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How many nurse practitioners are there in the US
530,577 people in the United States hold a nurse practitioner taxonomy on the September 2026 NPPES file.
530,096 of them give a practice address in one of the 50 states, the District of Columbia or Puerto Rico. The rest give a territory, a foreign address, or no state.
The BLS counted 323,040 people employed as nurse practitioners (SOC 29-1171) in May 2025. NPPES is a register of identifiers and keeps a provider until the NPI is deactivated, so it runs above an employment count.
Source: ProfessionLens, September 2026. NPPES full replacement file, September 2026 (CMS). Employment: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.
Source: ProfessionLens, September 2026. NPPES full replacement file, September 2026 (CMS). Employment: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.
Nurse practitioners by state
| State | Nurse practitioners | Share of US | Population 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida | 47,334 | 8.9% | 23,372,215 |
| Texas | 41,735 | 7.9% | 31,290,831 |
| California | 39,091 | 7.4% | 39,431,263 |
| New York | 34,628 | 6.5% | 19,867,248 |
| Ohio | 23,246 | 4.4% | 11,883,304 |
| Pennsylvania | 19,055 | 3.6% | 13,078,751 |
| Illinois | 17,659 | 3.3% | 12,710,158 |
| Georgia | 17,547 | 3.3% | 11,180,878 |
| Tennessee | 16,885 | 3.2% | 7,227,750 |
| North Carolina | 16,484 | 3.1% | 11,046,024 |
| Massachusetts | 15,471 | 2.9% | 7,136,171 |
| Michigan | 13,640 | 2.6% | 10,140,459 |
| Virginia | 13,188 | 2.5% | 8,811,195 |
| New Jersey | 12,454 | 2.3% | 9,500,851 |
| Arizona | 12,100 | 2.3% | 7,582,384 |
| Indiana | 11,867 | 2.2% | 6,924,275 |
| Maryland | 11,209 | 2.1% | 6,263,220 |
| Missouri | 11,136 | 2.1% | 6,245,466 |
| Washington | 10,511 | 2.0% | 7,958,180 |
| Kentucky | 10,232 | 1.9% | 4,588,372 |
| Wisconsin | 9,349 | 1.8% | 5,960,975 |
| Minnesota | 9,341 | 1.8% | 5,793,151 |
| Colorado | 9,068 | 1.7% | 5,957,493 |
| Alabama | 9,045 | 1.7% | 5,157,699 |
| South Carolina | 8,079 | 1.5% | 5,478,831 |
| Louisiana | 7,756 | 1.5% | 4,597,740 |
| Connecticut | 6,869 | 1.3% | 3,675,069 |
| Mississippi | 6,515 | 1.2% | 2,943,045 |
| Oregon | 5,577 | 1.1% | 4,272,371 |
| Arkansas | 5,250 | 1.0% | 3,088,354 |
| Kansas | 5,137 | 1.0% | 2,970,606 |
| Oklahoma | 4,941 | 0.9% | 4,095,393 |
| Iowa | 4,887 | 0.9% | 3,241,488 |
| Utah | 4,811 | 0.9% | 3,503,613 |
| Nevada | 4,397 | 0.8% | 3,267,467 |
| New Mexico | 3,350 | 0.6% | 2,130,256 |
| West Virginia | 3,268 | 0.6% | 1,769,979 |
| Nebraska | 3,181 | 0.6% | 2,005,465 |
| New Hampshire | 2,889 | 0.5% | 1,409,032 |
| Maine | 2,824 | 0.5% | 1,405,012 |
| Idaho | 2,576 | 0.5% | 2,001,619 |
| Rhode Island | 2,044 | 0.4% | 1,112,308 |
| Delaware | 1,979 | 0.4% | 1,051,917 |
| District of Columbia | 1,791 | 0.3% | 702,250 |
| Montana | 1,670 | 0.3% | 1,137,233 |
| South Dakota | 1,668 | 0.3% | 924,669 |
| North Dakota | 1,599 | 0.3% | 796,568 |
| Hawaii | 1,524 | 0.3% | 1,446,146 |
| Alaska | 1,235 | 0.2% | 740,133 |
| Vermont | 1,039 | 0.2% | 648,493 |
| Wyoming | 807 | 0.2% | 587,618 |
| Puerto Rico | 158 | 0.0% | 3,203,295 |
Share is of the 530,096 nurse practitioners with a practice address in these 52 areas.
Source: ProfessionLens, September 2026. NPPES full replacement file, September 2026 (CMS). Employment: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.
Cite this
ProfessionLens, How many nurse practitioners are there in the US, September 2026, https://professionlens.com/nurse-practitioners.