Doctors per capita by state and specialty

District of Columbia has the most Medicare-enrolled physicians per 100,000 residents, 545, and Nevada the fewest, 152. The national rate is 214. Pick a specialty and a state below for its count, rate and rank, from the CMS file dated Aug 18, 2026.

By Ryan Doyle, founder of Doctor Email List. Published Oct 3, 2026.

Physicians per 100,000 residents, by state

Every MD and DO clinician enrolled in Medicare (727,010 in the states and DC), ranked by how many there are for every 100,000 residents.

RankStateEnrolled in MedicareResidentsPer 100,000
1District of Columbia3,824702,250545
2Massachusetts23,1297,136,171324
3Connecticut10,5513,675,069287
4Maine3,8611,405,012275
5Minnesota15,7705,793,151272
6Vermont1,722648,493266
7New York52,29619,867,248263
8Delaware2,6611,051,917253
9New Hampshire3,5251,409,032250
10Alaska1,846740,133249
11Pennsylvania32,21813,078,751246
12New Jersey22,5469,500,851237
13Montana2,6951,137,233237
14Hawaii3,3811,446,146234
15Oregon9,9304,272,371232
16Rhode Island2,5711,112,308231
17Illinois29,26512,710,158230
18Maryland14,3446,263,220229
19Wisconsin13,3795,960,975224
20Ohio26,57711,883,304224
21Colorado13,2655,957,493223
22Michigan22,51310,140,459222
23California86,53639,431,263219
24West Virginia3,8491,769,979217
25Indiana14,5416,924,275210
26Washington16,5527,958,180208
27Florida48,58023,372,215208
28Louisiana9,5354,597,740207
29North Carolina22,85511,046,024207
30North Dakota1,630796,568205
31South Dakota1,882924,669204
32Missouri12,4746,245,466200
33Kansas5,8662,970,606197
34Iowa6,2243,241,488192
35Arizona14,5187,582,384191
36South Carolina10,4495,478,831191
37Kentucky8,7334,588,372190
38Virginia16,4198,811,195186
39Georgia20,49511,180,878183
40Nebraska3,6762,005,465183
41New Mexico3,8762,130,256182
42Tennessee12,8987,227,750178
43Utah6,2253,503,613178
44Arkansas5,4703,088,354177
45Alabama9,0985,157,699176
46Oklahoma6,9634,095,393170
47Idaho3,3862,001,619169
48Texas51,95431,290,831166
49Mississippi4,5872,943,045156
50Wyoming914587,618156
51Nevada4,9563,267,467152
Puerto Rico5,3373,203,295167

Counts: CMS Doctors and Clinicians national downloadable file dated Aug 18, 2026. Population: Census Bureau Vintage 2024 estimates for July 1, 2024. Rate = count divided by residents, times 100,000. Ranked among the 51 states and DC; Puerto Rico is listed last and left out of the ranking. Download every specialty and state as CSV.

Highest and lowest state for every specialty

One row per specialty, with the national rate and the states at either end. Small specialties swing widely: a state with a handful of clinicians can top or bottom the table on a count of one or two. Open a row for the full ranking.

