As of 2023, roughly one in 15 active physicians in the United States were Hispanic (regardless of race). Asians were overrepresented, accounting for nearly one in 5 physicians in the U.S., while Asians made up just 6.3 percent of the total U.S. population.

The number of physicians across the United States reveals significant variations, with California leading the pack at nearly ******* active doctors as of April 2025. This concentration of medical professionals in populous states highlights the ongoing challenge of ensuring adequate healthcare access nationwide. The stark contrast between California's physician count and Wyoming's mere ***** doctors underscores the need for targeted efforts to address healthcare workforce shortages in less populated areas. Primary care and specialist distribution California leads also in both primary care physicians and specialists, accounting for over ** percent of each category nationally. This concentration of medical expertise in California reflects broader trends, with New York and Texas following as the states with the highest numbers of active primary care physicians. The distribution of specialists also mirrors national patterns, with psychiatry, surgery, and anaesthesiology among the most common specialties. Physician burnout While the number of physicians continues to grow, physician burnout remains a significant issue. There are large variations in rates of burnout depending on a physician's gender and specialty. For example, burnout is disproportionally high among women, affecting ** percent of female physicians and ** percent of male physicians. Meanwhile, emergency medicine physicians reported the highest levels of burnout among specialists, highlighting the need for targeted interventions to support the individual needs of doctors depending on their different circumstances.

The number of male physicians outnumbers female physicians in the U.S. in most specialties. The only major exceptions are found in pediatrics, child and adolescent psychiatry, obstetrics and gynecology, although female physicians do slightly outnumber males in a few other specialties. As of 2021, there were around 68,400 male family medicine/general practice physicians compared to 50,000 women in this specialty. Physicians in the U.S. Both the number of doctors and rate of doctors in the U.S. have increased over the years. As of 2021, there were around 946,800 active doctors of medicine in the U.S. This was around 29.9 physicians per 10,000 civilian population. In 1995, this rate stood at 24.2 physicians per 10,000 population. Physicians by state The states with the highest overall number of active physicians are California, New York, Texas, and Florida. However, the states with the highest rate of physicians per 10,000 civilian population include Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Maryland. The District of Columbia has the highest rate of physicians by a large margin, with around 74.6 physicians per 10,000 population. The state with the highest annual compensation for physicians is Oklahoma, where physicians earn an annual average of 337,000 dollars.

Health professionals, especially primary care physicians, are in high demand in many parts of the U.S. Some areas are experiencing health professional shortages. This map shows the ratio of population to primary care physicians in the U.S. Areas in dark red show where there are less primary care physicians per person.The data comes from County Health Rankings, a collaboration between the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute, measure the health of nearly all counties in the nation and rank them within states. The layer used in the map comes from ArcGIS Living Atlas of the World, and the full documentation for the layer can be found here.County data are suppressed if, for both years of available data, the population reported by agencies is less than 50% of the population reported in Census or less than 80% of agencies measuring crimes reported data.

This statistic shows the results of a survey regarding U.S. physicians' average annual compensation, as of 2025, by race and ethnicity. According to the survey, white/Caucasian physicians earned an average annual income of ******* U.S. dollars, much higher than ******* U.S. dollars earned on average by African American/Black doctors. The difference in the average incentive bonuses between ethnicity/racial groups were even higher.

Graph and download economic data for All Employees: Education and Health Services: Offices of Physicians in Colorado (SMU08000006562110001SA) from Jan 2002 to Jun 2025 about physicians, health, CO, services, employment, and USA.

Graph and download economic data for Employed full time: Wage and salary workers: Physicians and surgeons occupations: 16 years and over (LEU0254487600A) from 2000 to 2019 about surgeons, physicians, medical, occupation, full-time, salaries, workers, 16 years +, wages, employment, and USA.

In the United States, there are more male doctors than female. In 2023, the share of female doctors amounted to just **** percent, although this has increased by *** percent compared to 2021. However, there were large variations depending on the specialty. ************* were most likely to be women (among the major specialties**). Meanwhile, only ***** other specialties had more female than male physicians.

Medical Doctors in the United States increased to 2.77 per 1000 people in 2019 from 2.74 per 1000 people in 2018. This dataset includes a chart with historical data for the United States Medical Doctors.

Data on visits to physician offices, hospital outpatient departments and hospital emergency departments by selected population characteristics. Please refer to the PDF or Excel version of this table in the HUS 2019 Data Finder (https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/hus/contents2019.htm) for critical information about measures, definitions, and changes over time. Note that the data file available here has more recent years of data than what is shown in the PDF or Excel version. Data for 2017 physician office visits are not available. SOURCE: NCHS, National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey and National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey. For more information on the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey and the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey, see the corresponding Appendix entries at https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hus/hus17_appendix.pdf.

