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.
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.
Idaho has one psychiatrist for every 16,294 people. Massachusetts, the state with the most psychiatrists per capita, has one for every 2,377 people. Washington, D.C., has an even better ratio, with one for every 1,158 people, according to industry data collected in August by the Kaiser Family Foundation and population figures from the U.S. Census Bureau.
State |
Population |
Psychiatrists |
Residents per psychiatrist | |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 |
Idaho |
1,939,033 |
119 |
16,294 |
2 |
Montana |
1,122,867 |
97 |
11,576 |
3 |
Mississippi |
2,940,057 |
271 |
10,849 |
4 |
Nevada |
3,177,772 |
308 |
10,317 |
5 |
Indiana |
6,833,037 |
663 |
10,306 |
6 |
Utah |
3,380,800 |
338 |
10,002 |
7 |
Wyoming |
581,381 |
59 |
9,854 |
8 |
Alabama |
5,074,296 |
523 |
9,702 |
9 |
Texas |
30,029,572 |
3174 |
9,461 |
10 |
Florida |
22,244,823 |
2413 |
9,219 |
11 |
Georgia |
10,912,876 |
1248 |
8,744 |
12 |
Oklahoma |
4,019,800 |
466 |
8,626 |
13 |
Tennessee |
7,051,339 |
821 |
8,589 |
14 |
South Dakota |
909,824 |
107 |
8,503 |
15 |
Arkansas |
3,045,637 |
369 |
8,254 |
16 |
Arizona |
7,359,197 |
915 |
8,043 |
17 |
Iowa |
3,200,517 |
402 |
7,961 |
18 |
Kentucky |
4,512,310 |
610 |
7,397 |
19 |
Washington |
7,785,786 |
1064 |
7,317 |
20 |
Colorado |
5,839,926 |
804 |
7,264 |
21 |
Alaska |
733,583 |
103 |
7,122 |
22 |
Nebraska |
1,967,923 |
281 |
7,003 |
23 |
Louisiana |
4,590,241 |
657 |
6,987 |
24 |
Wisconsin |
5,892,539 |
845 |
6,973 |
25 |
West Virginia |
1,775,156 |
255 |
6,961 |
26 |
South Carolina |
5,282,634 |
804 |
6,570 |
27 |
North Carolina |
10,698,973 |
1644 |
6,508 |
28 |
Oregon |
4,240,137 |
653 |
6,493 |
29 |
Ohio |
11,756,058 |
1832 |
6,417 |
30 |
Virginia |
8,683,619 |
1360 |
6,385 |
31 |
Minnesota |
5,717,184 |
913 |
6,262 |
32 |
Kansas |
2,937,150 |
474 |
6,197 |
33 |
Delaware |
1,018,396 |
168 |
6,062 |
34 |
Illinois |
12,582,032 |
2147 |
5,860 |
35 |
Michigan |
10,034,113 |
1734 |
5,787 |
36 |
New Mexico |
2,113,344 |
377 |
5,606 |
37 |
Missouri |
6,177,957 |
1121 |
5,511 |
38 |
New Jersey |
9,261,699 |
1683 |
5,503 |
39 |
North Dakota |
779,261 |
148 |
5,265 |
40 |
California |
39,029,342 |
7414 |
5,264 |
41 |
Hawaii |
1,440,196 |
283 |
5,089 |
42 |
New Hampshire |
1,395,231 |
282 |
4,948 |
43 |
Pennsylvania |
12,972,008 |
2723 |
4,764 |
44 |
Maine |
1,385,340 |
325 |
4,263 |
45 |
Rhode Island |
1,093,734 |
299 |
3,658 |
46 |
Maryland |
6,164,660 |
1710 |
3,605 |
47 |
Vermont |
647,064 |
201 |
3,219 |
48 |
New York |
19,677,151 |
6918 |
2,844 |
49 |
Connecticut |
3,626,205 |
1277 |
2,840 |
50 |
Massachusetts |
6,981,974 |
2937 |
2,377 |
51 |
District of Columbia |
671,803 |
580 |
1,158 |