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Mapped: States With the Most Doctors
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Key Takeaways
- There are about 280,000 primary care doctors in America (as of 2022, per newest data released in November, 2024).
- However, they are unevenly distributed across the country with some areas (like the Northeast) reporting a higher rate for their populations.
- Vermont, Massachusetts, Maine, and Rhode Island all have more than 10 doctors available per 10,000 residents.
- On the other hand, Texas and Mississippi have fewer than 7.
America’s healthcare landscape is anything but even.
From rural counties without a single hospital to urban centers dense with specialists, access to primary care often depends on where you live.
The map in today’s infographic highlights this disparity by showing how many primary care physicians serve every 10,000 residents in each U.S. state.
The data for this visualization comes from the Health Resources and Services Administration, as of 2022 based on data released in November 2024.
Data Note: This map and article references only actively practicing physicians, younger than age 75, and not in residency. Figures are rounded. Most hospital doctors, who mainly care for hospitalized patients, are trained in primary care specialties, but they are excluded from counts here because they do not meet the definition of primary care.
Ranked: States With the Most Doctors
While Washington, D.C. is technically the top of the ranking, with 17.17 doctors per 10,000 residents, looking only at the states shows one clear trend.
New England states like Vermont (12.3 doctors per 10,000 residents,) Massachusetts (11.8), Maine (11.5), and Rhode Island (11.0) fill out the rest of the top five.
| Rank | State | Code | Primary Care Physicians per 10,000 residents |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | District of Columbia | DC | 17.7 |
| 2 | Vermont | VT | 12.3 |
| 3 | Massachusetts | MA | 11.8 |
| 4 | Maine | ME | 11.5 |
| 5 | Rhode Island | RI | 11.0 |
| 6 | Alaska | AK | 10.6 |
| 7 | Oregon | OR | 10.4 |
| 8 | Hawaii | HI | 10.3 |
| 9 | Maryland | MD | 9.8 |
| 10 | Minnesota | MN | 9.8 |
| 11 | Connecticut | CT | 9.5 |
| 12 | New Hampshire | NH | 9.5 |
| 13 | New York | NY | 9.3 |
| 14 | Washington | WA | 9.3 |
| 15 | Michigan | MI | 9.2 |
| 16 | Illinois | IL | 9.1 |
| 17 | West Virginia | WV | 9.1 |
| 18 | Colorado | CO | 9.0 |
| 19 | Pennsylvania | PA | 9.0 |
| 20 | California | CA | 9.0 |
| 21 | South Dakota | SD | 9.0 |
| 22 | Montana | MT | 8.9 |
| 23 | Wisconsin | WI | 8.9 |
| 24 | Delaware | DE | 8.7 |
| 25 | Kansas | KS | 8.6 |
| 26 | North Dakota | ND | 8.6 |
| 27 | New Jersey | NJ | 8.5 |
| 28 | Ohio | OH | 8.5 |
| 29 | Nebraska | NE | 8.5 |
| 30 | Virginia | VA | 8.5 |
| 31 | New Mexico | NM | 8.3 |
| 32 | North Carolina | NC | 8.1 |
| 33 | Louisiana | LA | 8.0 |
| 34 | Missouri | MO | 7.9 |
| 35 | Florida | FL | 7.8 |
| 36 | Iowa | IA | 7.8 |
| 37 | Arkansas | AR | 7.6 |
| 38 | Tennessee | TN | 7.6 |
| 39 | Georgia | GA | 7.4 |
| 40 | Arizona | AZ | 7.3 |
| 41 | Wyoming | WY | 7.3 |
| 42 | South Carolina | SC | 7.3 |
| 43 | Indiana | IN | 7.2 |
| 44 | Kentucky | KY | 7.0 |
| 45 | Alabama | AL | 6.9 |
| 46 | Idaho | ID | 6.7 |
| 47 | Texas | TX | 6.6 |
| 48 | Oklahoma | OK | 6.4 |
| 49 | Nevada | NV | 6.4 |
| 50 | Mississippi | MS | 6.1 |
| 51 | Utah | UT | 6.0 |
| N/A | U.S. Average | USA | 8.4 |
Several factors explain their strong ratios: a high concentration of teaching hospitals, favorable reimbursement for primary care, and dense population centers that reduce travel time between appointments.
In effect, these states have built virtuous cycles that attract and retain family physicians.
Southern States Are Feeling the Doctor Shortage
Meanwhile, Southern states from Mississippi (6.1 doctors per 10,000 residents) to Texas (6.6) sit well below the U.S. average of 8.4.
This Doximity Op-Med essay says nearly 60% of the region’s medical-school grads leave for residency elsewhere, drawn by higher pay and longer life expectancy up north.
Those who stay must navigate low Medicaid reimbursement, high uninsured rates, and heavy chronic-disease burdens (like obesity), making primary-care practice hard to sustain.
Without more incentives to stay like stronger loan forgiveness, and broader Medicaid expansion, the South’s doctor gap will only grow.
Why Primary Care Doctors Matter
Primary care doctors act as the health system’s front door.
They handle prevention, spot problems early, coordinate specialist referrals, and manage chronic conditions over time.
Studies show communities with robust primary-care access have lower emergency-room use, better control of diabetes and hypertension, and even higher life expectancy, all while reducing overall healthcare costs.
However, as some of the lowest-paid doctors, residents often choose other specialities to pursue.
Geriatrics in particular struggles to lure new doctors, with barely 43% of fellowship slots filled in 2022.
Meanwhile, retirements have shrunk the active workforce from 10,300 in 2000 to 5,600 today.
Lower pay than other specialties, minimal exposure in med school, and heavy Medicare paperwork all discourage trainees.
Currently, there is only about one geriatrician for every 10,000 Americans 65 and older, and the shortage will likely grow as the country ages.
What About Immigrant Doctors?
Finally, about 30% of U.S. residency spots are filled by international medical graduates.
New H-1B visa rules could affect that number soon and set off a ripple effect across the entire U.S. healthcare industry.
However, the White House has signaled that sectors key to national interest may be exempt from new announcements that require companies to pay $100,000 per visa application.
Learn More on the Voronoi App
If you enjoyed today’s post, check out How Often People Go to the Doctor, by Country on Voronoi, the new app from Visual Capitalist.