Once again, this year's Main Residency Match broke records for the largest in the program’s 74-year history.
A total of 44,344 positions were offered in the 2026 Match, a 2.6% increase from last year, the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP) results show. The number of applicants, 53,373, was also up by 875. Among applicants, 48,050 submitted a rank order list of program preferences.
Nearly 80% of the certified applicants matched to a postgraduate year-1 (PGY-1) position and about 93% of the positions were filled. Like in 2024 and 2025, medical doctor (M.D.) seniors matched at a consistent rate of 93.5%. Among doctor of osteopathic medicine (D.O.) seniors, 93.2% matched, up 0.6% from 2025.
“Match Day represents an extraordinary moment for future physicians,” NRMP President and CEO Donna L. Lamb said in a press release, “and we are proud to see the Main Residency Match welcoming more positions and securing more training opportunities for applicants as they take the next step in their medical careers and begin practicing in communities across the nation.”
Primary care specialties saw a 92.1% fill rate, a slight decrease from 2025, despite 412 more positions being offered across family medicine, internal medicine, internal medicine-pediatrics and pediatrics. Internal medicine had the highest fill rate, at 95.2%, a slight decrease from 2025.
A total of 2,516 psychiatry positions were offered in this year, an increase of 128. The fill rate was 97.4%, with 71 more positions filled than last year.
A total of 3,058 applicants matched into emergency medicine programs this year, a 1.8% increase. The fill rate for emergency medicine dropped slightly, from 97.9% in 2025 to 95.6%, despite a increase in the number of positions offered by 130.
There was an increase in unmatched applicants taking part in the Supplemental Offer and Acceptance Program (SOAP), which offers eligible but unmatched applicants a second chance to find a position. A total of 9,696 applicants were unmatched this year, up by 155 compared to 2025, with 2,862 positions remaining unfilled.
Seven in 10 U.S. citizen international medical graduates (IMG) matched, up 2.2% from 2025. However, the percentage of non-U.S. citizen IMGs who matched dipped 1.6% to 56.4%. Broken down further, 54.4% of non-U.S. citizen IMGs who needed visa sponsorship matched, which was a five-year low, while the match rate for non-U.S. citizen IMGs who did not need visa sponsorship peaked this year, at 67.9%.
“These data highlight how broader policy conditions could shape future Match outcomes for non-U.S. citizen IMG candidates and inform future recruitment strategies of programs,” the NRMP said in a press release.
Non-U.S. citizen IMGs filled 7.2% of the match's PGY-1 positions in this year's match, which was down 0.6% from 2025.
International medical graduates make up about a quarter of the practicing physician workforce in the U.S., per the American Medical Association. The $100,000 filing fee for H1-B petitions imposed by the Trump administration would add a significant burden to the medical field, worsening shortages, increasing wait times and leaving patients with fewer care options, opponents have argued.
Last week, Congress introduced bipartisan legislation to exempt doctors and other health professionals from the $100,000 filing fee on new H-1B visa petitions. This was advocated for by the AMA and 53 other medical societies.