Updated
Residency Match Rate: Who Matches and What Drives It
The residency match rate is the share of active applicants, the ones who certified a rank order list, who matched to a first-year (PGY-1) position. The NRMP publishes it by applicant type each spring in its Main Residency Match results. In 2026, US MD and DO seniors matched most often, then US citizen IMGs, then non-US citizen IMGs. Programs screen on exam history, US clinical experience and visa, so that is where your own chances move.
Below is what the rate counts, how it differs from a fill rate, what moves your own chances and how to read a school's match list. For the current numbers, read the NRMP report itself. Checked October 30, 2026.
What does the NRMP count as a match rate?
Only active applicants. Not everyone who registers for the Match certifies a rank order list, and the match rate is calculated on those who do. It counts PGY-1 positions, the first year of training. Three terms get mixed up:
| Term | What it means |
|---|---|
| Match rate | What it means: Active applicants who matched to a PGY-1 position, divided by all active applicants in that group. Active means you certified a rank order list. |
| Position fill rate | What it means: Positions filled divided by positions offered. It describes programs, not applicants. |
| Placement rate | What it means: Applicants who got a position through the matching algorithm or SOAP, divided by active applicants, or by all applicants including SOAP-eligible ones who never submitted a rank list. |
Match rate vs fill rate
A fill rate describes seats, not people. It is positions filled divided by positions offered, and the NRMP report gives it both when the algorithm runs and after SOAP. The 2026 Match was the largest in NRMP history, and more people certified rank lists than there were positions. So the Match can fill nearly every position and still leave many applicants unmatched. When a headline gives one high number, check whether it is a fill rate or a match rate.
Fill rates also vary by specialty. NRMP's 2026 results release notes that primary care specialties offer the largest share of positions, and that family medicine filled a smaller share of its positions than the year before even though more applicants matched into it. A low fill rate says more about applicant interest in a specialty than about one program.
Programs that join the Match must try to fill all the positions they offer through it or another national matching plan, under the NRMP All In Policy.
Which applicants match more often?
The NRMP reports four main groups. Here is how they compare in its 2026 results release, in our words:
- US MD seniors: The largest group and among the highest rates. NRMP says the rate has held steady since the 2024 Match.
- US DO seniors: Close to MD seniors, and in 2026 their highest rate on record, per NRMP.
- US citizen IMGs: Lower than US seniors. NRMP says the rate has trended up since 2022 and was the highest on record in 2026.
- Non-US citizen IMGs: The lowest of the four in 2026, and NRMP called it the lowest level in five years. Applicants who needed a visa matched less often than US permanent residents.
In 2026 the NRMP also split non-US citizen IMGs by visa need, and foreign-born IMGs who needed visa sponsorship matched less often than US permanent residents. If you need a visa, which programs sponsor which visa matters as much as your scores. Our IMG-friendly residency programs guide shows how to check.
What drives your chance of matching?
A group's rate is an average. Your own chances turn on a few things you can check, each from the body that sets the rule:
| Factor | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Exam attempts | Why it matters: Your USMLE transcript shows your complete exam history, and four attempts at a Step without passing ends your USMLE eligibility. Some programs ask for passes on the first attempt. |
| US clinical experience | Why it matters: Many programs that take IMGs ask for hands-on US clinical work, from two months at Weill Cornell internal medicine to a year at Brown pediatrics, and several say observerships don't count. |
| Visa | Why it matters: ECFMG is the sole sponsor of J-1 physicians in clinical training, and many programs sponsor only J-1 or no H-1B. If you need a visa, every program that won't sponsor yours is off your list. |
| ECFMG certification | Why it matters: IMGs need passes on Step 1 and Step 2 CK plus an accepted, unexpired ECFMG Pathway, which is also required to take part in the NRMP Match. |
| Ranks | Why it matters: You can match only at programs on your rank list. NRMP's Charting Outcomes reports study the number of contiguous ranks in your preferred specialty as one measure. |
Sources for each row: the USMLE attempt limit and transcript contents, program pages such as Weill Cornell, Brown and South Dakota, ECFMG on the J-1 visa and certification, and NRMP's Charting Outcomes page. How a past fail reads to a program is covered in our residency interview red flags guide, and US clinical experience in USCE for IMGs.
Charting Outcomes compares applicants who matched to their preferred specialty with those who did not, on measures such as contiguous ranks, distinct specialties ranked, Step 2 CK or COMLEX Level 2-CE score and research, work and volunteer experiences. For 2026 there are separate reports for US and non-US citizen IMGs. Our average Step 2 score by specialty guide explains how to read them without over-reading them.
