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NRMP 2026 Residency Match Results

On March 20, 2026, the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP) announced the results of the 2026 Main Residency Match, a significant milestone for over 38,000 aspiring physicians in the United States and abroad. This year’s Match is historic, boasting more than 53,000 registered applicants and offering over 44,000 positions across 6,800 residency programs.

Key Findings

The main highlights from this year’s Match include:

• - Strong Match Rates: An impressive 93 percent of residency positions were filled, indicating a robust demand for qualified candidates in the healthcare system.
• - Diverse Applicant Pools: Among the 53,373 registrants, 48,050 were considered active applicants, marking a 1.8 percent increase from the previous year. Specifically, 38,354 of these applicants secured a postgraduate year-1 (PGY-1) position, reflecting a continued trend toward successful placements in medical training programs.

Breakdown of Applicant Trends

U.S. Medical Graduates

U.S. MD seniors comprised the largest group of active applicants in 2026, with 20,934 individuals registering. For the third consecutive year, these students achieved a remarkable 93.5 percent match rate in PGY-1 positions, showcasing the consistency in their preparedness and competitiveness.

U.S. DO Graduates

Interestingly, U.S. DO seniors achieved their highest PGY-1 match rate this year at 93.2 percent, a notable increase of 0.6 percent from 2025, with a registered pool of 8,503 active applicants.

International Medical Graduates (IMGs)

U.S. citizen IMGs accounted for 4,210 active applicants, even though their numbers decreased by 377 compared to 2025. Conversely, non-U.S. citizen IMGs surged to 11,944 registered applicants, although they experienced the lowest PGY-1 match rates observed in five years at 56.4 percent. The trends regarding visa sponsorship need careful consideration, as those requiring sponsorship matched at a five-year low of 54.4 percent.

Program Insights

With 6,809 certified training programs this year, there were 44,344 positions offered, and an astonishing 93.5 percent were filled. Primary care specialties remained the stalwarts of the Match, offering 20,712 positions but recording a slight decrease in fill rates for certain disciplines.

Internal Medicine and Family Medicine Trends

• - Internal Medicine supported 11,632 available positions with a fill rate of 95.2 percent, a minor decrease from last year.
• - Family Medicine faced challenges, offering 5,491 positions but seeing its fill rate drop to 83.6 percent, leading to 899 unfilled spots. This trend raises questions about recruitment strategies moving forward, prompting the NRMP to conduct thorough assessments of the specialty.

Emergency Medicine and Psychiatry

Emergency Medicine displayed resilience with a 95.6 percent fill rate, even amidst fluctuating trends. Meanwhile, Psychiatry saw 2,516 positions offered, achieving a commendable fill rate of 97.4 percent with increased participation.

Supplemental Offer and Acceptance Program (SOAP)

Applicants who did not secure matches were given the chance to partake in the SOAP, which permitted 2,862 positions across 941 programs to be filled. This year saw the number of positions offered through SOAP increase by 330 compared to the previous year, underscoring the program's critical role in facilitating placements for unmatched candidates.

Moving Forward

The NRMP's findings illuminate the ongoing patterns within medical residency placements, emphasizing strengths and addressing challenges within various specialties. The increasing number of applicants, particularly from U.S. medical schools, signals a commitment to advancing the quality of healthcare education. As the NRMP prepares for future cycles, strategies to bolster recruitment, particularly in primary care specialties, will be paramount to ensure robust healthcare delivery across communities.

More data and insights will be available in the forthcoming 2026 Main Residency Match report, which will further enhance understanding and guide future discussions in the medical education landscape.