IMG Match Rates by Specialty

The short answer: IMGs match at lower rates than US medical graduates, and the gap is large. In the 2026 Main Residency Match, the NRMP reported a PGY-1 match rate of 70.0 percent for U.S. citizen IMGs and 56.4 percent for non-U.S. citizen IMGs, compared with 93.5 percent for U.S. MD seniors and 93.2 percent for U.S. DO seniors. These are averages. They do not tell you your own chance, and this page explains how to read them.

The headline numbers (2026 Match) #

All figures below come from the NRMP's Results and Data: 2026 Main Residency Match, unless stated otherwise.

"Active applicants" means people who submitted a certified rank order list. Between 2022 and 2026, NRMP reports that the number of non-U.S. citizen IMGs who submitted a rank order list grew by about 52 percent, while the number of U.S. citizen IMGs declined, so competition among non-U.S. citizen IMGs has been rising.

Match rate versus placement rate #

NRMP also reports a placement rate, which counts people who found a position either through the algorithm or through SOAP. In 2026, the active-applicant placement rate was 59.9 percent for non-U.S. citizen IMGs and 77.8 percent for U.S. citizen IMGs. A second measure includes registered IMGs who never submitted a rank order list; that "all applicants" placement rate was lower, 52.2 percent and 68.7 percent respectively. Many IMGs register but do not rank, often because they received no interviews.

Where IMGs actually match #

IMG positions are concentrated. NRMP reports that in 2026, 52.8 percent of matched non-U.S. citizen IMGs obtained positions in Internal Medicine, and 64.1 percent of matched U.S. citizen IMGs obtained positions in Internal Medicine, Family Medicine or Pediatrics.

For the four specialties that most IMGs target, the 2026 table of positions offered and share filled by non-U.S. citizen IMGs reads as follows (categorical programs).

Read the table carefully: it describes who filled the positions, not the chance that an IMG who applies gets one. See the specialty pages for Internal Medicine, Family Medicine, Pediatrics and Psychiatry.

Matching to your preferred specialty #

NRMP's Charting Outcomes report for non-U.S. citizen IMGs follows applicants by the specialty they ranked first. In the 2026 report, 41.5 percent of non-U.S. citizen IMGs matched to their preferred specialty overall, with the highest rate among specialties offering 50 or more positions in Pediatrics (68.5 percent) and the lowest in Vascular Surgery (14.3 percent).

The report also shows patterns across all specialties combined for non-U.S. citizen IMGs who consented to share their data:

• Matched applicants had a median of 5 contiguous ranks in their preferred specialty, versus 2 for those who did not match.
• The median USMLE Step 2 CK score was 248 for matched applicants and 242 for unmatched applicants.
• Median counts of research experiences, abstracts, presentations and publications were similar between the two groups.

NRMP cautions that these trends do not tell the full story, since evaluations, letters and the MSPE also contribute to outcomes. The big takeaway is practical: matched applicants ranked more programs in the same specialty. That depends on getting enough interviews, which depends on applying broadly and fitting what programs screen for.

What the numbers cannot tell you #

• Your odds. An average over thousands of applicants hides huge differences in scores, recency of graduation, US clinical experience and visa needs.
• Cause. Higher scores correlate with matching. That does not mean any single factor guarantees an outcome.
• Next year. Positions and applicant numbers move every cycle. In 2026 NRMP reported 41,126 PGY-1 positions, 1,085 more than in 2025, but the number of IMG applicants also rose.
• Visa effects. The aggregate data does not separate applicants who need sponsorship from those who do not. Many programs do not sponsor visas, and that limits where you can apply (see J-1 vs H-1B).

How to use the data in planning #

1. Pick a primary specialty with eyes open. Use the table above to see where IMGs have historically found positions, then check your own profile against what programs say they require (choosing a specialty).
2. Apply broadly enough. The contiguous-rank pattern points to the value of a longer list in your target specialty. See how many programs to apply to.
3. Plan for the unmatched scenario. Roughly four in ten ranked non-U.S. citizen IMGs did not match through the algorithm in 2026. Decide your backup path in advance (if you do not match).
4. Update every year. Download the newest Results and Data and Charting Outcomes from NRMP before you finalize your plan.