NRMP Match 2026: Results, Trends, and What Med Students Need to Know
Each March, after years of study and hours of completing applications and interviewing, thousands of medical school students and graduates discover where they will begin their specialty training. On this year’s Match Day – March 20 – 48,050 applicants got their answer.
The National Resident Matching Program (NRMP), which oversees the matching process to pair eligible applicants with available residency training positions, reported that this was the largest Match in the program’s 74-year history. This year, 44,344 positions were offered (an increase of 2.6% over 2025), 48,050 applicants submitted a certified Match rank-order list, and 93.3% of the PGY-1 positions were filled.
Accepted would like to congratulate the successful participants who will now take the next step in their training!
We also have noted a number of interesting results that could be important for current or future medical students who hope for successful matches in the years to come:
- The gap between DOs and MDs is vanishing. Osteopathic medical students (DO seniors) had their most successful year ever, with a match rate of 93.2% (up 0.6%), while allopathic medical students (MD seniors) maintained the two previous years’ match rate of 93.5%. Considering that about a decade ago, DO seniors matched at a rate of 77.7% versus 94.4% of MD seniors in the 2014 Match, this is a remarkable achievement in leveling these two medical educational approaches. With the gap between allopathic and osteopathic training continuing to close, any lingering stigma about osteopathic training is clearly out of date.
- U.S. IMGs had a good year. U.S. citizen international medical graduates (IMGs) matched at a rate of 70%, compared to 67.8% in the 2025 Match.
- Visa issues plagued non-U.S. IMGs. The NRMP reported that only 54.4% of non-U.S. citizen IMGs who required visa sponsorship matched – a five-year low – while those who did not require sponsorship matched at a rate of 67.9%. In the press release announcing the Match results, the NRMP said: “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.”
- SOAP uptake increased. This year, 2,862 positions in 941 programs remained unfilled (389 more than last year), and 9,696 applicants were unmatched (155 more than last year) after the Main Residency Match. These applicants took part in the Supplemental Offer and Acceptance Program (SOAP), and results will be published later in the spring.
- Psychiatry is growing. Psychiatry offered 128 more positions than last year, for a total of 2,516; there were also 30 new programs in this year’s Match. The specialty had a 97.4% match rate, with a marked upward trend among U.S. DOs and non-U.S. citizen IMGs.
- More positions were offered in primary care. The uptake of primary care specialties is often considered the bellwether for the health of U.S. healthcare, especially as the nation experiences physician shortages. This year, family medicine, internal medicine, internal medicine-pediatrics and pediatrics offered 20,712 positions (412 more than 2025), marking a new high.
With more positions available in primary care specialties, the fill rates declined slightly. Internal medicine filled 95.2% of its positions, down 1.6 percentage points; pediatrics filled 94.4% of its positions, down 0.9 percentage points; and family medicine filled 83.6%, down 1.4 percentage points. Yet despite this decline, the total number of applicants matching this year was still higher than in 2025.
- Emergency medicine remains strong. While the 95.6% fill rate in emergency medicine declined slightly from 2025 (97.9%), the number of positions rose by 130, with a total of 3,058 applicants matching into emergency medicine programs in 2026. Do we have The Pitt to thank for this?
In the press release announcing the Match results, NRMP President and CEO Donna L. Lamb praised the applicants in this year’s Match: “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.”
Accepted would also like to extend a hearty congratulations to everyone who matched, and we wish you continued good fortune in your future training. For more information about this year’s Match, please visit the NRMP website.
If you are planning to apply to the Match next year and would like expert guidance and assistance with your application and essays, schedule a free consultation with Accepted today!
Related Resources
