How many physicians are in each specialty?
The CMS Doctors and Clinicians file dated Aug 18, 2026 lists 46,004 emergency physicians, 45,261 anesthesiologists and 38,040 radiologists enrolled in Medicare, counted once each by NPI. Across the 30 specialties below it holds 487,391 clinicians, 16,132 of them podiatrists. The table puts each count next to the AAMC count of active physicians, which totals 1,032,365 across all specialties for 2024.
We sell a file for each specialty below; the counts on this page are free to reuse.
By Ryan Doyle, founder of Doctor Email List. Published Sep 29, 2026.
Clinicians per specialty, CMS file dated Aug 18, 2026
Sorted by size. The first count is ours, from the federal file; the state, women and graduation columns describe the same 30 files. Download the table as CSV.
| Specialty | Enrolled in Medicare (CMS) | Active physicians (AAMC, 2024) | Most in one state | Women | Median graduation year | Offer telehealth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Emergency Physicians | 46,004 | 52,460 | California, 5,749 | 33% | 2012 | 3% |
| Anesthesiologists | 45,261 | 43,499 | California, 5,745 | 29% | 2006 | 3% |
| Radiologists | 38,040 | 28,618 | California, 4,442 | 25% | 2004 | 3% |
| OB/GYNs | 34,514 | 44,046 | California, 3,579 | 70% | 2005 | 11% |
| Cardiologists | 29,847 | 32,148 | California, 2,663 | 17% | 2000 | 31% |
| Psychiatrists | 28,726 | 40,780 | California, 4,020 | 43% | 2005 | 49% |
| Orthopedic Surgeons | 25,173 | 19,419 | California, 2,566 | 9.4% | 2004 | 14% |
| General Surgeons | 23,622 | 26,837 | California, 2,329 | 30% | 2005 | 13% |
| Neurologists | 18,775 | 14,949 | California, 2,059 | 39% | 2006 | 52% |
| Ophthalmologists | 18,380 | 20,096 | California, 2,469 | 31% | 2002 | 3% |
| Oncologists | 17,153 | 18,612 | California, 1,793 | 40% | 2003 | 58% |
| Podiatrists | 16,132 | no match | California, 1,789 | 30% | 2004 | 3% |
| Gastroenterologists | 16,018 | 17,219 | California, 1,614 | 25% | 2002 | 42% |
| Dermatologists | 13,599 | 13,601 | California, 1,882 | 55% | 2006 | 10% |
| Pediatricians | 13,093 | 62,485 | California, 1,318 | 60% | 2009 | 5% |
| Pulmonologists | 11,733 | no match | California, 1,027 | 26% | 2003 | 44% |
| Urologists | 10,341 | 10,910 | California, 1,156 | 15% | 2003 | 49% |
| Nephrologists | 10,124 | 12,623 | California, 1,090 | 32% | 2001 | 47% |
| ENTs | 9,995 | 10,316 | California, 1,209 | 23% | 2003 | 20% |
| Physiatrists | 9,360 | 10,181 | California, 954 | 34% | 2006 | 29% |
| Infectious Disease Physicians | 7,281 | 10,964 | California, 733 | 45% | 2004 | 46% |
| Endocrinologists | 7,254 | 9,183 | California, 747 | 59% | 2004 | 67% |
| Neurosurgeons | 5,761 | 6,391 | California, 588 | 11% | 2004 | 40% |
| Rheumatologists | 5,538 | 7,071 | California, 622 | 53% | 2004 | 60% |
| Radiation Oncologists | 5,386 | 5,894 | California, 556 | 28% | 2005 | 40% |
| Plastic Surgeons | 4,737 | 7,719 | California, 570 | 24% | 2002 | 8% |
| Pain Management Physicians | 4,645 | 7,351 | Florida, 492 | 16% | 2004 | 38% |
| Vascular Surgeons | 4,200 | 4,604 | California, 450 | 20% | 2003 | 28% |
| Cardiothoracic Surgeons | 4,128 | 4,772 | California, 399 | 12% | 1998 | 27% |
| Allergists | 3,608 | 5,281 | California, 442 | 47% | 2001 | 37% |
CMS counts: one row per NPI under the clinician's primary specialty, from the file dated Aug 18, 2026. AAMC: active physicians in 2024, Medicare or not. “No match” means the AAMC has no comparable row: it counts MDs and DOs only (so no podiatrists), and it splits pulmonary disease and critical care differently from CMS. Telehealth is the CMS flag for clinicians who report telehealth services.
How many dermatologists are there in the US?
The AAMC counted 13,601 active physicians in dermatology in 2024. 13,599 dermatologists are enrolled in Medicare in the CMS file dated Aug 18, 2026, counted once each by NPI. The two counts are almost the same. 32% bill from more than one location, the lowest share of the 30 files. The full file is the dermatologist email list.
