The U.S. may face a shortage of 54,100 to 139,000 physicians by 2033, and access to care in every specialty, including mental health services, is a national issue.
Here are the 10 states with the fewest practicing psychiatrists in relation to its population, using industry data collected in August by the Kaiser Family Foundation and population data from World Population Review.
Idaho has one psychiatrist per every 16,905 people. For comparison, Massachusetts , the state with the most psychiatrists per capita, has one psychiatrist per every 2,437 people.
|
State |
No. of residents per psychiatrist |
|
Idaho |
16,905 to 1 |
|
Mississippi |
10,842 to 1 |
|
Montana |
10,742 to 1 |
|
Utah |
10,475 to 1 |
|
Indiana |
10,373 to 1 |
|
Wyoming |
10,018 to 1 |
|
Alabama |
9,947 to 1 |
|
Texas |
9,619 to 1 |
|
Florida |
9,244 to 1 |
|
South Dakota |
8,790 to 1 |
Nationally, there are 56,536 practicing psychiatrists. As of June 14, 10 states were considered to be officially designated health professional shortage areas due to a lack of mental health providers.