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How many doctors are there in the US

1,272,256 people in the United States hold a physician taxonomy on the September 2026 NPPES file.

1,269,383 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 804,140 people employed as physicians and surgeons (SOC 29-1210 and 29-1240) 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). Population: US Census Bureau state population estimates, 1 July 2024. Employment: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.

1,272,256 physicians on the NPPES file
143,335 physicians in California, the largest state
The ten states with the most physiciansCalifornia143,335New York93,299Texas88,333Florida81,184Pennsylvania60,651Illinois53,036Ohio46,763Michigan42,087Massachusetts40,836North Carolina37,269
The ten states with the most physicians

Source: ProfessionLens, September 2026. NPPES full replacement file, September 2026 (CMS). Population: US Census Bureau state population estimates, 1 July 2024. Employment: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.

Physicians by state

StatePhysiciansShare of USPer 100,000 residentsPopulation 2024
California 143,335 11.3% 363.5 39,431,263
New York 93,299 7.3% 469.6 19,867,248
Texas 88,333 7.0% 282.3 31,290,831
Florida 81,184 6.4% 347.4 23,372,215
Pennsylvania 60,651 4.8% 463.7 13,078,751
Illinois 53,036 4.2% 417.3 12,710,158
Ohio 46,763 3.7% 393.5 11,883,304
Michigan 42,087 3.3% 415.0 10,140,459
Massachusetts 40,836 3.2% 572.2 7,136,171
North Carolina 37,269 2.9% 337.4 11,046,024
New Jersey 34,232 2.7% 360.3 9,500,851
Georgia 33,445 2.6% 299.1 11,180,878
Virginia 31,498 2.5% 357.5 8,811,195
Washington 31,289 2.5% 393.2 7,958,180
Maryland 27,105 2.1% 432.8 6,263,220
Minnesota 25,745 2.0% 444.4 5,793,151
Missouri 25,201 2.0% 403.5 6,245,466
Arizona 25,096 2.0% 331.0 7,582,384
Wisconsin 23,858 1.9% 400.2 5,960,975
Colorado 23,857 1.9% 400.5 5,957,493
Tennessee 22,916 1.8% 317.1 7,227,750
Indiana 21,927 1.7% 316.7 6,924,275
South Carolina 18,473 1.5% 337.2 5,478,831
Connecticut 17,555 1.4% 477.7 3,675,069
Oregon 17,499 1.4% 409.6 4,272,371
Louisiana 15,362 1.2% 334.1 4,597,740
Kentucky 14,592 1.1% 318.0 4,588,372
Alabama 14,276 1.1% 276.8 5,157,699
Puerto Rico 12,367 1.0% 386.1 3,203,295
Oklahoma 12,187 1.0% 297.6 4,095,393
Iowa 10,804 0.9% 333.3 3,241,488
Utah 10,299 0.8% 294.0 3,503,613
Kansas 9,685 0.8% 326.0 2,970,606
Nevada 8,990 0.7% 275.1 3,267,467
Arkansas 8,749 0.7% 283.3 3,088,354
Mississippi 7,706 0.6% 261.8 2,943,045
New Mexico 7,132 0.6% 334.8 2,130,256
Nebraska 7,116 0.6% 354.8 2,005,465
District of Columbia 6,865 0.5% 977.6 702,250
Maine 6,403 0.5% 455.7 1,405,012
West Virginia 6,279 0.5% 354.7 1,769,979
New Hampshire 6,078 0.5% 431.4 1,409,032
Hawaii 6,003 0.5% 415.1 1,446,146
Rhode Island 5,617 0.4% 505.0 1,112,308
Idaho 5,251 0.4% 262.3 2,001,619
Delaware 4,089 0.3% 388.7 1,051,917
Montana 3,858 0.3% 339.2 1,137,233
South Dakota 3,044 0.2% 329.2 924,669
North Dakota 2,924 0.2% 367.1 796,568
Vermont 2,845 0.2% 438.7 648,493
Alaska 2,795 0.2% 377.6 740,133
Wyoming 1,578 0.1% 268.5 587,618

Share is of the 1,269,383 physicians with a practice address in these 52 areas.

Source: ProfessionLens, September 2026. NPPES full replacement file, September 2026 (CMS). Population: US Census Bureau state population estimates, 1 July 2024. Employment: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.

Cite this

ProfessionLens, How many doctors are there in the US, September 2026, https://professionlens.com/physicians.

Canonical URL
https://professionlens.com/physicians
Denominator
1,272,256 physicians on the NPPES file, September 2026

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