana | 59% | 72% | 48% | 39 | 266 | |
| Virginia | 63% | 75% | 47% | 173 | 140 | |
| Utah | 65% | 74% | 41% | 79 | 270 | |
| Vermont | 66% | 72% | 50% | 35 | 270 | |
| Alaska | 75% | 77% | 71% | 36 | 270 |