Number of 2024 Main Residency Match Applicants Reached an All-time High

by Amy E. Hamaker •

There were some record-breaking numbers in this year’s Match by the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP). The program reported that a total of 50,413 applicants were registered in the 2024 Main Residency Match, an all-time high and an increase of 2,257 applicants (4.7%) over 2023, driven largely by an increase of non-U.S. citizen international medical graduates (IMGs) and osteopathic (DO) seniors over last year.

Among all registrants, 44,853 certified a rank order list of training preferences, the highest number on record and an increase of 1,901 (4.4%) over last year. Of the applicants who certified a rank order list, 35,984 matched to a post-graduate year 1 (PGY-1) position, an increase of 1,162 applicants from last year; the PGY-1 match rate was 80.2% percent.

Here are some other figures from Match Day 2024:

• U.S. MD seniors were the largest applicant group, numbering 20,296, a decrease of 21 applicants compared to 2023. The number of U.S. MD seniors certifying a rank order list increased slightly to 19,755.

• U.S. MD seniors had a 93.5% percent match rate, a decrease of 0.2% from last year.

• U.S. DO seniors had a 92.3% match rate, an all-time high and an increase of 0.7% over last year.

• The 2024 Main Residency Match included 6,395 certified programs offering 41,503 PGY-1 and PGY-2 training positions, the largest number in the NRMP’s 72-year history.

• Of all positions offered, 38,941 were filled for a rate of 93.8%, a 0.5% increase over last year.

• The specialties with 30 positions or more that filled with the highest percentage of U.S. MD and DO seniors were Internal Medicine/Emergency Medicine (96.8%), Thoracic Surgery (95.%), Otolaryngology (95.8%), Internal Medicine/Pediatrics (94.6%), Orthopedic Surgery (92.1%), Interventional Radiology–Integrated (91.4%), and Obstetrics and Gynecology (90.7%).