Doctors in Iowa: 6,224 enrolled in Medicare
Iowa has 6,224 MD and DO clinicians enrolled in Medicare in the CMS file dated Aug 18, 2026: 192 per 100,000 residents, 34th of 51 (the states and DC), against 214 for the US. The most are in Iowa City, 895 in our physician files. Per capita Iowa is strongest in chiropractors (2nd, 37.0 per 100,000).
By Ryan Doyle, founder of Doctor Email List. Published Oct 5, 2026.
Iowa physicians by specialty
Every specialty with at least one clinician in Iowa, largest first. Rank is among the states and DC (51 in all) by clinicians per 100,000 residents. Where we have a state page or a list for the specialty, the name links to it.
| Specialty | Iowa | Per 100,000 | Rank | US per 100,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nurse Practitioners | 3,621 | 112 | 14th | 83.7 |
| Physician Assistants | 1,385 | 42.7 | 28th | 40.8 |
| Family Physicians | 1,296 | 40.0 | 8th | 28.7 |
| Chiropractors | 1,199 | 37.0 | 2nd | 11.8 |
| Internal Medicine Physicians | 506 | 15.6 | 48th | 30.9 |
| Optometrists | 502 | 15.5 | 11th | 10.9 |
| Anesthesiologists | 407 | 12.6 | 25th | 13.3 |
| Emergency Physicians | 321 | 9.9 | 46th | 13.5 |
| Hospitalists | 304 | 9.4 | 16th | 7.1 |
| Orthopedic Surgeons | 285 | 8.8 | 15th | 7.4 |
| Radiologists | 284 | 8.8 | 41st | 11.1 |
| Cardiologists | 275 | 8.5 | 19th | 8.7 |
| OB/GYNs | 272 | 8.4 | 42nd | 10.1 |
| Psychiatrists | 252 | 7.8 | 25th | 8.4 |
| General Surgeons | 241 | 7.4 | 25th | 6.9 |
| Podiatrists | 200 | 6.2 | 8th | 4.7 |
| Ophthalmologists | 162 | 5.0 | 23rd | 5.3 |
| Pathologists | 134 | 4.1 | 19th | 3.8 |
| Oncologists | 132 | 4.1 | 39th | 5.0 |
| Pulmonologists | 129 | 4.0 | 14th | 3.4 |
| Neurologists | 115 | 3.5 | 46th | 5.5 |
| Urologists | 104 | 3.2 | 21st | 3.0 |
| ENTs | 102 | 3.1 | 16th | 2.9 |
| Gastroenterologists | 98 | 3.0 | 47th | 4.7 |
| Nephrologists | 98 | 3.0 | 16th | 2.9 |
| Dermatologists | 92 | 2.8 | 40th | 4.0 |
| Pediatricians | 75 | 2.3 | 46th | 3.8 |
| Infectious Disease Physicians | 64 | 2.0 | 25th | 2.1 |
| Physiatrists | 59 | 1.8 | 43rd | 2.7 |
| Endocrinologists | 50 | 1.5 | 34th | 2.1 |
| Radiation Oncologists | 49 | 1.5 | 31st | 1.6 |
| Rheumatologists | 42 | 1.3 | 38th | 1.6 |
| Cardiothoracic Surgeons | 42 | 1.3 | 18th | 1.2 |
| Neurosurgeons | 40 | 1.2 | 47th | 1.7 |
| Plastic Surgeons | 38 | 1.2 | 35th | 1.4 |
| Vascular Surgeons | 36 | 1.1 | 31st | 1.2 |
| Allergists | 31 | 1.0 | 22nd | 1.1 |
| Pain Management Physicians | 26 | 0.8 | 46th | 1.4 |
| Critical care physicians | 24 | 0.7 | 47th | 1.8 |
| General practice physicians | 21 | 0.6 | 36th | 1.2 |
| Sports medicine physicians | 21 | 0.6 | 29th | 0.7 |
| Sleep medicine physicians | 18 | 0.6 | 5th | 0.3 |
| Colorectal surgeons | 16 | 0.5 | 26th | 0.5 |
| Hospice and palliative care physicians | 15 | 0.5 | 38th | 0.7 |
| Hematologists | 13 | 0.4 | 15th | 0.3 |
| Nuclear medicine physicians | 7 | 0.2 | 13th | 0.2 |
| Geriatric medicine physicians | 6 | 0.2 | 46th | 0.6 |
| Micrographic dermatologic surgeons | 4 | 0.1 | 34th | 0.2 |
| Osteopathic manipulative medicine physicians | 3 | 0.1 | 48th | 0.3 |
| Preventive medicine physicians | 3 | 0.1 | 36th | 0.2 |
| Addiction medicine physicians | 2 | 0.1 | 42nd | 0.2 |
Counts are one row per NPI under the clinician's primary Medicare specialty, from the CMS file dated Aug 18, 2026. Rates use the Census Bureau's July 2024 estimate for Iowa. Nurse practitioners, physician assistants, chiropractors and optometrists have their own files and are not in the MD and DO total. Iowa ranks lowest per capita in internal medicine physicians (48th, 15.6 per 100,000) and gastroenterologists (47th, 3.0 per 100,000).
Where Iowa physicians practice
In the 5,914 clinicians Iowa has across the physician specialty files we sell, counted once each, 33% are women and 11% offer telehealth. The median graduation year is 2006. These are the cities with the most of them.
| City | Clinicians | Share of Iowa |
|---|---|---|
| Iowa City | 895 | 15% |
| Des Moines | 601 | 10% |
| Cedar Rapids | 323 | 5.5% |
| Council Bluffs | 322 | 5.4% |
| West Des Moines | 318 | 5.4% |
Largest practice groups in Iowa
Groups ranked by the number of Iowa clinicians the CMS file lists under them. 78% of Iowa physicians with a group on file are in a group of 50 or more listed clinicians, against 80% across the US.
| Practice or health system, as CMS prints it | Iowa clinicians listed |
|---|---|
| State University of Iowa | 924 |
| Iowa Physicians Clinic Medical Foundation | 565 |
| Mercy Clinics Inc | 177 |
| Genesis Health System | 174 |
| The Iowa Clinic PC | 163 |
A health system can appear under more than one legal name, so a group here may be part of a larger one.
Questions about Iowa doctors
6,224 MD and DO clinicians in Iowa are enrolled in Medicare in the CMS file dated Aug 18, 2026, one per NPI, in the state of their main practice location. That is 192 per 100,000 residents, 34th of 51 among the states and DC. Physicians who bill no Medicare patients are not in the file.
Nurse Practitioners are the largest group in Iowa, with 3,621, then physician assistants with 1,385. Nurse practitioners and physician assistants are counted in their own files and are not in the MD and DO total.
We sell national lists, one CSV per specialty for $295, or every specialty in one file for $995. We don't sell a state-only file. City, state and ZIP are on nearly every row, so keeping the Iowa rows is one filter in any spreadsheet.
States with a similar count per capita
Specialty email lists
National CSVs, one per specialty. City, state and ZIP are on the rows, so any state is one filter away.