The average USMLE Step 2 CK score for US and Canadian medical students falls right around 250, which sits at the 47th percentile in the current norm table. This data comes from nearly 68,000 test-takers at accredited medical schools between 2022 and 2025. A score of 255 places you at the 60th percentile, meaning the true median lands somewhere between 250 and 255.
Step 2 CK Score Percentiles
The USMLE publishes a norm table based on 67,934 students from US and Canadian medical schools. Here’s how scores map to percentiles:
- 240: 24th percentile
- 245: 34th percentile
- 250: 47th percentile
- 255: 60th percentile
- 260: 74th percentile
- 265: 85th percentile
- 270: 94th percentile
The jumps are worth paying attention to. Each 5-point increase covers a larger chunk of test-takers as you move toward the middle of the distribution, and the gaps tighten near the top. Going from 260 to 265 moves you 11 percentile points, but going from 265 to 270 only moves you 9. Scoring above 270 puts you in the top 6% of all US and Canadian medical students.
The Passing Score
The minimum passing score for Step 2 CK is currently 214, but that changes on July 1, 2025, when it rises to 218. Either way, the passing threshold sits well below the average. A passing score alone won’t make you competitive for most residency programs, since it falls roughly 30 points below the mean.
The gap between passing and competitive matters more now than it used to. After Step 1 moved to pass/fail scoring in 2022, Step 2 CK became the only USMLE exam that gives residency programs a three-digit score to compare applicants. That shift has made your Step 2 CK number one of the most visible metrics in your residency application.
What Scores Are Competitive for Residency
What counts as a “good” score depends entirely on what specialty you’re applying to. For less competitive fields like family medicine, internal medicine, or pediatrics, scoring near the average (around 250) generally keeps you in the conversation. For competitive specialties like dermatology, plastic surgery, orthopedic surgery, or otolaryngology, matched applicants typically score well above 250, often in the 260s or higher.
With Step 1 no longer providing a numerical score, program directors have increasingly leaned on Step 2 CK to screen applicants. A score that would have been “fine” five years ago may now need to be higher simply because more weight is placed on this single number. If you’re targeting a competitive specialty, aiming for the 75th percentile (260) or above gives you the strongest positioning.
How Students Prepare
Most students dedicate 4 to 6 weeks of focused study time to Step 2 CK, typically studying 8 to 10 hours a day during that block. The standard approach involves completing a full question bank at least once, then reviewing missed questions to close knowledge gaps. Students who score highest tend to combine question-based practice with review of clinical reasoning, since Step 2 CK tests your ability to manage patients rather than recall basic science.
Your clinical rotations do a significant amount of the preparation work before dedicated study even begins. Step 2 CK covers the same material you encounter on the wards: diagnosis, next best step in management, and patient care decisions. Students who performed well during clerkships often find that dedicated study time is more about sharpening test-taking skills and filling in weak areas than learning new material from scratch.
How to Read Your Score Report
Your score report includes a three-digit score and a pass/fail designation. You’ll also see a performance profile showing how you did across individual content areas, but no percentile is printed on the report itself. To find your percentile, you compare your three-digit score against the norm table published by the USMLE.
Keep in mind that the norm table reflects only students from accredited US and Canadian schools. International medical graduates take the same exam but are not included in that reference group, and their score distributions can differ. If you’re an IMG, your score is still reported on the same scale, but the published percentiles may not precisely reflect where you stand relative to other IMG applicants.