How many cardiologists are there in the US?
The AAMC counted 32,148 active physicians in cardiovascular disease, interventional cardiology and clinical cardiac electrophysiology in 2024. 29,847 cardiologists are enrolled in Medicare in the CMS file dated Aug 18, 2026, counted once each by NPI. The AAMC count is higher; it also counts physicians who don't bill Medicare. 54% bill from more than one location, the second-highest share of the 30 files. The full file is the cardiologist email list.
How many anesthesiologists are there in the US?
The AAMC counted 43,499 active physicians in anesthesiology in 2024. 45,261 anesthesiologists are enrolled in Medicare in the CMS file dated Aug 18, 2026, counted once each by NPI. CMS lists 1,762 more than the AAMC, whose count leaves out physicians working 20 hours a week or less. The full file is the anesthesiologist email list.
How many neurologists are there in the US?
The AAMC counted 14,949 active physicians in neurology in 2024. 18,775 neurologists are enrolled in Medicare in the CMS file dated Aug 18, 2026, counted once each by NPI. CMS lists 3,826 more than the AAMC, whose count leaves out physicians working 20 hours a week or less. The full file is the neurologist email list.
How many oncologists are there in the US?
The AAMC counted 18,612 active physicians in hematology and oncology in 2024. 17,153 oncologists are enrolled in Medicare in the CMS file dated Aug 18, 2026, counted once each by NPI. The AAMC count is higher; it also counts physicians who don't bill Medicare. 58% report telehealth services, the third-highest share of the 30 files. The full file is the oncologist email list.
How many pediatricians are there in the US?
The AAMC counted 62,485 active physicians in pediatrics in 2024. 13,093 pediatricians are enrolled in Medicare in the CMS file dated Aug 18, 2026, counted once each by NPI. The gap is the widest of any specialty here, since few children are on Medicare. 60% are women, the second-highest share of the 30 files. The full file is the pediatrician email list.
How many radiologists are there in the US?
The AAMC counted 28,618 active physicians in radiology and diagnostic radiology in 2024. 38,040 radiologists are enrolled in Medicare in the CMS file dated Aug 18, 2026, counted once each by NPI. CMS lists 9,422 more than the AAMC, whose count leaves out physicians working 20 hours a week or less. 71% bill from more than one location, the highest share of the 30 files. The full file is the radiologist email list.
Where these counts come from
CMS publishes the Doctors and Clinicians national downloadable file about once a month. The release dated Aug 18, 2026 has 3,388,628 rows, one per clinician, enrollment, group and address, across 101 primary specialties. We keep a clinician in a specialty file when their primary specialty is one of the CMS specialties mapped to it. Cardiology, for example, combines cardiovascular disease, interventional cardiology, cardiac electrophysiology and advanced heart failure and transplant cardiology. Then we collapse each file to one row per NPI.
1,032 clinicians sit in two or three files because CMS lists them under a different primary specialty in different Medicare enrollments. Anesthesiology in one and pain management in another is the most common pair. That is why the files add up to more than the 487,391 distinct clinicians.
Only clinicians enrolled in Medicare are in the CMS file. A physician who bills no Medicare patients is missing, and so is a specialist who enrolled under a different primary specialty. The AAMC column is a second measure with its own definition, below.
National count: AAMC U.S. Physician Workforce Data Dashboard, 2025 release, data year 2024, read Sep 29, 2026. The AAMC counts active physicians (MD or DO, working more than 20 hours a week, not retired or in training) by the primary specialty each one reports, so its groups don't match the CMS specialties one for one.
Use the data
The table is free to reuse with a link to this page. Cite it as: Doctor Email List, “How many physicians are in each specialty”, counts from the CMS Doctors and Clinicians file dated Aug 18, 2026, https://doctor-email-list.com/physicians-by-specialty. The CSV has one row per specialty with the CMS specialty names behind each file.
Questions about these counts
They count different people. The CMS file lists clinicians enrolled in Medicare under their primary Medicare specialty, with no hours threshold. The AAMC counts active physicians: MD or DO, working more than 20 hours a week, not retired or in training, under the primary specialty each one reports. The AAMC count is higher for 24 of the 28 specialties we could match, most of all in pediatrics, where few patients are on Medicare; CMS is higher for anesthesiologists, radiologists, orthopedic surgeons and neurologists.
No. Podiatrists hold a DPM, not an MD or DO. They are in this table because CMS lists them as clinicians and we sell their file: 16,132 are enrolled in Medicare.
Yes. Each count is one of our specialty files, $295 each with 100 free rows first: every row is a named clinician with NPI, practice, phone and address. The counts on this page are free to use with a link back.
CMS republishes the file about once a month. These counts come from the release dated Aug 18, 2026 and move when we rebuild from a newer one.