Question 1

How are the best Orthopaedic Surgery residency programs ranked?

Accepted Answer

MatchPath ranks programs by the MatchPath Program Score — a transparent, objective composite of the teaching hospital's CMS Overall Star Rating (quality), the program's size relative to other Orthopaedic Surgery programs (ACGME-approved positions), its teaching hospital's NIH research funding (where available), and its accreditation standing. It is not a reputation survey; the exact weights are published and every program shows the signals behind its score.

Question 2

What is the best Orthopaedic Surgery residency program?

Accepted Answer

By the MatchPath Program Score, University of Pennsylvania Health System currently ranks first among Orthopaedic Surgery programs. The full ranked list above shows each program's score and the factors behind it, so you can see why.

Question 3

Is this an official residency ranking?

Accepted Answer

No. There is no official ACGME, NRMP, or government ranking of residency programs. The MatchPath Program Score is our own transparent composite of objective, public data (CMS hospital quality, ACGME positions and accreditation) — published so you can see exactly what drives each position. It reflects the teaching hospital's measured quality and the program's scale, not a subjective judgment of the training.

Question 4

Does a program's rank mean it's the right fit for me?

Accepted Answer

Not on its own. The score weighs objective signals every applicant can verify, but fit also depends on your specialty goals, location, IMG-friendliness, visa needs, and salary. Use the ranking as a starting shortlist, then compare programs side by side.

Question 5

How is this different from the Doximity or U.S. News residency rankings?

Accepted Answer

Reputation rankings like Doximity are built from surveys of physicians' opinions. The MatchPath Program Score uses no opinions — only objective, public data (CMS hospital quality, ACGME positions and accreditation), with the weights published and every input shown. You can audit exactly why a Orthopaedic Surgery program sits where it does.

Question 6

Which of these Orthopaedic Surgery programs are IMG-friendly?

Accepted Answer

The score itself doesn't factor in IMG acceptance — filter the Orthopaedic Surgery program list by "IMG-friendly" to rank by reported IMG acceptance rate, then check each program's IMG percentage, visa sponsorship, and Step 2 CK expectation. All of it is free to view.

#	Program	Location	CMS	Score
1	University of Pennsylvania Health System	Philadelphia, PA	5	99
2	University of Colorado School of Medicine	Aurora, CO	5	99
3	University of California (San Francisco) School of Medicine	San Francisco, CA	5	99
4	Mass General Brigham	Boston, MA	5	98
5	Stanford Health Care	Redwood City, CA	5	97
6	University of Utah Health	Salt Lake City, UT	5	95
7	Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell	Huntington, NY	5	95
8	McGaw Medical Center of Northwestern University	Chicago, IL	5	95
9	University of Michigan	Ann Arbor, MI	4	93
10	University of North Carolina Hospitals	Chapel Hill, NC	5	91
11	Corewell Health – Grand Rapids/Michigan State University	Grand Rapids, MI	5	91
12	University of California (San Diego) Medical Center	San Diego, CA	5	91
13	University of Tennessee College of Medicine	Memphis, TN	4	90
14	Washington University/B-JH/SLCH Consortium	St Louis, MO	4	90
15	University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics	Madison, WI	4	88
16	Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine	Baltimore, MD	4	88
17	Cedars-Sinai Medical Center	Los Angees, CA	5	88
18	Vanderbilt University Medical Center	Nashville, TN	4	87
19	Hospital for Special Surgery	New York, NY	5	87
20	Rush University Medical Center	Chicago, IL	5	87
21	Virginia Commonwealth University Health System	Richmond, VA	4	86
22	John Peter Smith Hospital (Tarrant County Hospital District)	Fort Worth, TX	4	86
23	UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine/UCLA Medical Center	Los Angeles, CA	4	86
24	St Luke's University Hospital	Bethlehem, PA	5	85
25	University of Kansas School of Medicine	Kansas City, KS	5	85
26	Cleveland Clinic Foundation	Cleveland, OH	5	83
27	Medical College of Wisconsin Affiliated Hospitals, Inc	Milwaukee, WI	4	82
28	University of Virginia Medical Center	Charlottesville, VA	4	82
29	Penn State Milton S Hershey Medical Center	Hershey, PA	4	82
30	Stony Brook Medicine	Stony Brook, NY	4	82
31	Dartmouth-Hitchcock/Mary Hitchcock Memorial Hospital	Lebanon, NH	4	82
32	University of Kentucky College of Medicine	Lexington, KY	4	82
33	University of Chicago Medical Center	Chicago, IL	4	82
34	Case Western Reserve University/University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center	Cleveland, OH	3	81
35	Corewell Health	Royal Oak, MI	3	81
36	University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio Joe and Teresa Lozano Long School of Medicine	San Antonio, TX	3	79
37	Baylor College of Medicine	Houston, TX	3	79
38	Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine	Bronx, NY	3	79
39	Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai	New York, NY	3	79
40	University of Iowa Health Care Medical Center	North Liberty, IA	3	79
41	University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston	Houston, TX	3	77
42	Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University	Philadelphia, PA	3	77
43	Ohio State University Hospital	Columbus, OH	3	77
44	University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Medicine	Omaha, NE	3	77
45	University of Missouri-Columbia School of Medicine	Columbia, MO	3	77
46	Indiana University School of Medicine	Indianapolis, IN	3	77
47	Loma Linda University Health Education Consortium	Loma Linda, CA	3	77
48	Houston Methodist Hospital	Houston, TX	5	76
49	MedStar Health Georgetown University	Baltimore, MD	5	76
50	Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science	Phoenix, AZ	5	76

Best Orthopaedic Surgery Residency Programs

Frequently Asked Questions