NEET UG Results 2026: Top 10 States With Highest Number of Qualified Candidates

The National Testing Agency (NTA) has declared the NEET UG 2026 results, and the state-wise data shows a familiar pattern: a handful of states, led once again by Uttar Pradesh, account for a disproportionate share of India's newly qualified medical aspirants. Here's a full breakdown of the top-performing states in NEET UG 2026, along with toppers, cut-offs, and what qualified candidates should do next.

Key Takeaways

• 11.21 lakh candidates qualified NEET UG 2026 out of nearly 20 lakh who appeared.
• Uttar Pradesh topped the state-wise list with over 1.70 lakh qualifiers.
• Rajasthan and Maharashtra followed, with 1.33 lakh and over 1 lakh qualified candidates respectively.
• Aryan Gupta (Punjab) and Panshul Bansal (Haryana) jointly topped the exam with 715/720.
• Scorecards are live at neet.nta.nic.in; counselling is next.

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NEET UG 2026 Result Highlights: Total Candidates Qualified, Cut-Off and Key Stats

Out of nearly 20 lakh candidates who sat for the re-conducted exam, 11.21 lakh have qualified for undergraduate seats in medicine, dentistry, AYUSH and other allied health programmes. That works out to a qualification rate of roughly 56 percent. Scorecards are now live on the official NTA portal, neet.nta.nic.in, and successful candidates will next move into the counselling process.

This year's top rank was shared by two candidates — Aryan Gupta from Punjab and Panshul Bansal from Haryana — who both scored 715 out of 720. More broadly, 17 state-level toppers crossed the 700-mark and 26 finished above 690. Among that elite group of 138 top scorers, over 93 percent were attempting NEET for the first time, and nearly all were between 17 and 19 years old, spread across 66 cities nationwide.

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NEET UG 2026 State-Wise Result: Uttar Pradesh Stays on Top

As in previous years, Uttar Pradesh produced the largest pool of qualified candidates by a wide margin. More than 3.56 lakh students from the state registered, and over 1.70 lakh of them cleared the exam — comfortably the highest tally of any state or union territory in the country. UP has held this position in NEET results for several years running, a reflection of both its large student population and its dense coaching ecosystem.

Rajasthan, Maharashtra and the Rest of the Top Tier

Rajasthan came in as one of the strongest performers again this year, with more than two lakh registrations translating into over 1.33 lakh qualified candidates — a state long associated with coaching hubs like Kota and Sikar. Maharashtra also placed among the leaders, with more than 2.22 lakh candidates registering and over one lakh clearing the exam.

Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Bihar rounded out the group of states contributing large numbers of successful candidates this year, according to NTA's state-wise breakdown. At the other end of the scale, participation stretched across every one of the country's 36 states and union territories — Lakshadweep, the smallest contributor, saw just 43 candidates qualify.

NEET UG 2026 Top States: State-Wise Snapshot

Note: NTA has published exact figures for Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Maharashtra; Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Bihar are confirmed as top contributors but precise counts weren't available in the sources used for this rewrite.

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Gender and Category-Wise Trends in NEET UG 2026

Women continued to outperform men in both participation and success rate: more than 58 percent of all qualified candidates this year were women, and their qualification rate ran slightly higher than that of male candidates. The exam was conducted in 13 languages across 5,440 centres in 551 Indian cities and 14 cities abroad.

Category-wise, OBC-NCL candidates formed the largest qualifying group at 5.12 lakh, followed by the general category at 2.91 lakh, Scheduled Caste candidates at 1.59 lakh, EWS candidates at just over 95,000, and Scheduled Tribe candidates at roughly 63,700.

What's Next: NEET UG 2026 Counselling

With results now declared, attention shifts to counselling. Seats under the 15 percent All India Quota will be allotted through the Medical Counselling Committee, while state quota seats will be filled by each state's own counselling body. The NTA has cautioned candidates to rely only on official websites for updates during this process.

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Frequently Asked Questions(FAQs)

Q.Which state topped NEET UG 2026 in number of qualified candidates?

Ans.Uttar Pradesh topped the list with over 1.70 lakh qualified candidates, followed by Rajasthan and Maharashtra.

Q.How many candidates qualified NEET UG 2026 overall?

Ans.11.21 lakh candidates qualified out of nearly 20 lakh who appeared for the exam.

Q.Who topped NEET UG 2026?

Ans.Aryan Gupta of Punjab and Panshul Bansal of Haryana jointly topped with 715 out of 720 marks.

Q.Where can I check my NEET UG 2026 scorecard?

Ans. Scorecards are available for download at the official NTA website, neet.nta.nic.in.