United States US: Physicians: per 1000 People data was reported at 2.568 Ratio in 2014. This records an increase from the previous number of 2.554 Ratio for 2013. United States US: Physicians: per 1000 People data is updated yearly, averaging 1.900 Ratio from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2014, with 39 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 2.704 Ratio in 2004 and a record low of 1.100 Ratio in 1960. United States US: Physicians: per 1000 People data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s USA – Table US.World Bank: Health Statistics. Physicians include generalist and specialist medical practitioners.; ; World Health Organization's Global Health Workforce Statistics, OECD, supplemented by country data.; Weighted average;

Graph and download economic data for All Employees, Offices of Physicians (CES6562110001) from Jan 1972 to Jul 2025 about physicians, health, education, establishment survey, services, employment, and USA.

The average for 2020 based on 27 countries was 3.56 doctors per 1,000 people. The highest value was in Austria: 5.35 doctors per 1,000 people and the lowest value was in Brazil: 2.05 doctors per 1,000 people. The indicator is available from 1960 to 2021. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

Specialist doctors' diverse payment streams, including government and private insurance programs and out-of-pocket patient payments, help reduce revenue volatility. The increasing size of the older adult demographic, supported by favorable government policies and a resilient post-pandemic economic climate, has contributed to growth. However, specialist doctors have faced increasing competition from telemedicine and larger enterprises that have impacted smaller practices already stressed by the high costs of medical supplies and labor shortages. Despite these mixed factors, the industry is poised for growth, with revenue set to expand at a CAGR of 3.2% through 2025, reaching $513.6 billion, which includes a 3.8% gain in 2025. The growing acceptance and adoption of telemedicine and wearable devices are reshaping the competitive landscape. The technologies provide convenient alternatives to traditional in-person visits, shifting patient preferences and heightening competition. Alternative therapies and self-care solutions have emerged as affordable, immediate care options and telehealth expands market boundaries. To meet competition, specialists can leverage technologies and offer unique services. The pandemic temporarily exacerbated workforce shortages and cost pressures, hindering immediate profit recovery and contributing to a shift toward group practice settings that disadvantaged smaller practices. Rising operating costs and regulatory demands are changing ownership structures, leading to increased acquisitions of smaller specialist practices by hospitals, corporate entities and private equity concerns. Looking ahead, consolidation trends, insurance coverage and demographic changes present opportunities and challenges. Although the specialty care market remains fragmented, continued consolidation trends are expected to shape the sector since it improves cost efficiency, while evolving insurance structures could enhance profitability through better reimbursement rates. As the older adult demographic grows, demand for specialized services increases, particularly in cardiology and oncology. Advancements in medical technology allow specialists to perform high-margin procedures, further driving revenue growth. However, for some specialists, reliance on Medicare and Medicaid for a large portion of reimbursements can exacerbate revenue volatility if there are changes in government policies. Despite these uncertainties, the industry is expected to climb at a CAGR of 3.0% through 2030, reaching $594.1 billion, with profit trending upward as specialists capitalize on demographic shifts, technological innovations and the benefits of consolidation.

Employment statistics on the Primary Care Doctors industry in the US

Graph and download economic data for All Employees: Education and Health Services: Offices of Physicians in Michigan (SMU26000006562110001SA) from Jan 2001 to Jun 2025 about physicians, health, MI, services, employment, and USA.

Graph and download economic data for All Employees: Education and Health Services: Offices of Physicians in New York City, NY (SMU36935616562110001) from Jan 1990 to Jun 2025 about physicians, health, New York, NY, services, employment, and USA.

This statistic shows the total number of doctors of medicine in the United States from 1949 to 2015. In 1949, there were ******* doctors of medicine in the United States. Some 50 years later, the number was around **** times as high. In 2015, the exact number of doctors of medicine was *********.

The US Healthcare Visits Statistics dataset includes data about the frequency of healthcare visits to doctor offices, emergency departments, and home visits within the past 12 months in the United States by age, race, Hispanic origin, poverty level, health insurance status, geographic region and other characteristics between 1997 and 2016.

Density of physicians of United States of America rose by 1.49% from 3.6 number per thousand population in 2020 to 3.6 number per thousand population in 2021. Since the 4.81% decline in 2018, density of physicians soared by 40.39% in 2021.