11% of Express Entry applicants have a CRS score above 500 points.

Only 11% of applicants have a Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score above 500, which makes it harder than ever to get into the Express Entry pool. New data from Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) as of November 9, 2025, shows that the number of candidate profiles has gone down, but the number of applicants with high scores has gone up very quickly.

Less people are in the pool, but the top scores get better.

The number of people in the Express Entry pool has gone down from 24,547 profiles in the last two weeks to 245,706. The biggest drop was between scores 411 and 430, where about 3,228 profiles went away. This is most likely because the candidates are older, their profiles are expiring, or invitations to apply (ITAs) were sent out during the last few draws.

At the top of the pool, on the other hand, there was clear growth. The range of profiles from 501 to 600 had 417 more, and the range of profiles from 601 to 1,200 had almost 700 more. Most of these were Provincial Nominee Programme (PNP) candidates. Because of these changes, the system is likely to get more provincial nominations and profiles that are very competitive.

Taking a Look at the CRS Spread

The numbers we have now show that most of the candidates are still between 351 and 400. This group has more than 52,000 profiles, which is 21% of the whole pool. About 22% of candidates got scores between 401 and 450, and almost 11% got scores above 500.

There are now about 100 candidates with a CRS score above 600. This is a very high percentage that shows how popular the provincial streams are.

What the Trends Show

The most recent information shows that Express Entry is going through a few major changes:

• If you don't have extra points from a job offer, nomination, or college, it may be harder for people with CRS scores below 470 to get an ITA as the number of profiles with high scores grows.
• The nearly 400-point rise in the range of 601 to 1,200 points means that provincial selection has begun, since nominees get 600 more CRS points automatically.
• The drop in candidates between 411 and 430 may be because the competition is tougher, so fewer mid-range applicants are making or updating their profiles.

Since the beginning of the year, the IRCC has kept up with both general and targeted draws, but this month the cut-off scores were higher. There may be more draws that favour people with scores in the upper 490s or who have provincial nominations as more candidates with higher scores enter the pool.

More than 11% of Express Entry applicants now have more than 500 points. This means that the competition for permanent residence is stronger than ever. People who don't meet the current requirements may need to put in for the Provincial Nominee Programme, improve their language skills, or find work in Canada in the next few months to stay competitive.