SpecialtyEnrolled in MedicareUS per 100,000Highest stateLowest state
All physicians727,010214District of Columbia, 545Nevada, 152
Nurse Practitioners284,60183.7District of Columbia, 149California, 38.9
Physician Assistants138,79940.8District of Columbia, 79.5Mississippi, 11.0
Internal Medicine Physicians105,05730.9District of Columbia, 86.4North Dakota, 12.7
Family Physicians97,71928.7Alaska, 57.6Connecticut, 18.1
Emergency Physicians45,89213.5District of Columbia, 26.3South Dakota, 8.2
Anesthesiologists45,13713.3District of Columbia, 33.0Idaho, 5.3
Chiropractors40,24911.8North Dakota, 42.2District of Columbia, 2.3
Radiologists37,77911.1District of Columbia, 40.0Rhode Island, 3.6
Optometrists37,21810.9North Dakota, 21.2District of Columbia, 4.8
OB/GYNs34,24910.1District of Columbia, 29.0Arizona, 7.5
Cardiologists29,5658.7District of Columbia, 25.2South Dakota, 4.0
Psychiatrists28,5788.4District of Columbia, 24.4Mississippi, 3.3
Orthopedic Surgeons25,0437.4Alaska, 13.1Texas, 5.5
Hospitalists24,1607.1District of Columbia, 21.1Rhode Island, 1.0
General Surgeons23,4446.9District of Columbia, 20.4Utah, 5.2
Neurologists18,6595.5District of Columbia, 15.1Wyoming, 2.4
Ophthalmologists18,1575.3District of Columbia, 15.0Wyoming, 1.7
Oncologists17,0455.0District of Columbia, 16.9Wyoming, 2.6
Podiatrists16,0744.7New Jersey, 10.1Mississippi, 1.8
Gastroenterologists15,8444.7District of Columbia, 14.4Wyoming, 1.7
Dermatologists13,5094.0District of Columbia, 9.3Wyoming, 1.7
Pathologists13,0673.8District of Columbia, 12.4Wyoming, 0.9
Pediatricians13,0643.8District of Columbia, 20.2Nevada, 1.6
Pulmonologists11,6123.4District of Columbia, 7.1Alaska, 1.2
Urologists10,2473.0District of Columbia, 5.3Nevada, 1.5
Nephrologists9,9882.9District of Columbia, 7.7Wyoming, 1.4
ENTs9,9322.9District of Columbia, 6.3Nevada, 1.4
Physiatrists9,1992.7District of Columbia, 6.0Mississippi, 1.0
Infectious Disease Physicians7,1972.1District of Columbia, 6.7Oklahoma, 0.7
Endocrinologists7,1402.1District of Columbia, 5.6Idaho, 0.6
Critical care physicians6,1841.8District of Columbia, 12.7Rhode Island, 0.4
Neurosurgeons5,7301.7District of Columbia, 4.0Nevada, 0.7
Rheumatologists5,4751.6District of Columbia, 3.4Wyoming, 0.9
General practice physicians4,1651.2Florida, 5.3Vermont, 0.3
Radiation Oncologists5,3681.6District of Columbia, 5.3Mississippi, 0.9
Plastic Surgeons4,7211.4District of Columbia, 3.7Wyoming, 0.2
Pain Management Physicians4,6181.4Delaware, 2.6Maine, 0.5
Vascular Surgeons4,1831.2District of Columbia, 3.3Wyoming, 0.5
Cardiothoracic Surgeons4,1151.2District of Columbia, 4.4Alaska, 0.7
Allergists3,5871.1District of Columbia, 2.3Wyoming, 0.2
Sports medicine physicians2,3710.7Minnesota, 1.9Wyoming, 0.0
Hospice and palliative care physicians2,2550.7District of Columbia, 3.4Oklahoma, 0.2
Geriatric medicine physicians2,0290.6District of Columbia, 1.9North Dakota, 0.0
Colorectal surgeons1,8370.5District of Columbia, 1.1Mississippi, 0.1
Sleep medicine physicians1,1150.3Oregon, 0.7Texas, 0.1
Hematologists1,0930.3Minnesota, 1.3Wyoming, 0.0
Osteopathic manipulative medicine physicians8750.3Maine, 3.0North Dakota, 0.0
Nuclear medicine physicians6160.2District of Columbia, 1.0Wyoming, 0.0
Micrographic dermatologic surgeons5710.2Minnesota, 0.5Vermont, 0.0
Addiction medicine physicians5360.2Alaska, 0.7New Hampshire, 0.0
Preventive medicine physicians5290.2Minnesota, 0.5Wyoming, 0.0

How the rates are built

Counts come from the CMS Doctors and Clinicians national downloadable file dated Aug 18, 2026. The file has one row per clinician, enrollment and address. We keep one row per NPI, the primary practice location, and take the state from it. A clinician who practices in two states counts once, in the state of the location with the largest group. The specialty is the CMS primary specialty; the specialties with a list of their own combine the CMS specialties mapped to them, so “cardiologists” covers cardiovascular disease, interventional cardiology, cardiac electrophysiology and advanced heart failure and transplant cardiology.

Population is the Census Bureau's Vintage 2024 resident population estimate for July 1, 2024 (Census Bureau), the latest state estimate when this page was built. The rate is the count divided by residents, times 100,000. The national figure divides the count in the 51 states and DC by the Census United States total of 340,110,988; Puerto Rico and the other territories are left out of it.

The all-physicians row is every NPI whose CMS primary specialty is one where at least 90 percent of clinicians hold an MD or DO. Anyone in two such specialties counts once. It holds 727,010 clinicians in the 51 states and DC, and 732,814 once Puerto Rico and the other territories are added.

What a rate does not tell you

It counts clinicians enrolled in Medicare, so a physician who bills no Medicare patients is missing, and pediatricians are missed most of all because few children are on Medicare. It places a clinician at one address, so telehealth and visiting specialists are not spread across the states they serve. It does not adjust for age, and a state with an older population needs more physicians per resident. Read it as a map of where Medicare-enrolled clinicians practice. It says nothing about access to care.

The source file is CMS Doctors and Clinicians. Every count behind a rate is in the CSV.

Questions about these rates

Which state has the most doctors per capita?

District of Columbia, with 545 Medicare-enrolled physicians per 100,000 residents in the file dated Aug 18, 2026. Nevada has the fewest of the 51 states and DC, at 152. DC is one city and not a state, so some readers rank the 50 states without it.

How many doctors are there per 100,000 people in the US?

214 physicians per 100,000 residents are enrolled in Medicare, counting 727,010 MD and DO clinicians once each against the Census count of 340,110,988 residents for July 1, 2024. The AAMC counts 1,032,365 active physicians for 2024, about 304 per 100,000 residents, which is higher because it also includes physicians who bill no Medicare patients.

Does this include nurse practitioners and physician assistants?

The all-physicians row counts MD and DO specialties only. Nurse practitioners, physician assistants, chiropractors, optometrists and podiatrists have rows of their own in the specialty menu, so you can read their density next to the physicians'.

Why do these counts differ from AAMC or state licensing numbers?

They measure something narrower. Each clinician counts once, in the state of their primary Medicare practice location, and only if they are enrolled in Medicare. Licensing boards count every license, including physicians who hold licenses in several states or no longer practice.

Can I get the names behind a count?

Yes. Each specialty with a file of its own links to it from the result: every row is a named clinician with an NPI and a practice address. The counts and rates on this page are free to reuse with a link back.

More free data

Physicians by specialtyMedicare specialty codes and taxonomy codesWhere the data comes fromEvery specialty in one file
Physicians per capita by state