2025 Anesthesiology Residency Match: Trends and Insights

ASA's Center for Anesthesia Workforce Studies (CAWS) summarizes trends in anesthesiology resident matches based on the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP) Advanced Data Tables published in March each year (asamonitor.pub/2Sm1t96). This article summarizes data on candidates who filled residency positions between 2006 and 2025. Resident match data between 1988 and 2018 are available in the August 2018 ASA Monitor (ASA Monitor 2018;82:42-6). Match results signaled a consistently high demand for anesthesiology residency programs. Between 2021 and 2025, the total number of applicants to anesthesiology programs experienced an 11% increase, reflecting growing interest in the specialty. In the 2025 match year, 4,378 candidates applied for 2,276 anesthesiology positions and filled all but six positions.1 The total number of anesthesiology positions increased by 19% in the last five years, demonstrating program expansion to accommodate rising interest in the specialty. With a match rate exceeding 99%, the proportion of applicants not matched to an anesthesiology program reached 52% in 2025, highlighting the competitive nature of the specialty's residency selection process. Table 1 summarizes the total number of applicants and the type of candidates who matched into anesthesiology programs between 2016 and 2025 (e.g., U.S. allopathic seniors, osteopathic students or graduates, and international).1 In 2025, 2,270 candidates matched, a 21% increase over 2020; it was the greatest number of matched candidates into the specialty in at least 50 years. The percentage of anesthesiology matches by U.S. allopathic seniors and osteopathic students or graduates ranges from 80% to 85% between 2020 and 2025. For all other specialties, in aggregate, the percentage of matches by U.S. allopathic seniors and osteopathic students or graduates varied between 71% and 74% between 2020 and 2025. From 2016 to 2017, the number of international medical graduates (IMGs) matched into anesthesiology increased substantially. In 2021, IMG matches significantly decreased by 20% compared to 2020 and remained relatively flat, with a slight increase in 2024 of 10%. In 2025, 8% of IMGs matched, compared to 11% in 2020.There have been only three years since 2006 when the number of matched candidates did not increase; the last time was in 2016. Between 2016 and 2025, the number increased by 42% (Figure 1), comparable to the number of matches that increased in orthopedic surgery and general surgery programs in the same period, 30% and 43%, respectively (not shown). In 2025, the number of anesthesiology applicants increased by 11% compared to 2021 (Figure 2). The number of anesthesiology programs more than doubled in the last two decades, with 77 programs in 2006 and 195 programs in 2025 (including six anesthesiology specialty programs; data not shown).Over the past five years, the number of anesthesiology residency positions has grown by 19%, with PGY-1 and Physician R positions increasing by 23% and 62%, respectively, while PGY-2 (CA-1) positions have declined by 8% (Table 2). The distribution of residency positions is shaped by evolving specialty trends and regulatory policies. According to the NRMP, all PGY-2 positions in specialties accredited to begin at either the PGY-1 or PGY-2 level must be allocated through the Match (asamonitor.pub/4n3FXQa). Certain residency programs, including anesthesiology, dermatology, and diagnostic radiology, continue to offer several PGY-2 positions (asamonitor.pub/4dXw7Lv). However, structural changes in residency programs and the increasing preference for categorical positions may impact the availability of PGY-2 positions over time.Since 2006, anesthesiology residency programs have filled more than 93% of positions each year. The anesthesiology position fill rate was over 99.0% from 2021 through 2025 (Figure 3). The anesthesiology position fill rate in 2025 was comparable to several specialties, including orthopedic surgery, obstetrics-gynecology, dermatology, general surgery, psychiatry, and pathology. Among these specialties, family medicine had the lowest percentage of filled residency positions, with an overall fill rate of 85% (not shown).Trends in ranking applicants to PGY-1 Programs In 2025, all but one position was filled across PGY-1 anesthesiology programs, with 1,812 candidates matched. PGY-1 anesthesiology positions increased 23% between 2021 and 2025 (Table 2). When evaluating the percentage of non-matched candidates to PGY-1 programs with more than 200 ranking applicants in the 2025 match year, anesthesiology positioned 16th out of 26 total programs, with 41% non-matched in PGY-1 programs (sorted in descending order). Emergency medicine had the lowest percentage of non-matched and the one-year obstetrics and gynecology training programs had the highest, 20% versus 97%, respectively (not shown). Trends in anesthesiology resident match results help indicate an increase in the supply pipeline and may represent a lagging indicator of demand for the specialty. This article shows that the total number of matched candidates continues to grow. In last year's article, the percentage of matched U.S. allopathic seniors and osteopathic students or graduates decreased by three percentage points in 2024 compared to 2023; this year's percentage of matched is three percentage points higher compared to 2024. The number of anesthesiology residency positions has almost doubled since 2006. The position fill rate in the last decade ranged between 94% and over 99.0%, reflecting a consistently strong preference for the specialty.EXHIBIT Definitions of Applicant and Position Types Applicant Types 5th Pathway (Graduate of Fifth Pathway Program) – Graduate of a U.S. Fifth Pathway program. Canadian (Student/Graduate of Canadian Medical School) – Senior student or graduate of a Canadian school of medicine accredited by the Committee on Accreditation of Canadian Medical Schools (CACMS). Non-U.S. IMG (Non-U.S. Citizen Student/Graduate of International Medical School) – Non-U.S. citizen who attended an international medical school. Osteopathic Senior – Senior student of a medical school accredited by the Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation (COCA). U.S. Grad (Previous Graduate of U.S. Allopathic or Osteopathic Medical School) – Either a graduate of a U.S. allopathic school of medicine accredited by the LCME with a graduation date before July 1 in the year before the Match (the medical school does not sponsor previous U.S. graduates), or a graduate of a medical school accredited by COCA. U.S. IMG (U.S. Citizen Student/Graduate of International Medical School) – U.S. citizen who attended an international medical school. U.S. Senior (Senior Student of U.S. Allopathic Medical School) – Fourth-year medical student in a U.S. allopathic school of medicine accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) with a graduation date after July 1 in the year before the Match. U.S. seniors are sponsored by their medical schools. Postgraduate Training in Residency PGY-1 – Postgraduate year one programs. PGY-2/CA-1 – Postgraduate year two and/or clinical anesthesia year one programs. Physician (R) – Programs reserved for physicians who have had prior graduate medical education. Reserved programs offer PGY-2 positions that begin in the year of the Match and thus are not available to senior medical students. Jennifer A. Rock-Klotz, MBA, ASA Analytics and Research Services Manager.Thomas R. Miller, PhD, MBA, ASA Director of Analytics and Research Services and ASA Director of the Center for Anesthesia Workforce Studies.1Historically, CAWS has included applicant counts based on NRMP reporting; however, NRMP applicant counts do not capture the unique number of residency program applicants because only active applicants who submit a certified rank order list of programs are represented, and applicants can match into a preliminary postgraduate year 1 (PGY-1) and advanced postgraduate year 2 (PGY-2) in tandem (see reference 1). To ensure that unique applicant counts are presented, this and future articles will include data based on supplemental information provided by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) Electronic Residency Application Service® (ERAS®).

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