Popularity ranking (by number of applicants) of specialties with >1000 applicantsa
| Specialty | 2022 (Total Applicants) | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | Percentage Change 2020–2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Internal medicine | 1 (13,844) | 1 (13,787) | 1 (13,118) | 1 (12,527) | 1 (11,917) | +5.2% |
| Family medicine | 2 (7425) | 2 (7496) | 2 (7175) | 2 (6652) | 2 (6421) | +3.4% |
| Pediatrics | 3 (3824) | 3 (3976) | 3 (3728) | 3 (3638) | 3 (3647) | +2.5% |
| Emergency medicine | 4 (3081) | 4 (3734) | 4 (3323) | 4 (3048) | 4 (2901) | −7.9% |
| General surgery | 5 (3071) | 6 (2908) | 6 (2713) | 6 (2563) | 6 (2391) | +11.7% |
| Psychiatry | 6 (2908) | 5 (2948) | 5 (2798) | 5 (2767) | 5 (2739) | +3.8% |
| Anesthesiology | 7 (2691) | 7 (2706) | 7 (2418) | 7 (2226) | 7 (2011) | +10.1% |
| OBGYN | 8 (2161) | 8 (2030) | 8 (2014) | 8 (2026) | 8 (1879) | +6.8% |
| Diagnostic radiology | 9 (1850) | 9 (1657) | 9 (1480) | 9 (1520) | 9 (1603) | +20% |
| Orthopedic surgery | 10 (1470) | 11 (1289) | 11 (1192) | 11 (1037) | 11 (1017) | +19.9% |
| Neurology | 11 (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.