USA field strengths in the Top 2% Scientists list 2026: Clinical Medicine leads with 28,396
Live Directory analytics: Clinical Medicine lists 28,396 USA Top 2% scientists in the 2026 single-year profile — 38.7% of the USA cohort and more than the entire UK list (18,269).
What are the United States’ strongest fields on the Top 2% Scientists list?
Direct answer: In the United States country profile (single-year 2026), Clinical Medicine is the dominant field with 28,396 listed Top 2% scientists — 38.7% of the USA list (73,459) and more scholars than the entire United Kingdom cohort (18,269). The next USA fields are Biomedical Research (7,177), Physics & Astronomy (5,829), Information & Communication Technologies (4,451), and Engineering (3,516).
That Clinical Medicine figure is a live re-check of the historical 28,396 count on the USA directory hub: the 2026 single-year top_fields panel still reads Clinical Medicine, 28,396.
USA top fields (single-year 2026)
| Field | Listed scholars | Share of USA list |
|---|---|---|
| Clinical Medicine | 28,396 | 38.7% |
| Biomedical Research | 7,177 | 9.8% |
| Physics & Astronomy | 5,829 | 7.9% |
| Information & Communication Technologies | 4,451 | 6.1% |
| Engineering | 3,516 | 4.8% |
| Enabling & Strategic Technologies | 3,171 | 4.3% |
| Social Sciences | 2,770 | 3.8% |
| Biology | 2,516 | 3.4% |
Stat sentence: 28,396 of 73,459 USA-listed scholars are in Clinical Medicine.
USA vs China vs the UK — different field shapes
| Field | USA | China | United Kingdom |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clinical Medicine | 28,396 | 3,772 | 6,283 |
| Biomedical Research | 7,177 | — (not in China top 6) | 1,571 |
| Physics & Astronomy | 5,829 | 2,374 | 1,306 |
| ICT | 4,451 | 4,015 | 997 |
| Engineering | 3,516 | 6,226 | 927 |
| Enabling & Strategic Technologies | 3,171 | 8,375 | — |
| National total | 73,459 (29.7%) | 35,681 (14.42%) | 18,269 (7.39%) |
China’s country profile is Enabling & Strategic Technologies–led (8,375), then Engineering (6,226) and Chemistry (4,731). The UK, like the USA, is Clinical Medicine–led (6,283), but the USA Clinical Medicine cohort is about 1.55× the whole UK list. China’s Clinical Medicine slice (3,772) is smaller than USA Biomedical Research alone (7,177).
USA national share is 29.7% of the single-year country-analytics cohort (247,376 researchers; 170 countries). China is 14.42%; the UK is 7.39%.
USA subfields inside the clinical / biomedical core
| Subfield | Listed scholars |
|---|---|
| Neurology & Neurosurgery | 3,496 |
| Oncology & Carcinogenesis | 3,361 |
| Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing | 2,491 |
| Cardiovascular System & Hematology | 2,094 |
| General & Internal Medicine | 1,890 |
| Developmental Biology | 1,827 |
| Biochemistry & Molecular Biology | 1,769 |
| Immunology | 1,699 |
Neurology & Neurosurgery (3,496) and Oncology (3,361) are each larger than many countries’ entire Top 2% lists. AI & Image Processing (2,491) is the largest non-clinical subfield in this USA pull.
Single-year vs career field counts
Career USA still leads with Clinical Medicine (33,357 of 90,855). Engineering rises more than most fields when you switch listings (3,516 single-year → 5,396 career). Use how to find, verify, and cite before mixing the two listings in one sentence.
Where those field strengths sit on campus
- Clinical Medicine density: Harvard Medical School (954 of 1,131 HMS scholars) and Mayo Clinic (616 of 653).
- Broader mix: Stanford University (Clinical 193, ICT 96, Physics 73) and University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (Clinical 166, Social Sciences 63).
- Names and ranks: USA top researchers — Bandura, Albert (Psychology), Ioannidis, John P.A. (Clinical Medicine), Perdew, John (Physics).
USA cluster and related Directory pages
- USA Top 2% universities 2026
- USA top researchers 2026
- USA self-cited scientists 2026
- USA field strengths 2026 (this page)
- Find, verify, and cite a USA Top 2% scientist
- United States Top 2% directory 2026 (hub)
- Journal Quality Report on ABS Nexora
- Directory home
- Directory search
- United States country analytics
- Analytics workspace
FAQ
How many USA Top 2% scientists are in Clinical Medicine? 28,396 in the 2026 single-year United States profile — re-verified on the live top_fields panel.
Is that larger than other countries’ whole lists? Yes versus the United Kingdom’s 18,269 scholars. It is smaller than China’s entire list (35,681) but far larger than China’s Clinical Medicine slice (3,772).
What is the USA’s second-strongest field? Biomedical Research, 7,177 listed scholars.
Does China beat the USA in any large field here? Yes. China’s Enabling & Strategic Technologies (8,375) and Engineering (6,226) exceed the USA’s 3,171 and 3,516 in those fields.
Which USA subfield is largest? Neurology & Neurosurgery, 3,496.
Do career listings change the story? Career USA Clinical Medicine is 33,357. The shape stays clinical-led; counts are higher. Do not mix listings.
Where can I verify these field counts? United States analytics, Analytics, and the USA hub post. Source: Elsevier / Stanford–Ioannidis lists via ABS Nexora.