Popularity ranking (by number of applicants) of specialties with >1000 applicantsa

Specialty2022 (Total Applicants)2021202020192018Percentage Change 2020–2022
Internal medicine1 (13,844)1 (13,787)1 (13,118)1 (12,527)1 (11,917)+5.2%
Family medicine2 (7425)2 (7496)2 (7175)2 (6652)2 (6421)+3.4%
Pediatrics3 (3824)3 (3976)3 (3728)3 (3638)3 (3647)+2.5%
Emergency medicine4 (3081)4 (3734)4 (3323)4 (3048)4 (2901)−7.9%
General surgery5 (3071)6 (2908)6 (2713)6 (2563)6 (2391)+11.7%
Psychiatry6 (2908)5 (2948)5 (2798)5 (2767)5 (2739)+3.8%
Anesthesiology7 (2691)7 (2706)7 (2418)7 (2226)7 (2011)+10.1%
OBGYN8 (2161)8 (2030)8 (2014)8 (2026)8 (1879)+6.8%
Diagnostic radiology9 (1850)9 (1657)9 (1480)9 (1520)9 (1603)+20%
Orthopedic surgery10 (1470)11 (1289)11 (1192)11 (1037)11 (1017)+19.9%
Neurology11 (1463)10 (1441)10 (1226)10 (1152)10 (1143)+16.2%
  • Note:—OBGYN indicates Obstetrics-Gynecology.

  • a Radiology has remained the ninth most popular specialty throughout the 5-year period as far as the number of applicants with internal medicine, family medicine, pediatrics, and emergency medicine having the most applicants year after year.