The distribution of physicians across the United States reveals significant disparities, with California leading the pack at nearly ******* active doctors as of January 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's dominance in the medical field extends beyond overall physician numbers. The state leads 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.

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 *********.

In the United States, there were roughly 268 thousand primary care physicians (PCPs) actively working in 2021. Most PCPs were either specialized in family medicine or internal medicine. The third most common specialty for primary care physicians in the United States was pediatrics.

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.

As of January 2025, there were a total of 566,723 specialty physicians active in the United States. Of these, most were specialized in emergency medicine. Physician compensation Significant pay variations exist across specialties and regions, with orthopedic doctors and surgeons command the highest average annual salaries at 558,000 U.S. dollars. Meanwhile, the West North Central area offers the highest average physician compensation at 404,000 U.S. dollars annually. This region's higher pay likely stems from lower physician density in rural areas, creating less competition. Interestingly, doctors in Northeastern and Southwestern parts of the United States tend to earn less than their counterparts in other regions. Burnout among physicians Despite high salaries, U.S. physicians face high workload and stress in the workplace. Nearly half of surveyed doctors reported feeling burnout, with higher burnout rates among female doctors, younger physicians, and those in primary care compared to their counterparts. More effort to combat burnout is needed in the healthcare system. Increasing compensation was cited by physicians as the top measure to alleviate burnout, followed by adding support staff and offering more flexible schedules.

The states with the most number of active physicians include California, New York, Texas, and Florida. California currently has the most number of active physicians of any U.S. state, with around 122963 physicians. In California, the specialties with the most physicians are psychiatry, emergency medicine, and anaesthesiology. Specialty areas In general, the most common specialty areas for physicians in the U.S. are emergency medicine, psychiatry, surgery, and anaesthesiology. As of 2024, there were around 58,900 psychiatrists in the U.S. Concerning the gender distribution of specialty physicians, males out number females in almost every specialty, with exceptions found in mainly in various pediatric disciplines, and obstetrics and gynecology. Compensation The specialty areas with the highest average annual compensation are plastic surgery, orthopedics, and cardiology. As of 2024, a physician in orthopedics earned an average of 558,000 U.S. dollars per year. Male physicians still earn more than their female counterparts in both primary care and specialty settings. This difference is especially large in specialty settings, where male physicians earn more than 100,000 dollars more per year than female physicians.

Physicians (per 1,000 people) in United States was reported at 3.608 in 2021, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. United States - Physicians - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on June of 2025.

Number of Businesses statistics on the Primary Care Doctors industry in United States

In 2021, in some specialties, female primary care physicians (PCPs) were more common than men. Geriatrics and pediatrics were specialties where PCPs were predominantly female in the United States. For instance, two-thirds of PCPs who specialized in pediatrics were women. On the other hand, just 41 percent of PCPs who specialized in internal medicine in the U.S. were female in 2021.

As of January 2025, the states with the highest number of active primary care physicians (PCPs) were California, New York, and Texas. As of that time, of the ******* PCPs in the United States, around ** percent were in the state of California. Physicians by specialty In the United States, the specialties with the highest number of active physicians include emergency medicine, psychiatry, surgery, and anaesthesiology. The most popular physician specialties in the state of California mirror this national trend. In 2024, California had over ***** psychiatrists and ***** surgeons. Physician burn-out Although being a physician can be a rewarding and lucrative profession, physicians often feel stressed and burned-out. In 2024, a survey of physicians in the U.S. found that ** percent of female and ** percent of male physicians felt burned out. Moreover, PCPs, employed physicians, and doctors aged 45 and under were more likely to be burned out than their counterparts.

Forecast: Number of Professionally Active Physicians in the US 2024 - 2028 Discover more data with ReportLinker!

As of 2022, the number of licensed physicians in the United States and the District of Columbia amounted to ********* physicians. This included both Doctors of Medicine and Doctors of Osteopathic Medicine. The number of licensed U.S. physicians has been steadily increasing since 2010.

The number of male physicians outnumber 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.

Number of Businesses statistics on the Specialist Doctors industry in the US

The average for 2020 based on 2 countries was 2.57 doctors per 1,000 people. The highest value was in Canada: 2.73 doctors per 1,000 people and the lowest value was in Mexico: 2.41 doctors per 1,000 people. The indicator is available from 1960 to 2021. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

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;

Number of Businesses statistics on the Pain Management Physicians industry in United States

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

Forecast: Number of Physicians Employed in Hospitals in the US 2023 - 2027 Discover more data with ReportLinker!

Forecast: Number of Physicians Employed in Hospitals in the US 2024 - 2028 Discover more data with ReportLinker!