How the matching algorithm uses your rank list
The NRMP matching algorithm is applicant-proposing. It tries to place you at the program you ranked first, and moves down your list only if that program does not also rank you high enough. Ranking a program lower never helps you match there, so rank programs in your true order of preference. See our rank order list guide for how many to rank.
SOAP, and what happens if you don't match
SOAP, the Supplemental Offer and Acceptance Program, gives eligible unmatched and partially matched applicants a series of offer rounds during Match Week for positions that did not fill. Applicants who are not eligible for SOAP can't apply to Match-participating programs until SOAP ends, per the NRMP. That is why the placement rate, which counts SOAP, is higher than the match rate.
Not matching once is not the end. NRMP's October 2026 report on 2022 to 2025 outcomes followed applicants who got no position in their first Match. Most of them tried again in a later Match, and most of those who returned got a position. The report also separates a full course of training from a preliminary year only.
How to read a school's own match list or residency rate
Schools publish their own numbers, and each defines them its own way. Two examples, from each school's own page:
| School | How it defines its rate |
|---|---|
| American University of the Caribbean | How it defines its rate: Counts graduates who were active applicants in the NRMP Match or got a residency outside it, and reports a three-year weighted average |
| St. George's University | How it defines its rate: Divides its US graduates who got a US residency by its US graduates who applied to one in a given year, and reports a five-year average |
When you read any school's list or rate, check four things:
- Who is in the denominator. A rate on graduates who applied leaves out graduates who never applied or withdrew.
- Which years. A multi-year average can hide a weaker recent year. Ask for the latest year on its own.
- What counts as a residency. A preliminary year alone is not a full course of training, and SOAP or outside-the-Match positions may be included.
- Where people matched. On the list itself, look for your specialty and for categorical positions, not just a long list of hospital names.
Our best Caribbean medical schools guide puts several schools' published rates side by side with their definitions.
Practice the answer that moves you up their list
Programs rank you after the interview. Our residency interview questions guide covers what they ask. Here is one to practice:
“Why are you interested in our program?”
The rank list decides the match, and the interview decides where you land on theirs. Name two specifics about the program and tie each to something you have done.
Example answer written by Confetto (the applicant is invented)
Two things stood out. Your residents run the county clinic continuity panel from intern year, and I spent my sub-internship in a clinic like that, managing diabetes follow-up for patients who often missed visits.
I also want a program where residents teach. I led our school's step study group for two years, and your resident-as-teacher track is the kind of structure where I would keep doing that.
Sources: the NRMP Results and Data report, 2026 results release, Match Data, SOAP and October 2026 outcomes pages (linked, findings in our words), USMLE, ECFMG, and program and school pages, linked throughout and checked as of October 30, 2026.
Frequently asked questions
What is the residency match rate?
It is the share of active applicants, the ones who certified a rank order list, who matched to a first-year (PGY-1) position. The NRMP publishes it by applicant type each spring in its Main Residency Match results report, which is where to read the current numbers. Read NRMP's Results and Data report.
What is the difference between match rate and fill rate?
Match rate is about applicants: the share of active applicants who matched. Fill rate is about programs: positions filled divided by positions offered. More people certify rank lists than there are positions, so the Match can fill nearly every position and still leave many applicants unmatched. See NRMP's definitions.
What is the IMG match rate?
The NRMP reports IMGs in two groups, US citizen IMGs and non-US citizen IMGs, and both matched less often than US MD and DO seniors in 2026. Non-US citizen IMGs had the lowest rate of the four groups, and those who needed a visa matched less often than US permanent residents. Read NRMP's 2026 results release.
What happens if you don't match?
Eligible unmatched and partially matched applicants can enter SOAP, a series of offer rounds during Match Week for positions that did not fill. NRMP's October 2026 report followed applicants who got no position in their first Match and found that most tried again, and most of those who came back got a position. Read our SOAP guide.
What raises your chance of matching?
Passing each USMLE Step on the first attempt, since your transcript shows every attempt. For IMGs, hands-on US clinical experience and applying only to programs that sponsor your visa. And ranking enough programs: NRMP's Charting Outcomes reports study the number of contiguous ranks in your preferred specialty. How many programs to rank.
Does a low fill rate mean a bad residency program?
Not by itself. A fill rate counts seats filled when the algorithm runs, and it moves with applicant interest in a specialty. NRMP's 2026 release noted that the family medicine fill rate fell while more applicants matched into it than the year before. Judge a program by its training, board pass rate and where its graduates go. Read NRMP's specialty notes.