The number of physicians across the United States reveals significant variations, with California leading the pack at around ******* active doctors as of September 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.

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 *********.

As of September 2025, there were a total of 561,051 specialty physicians active in the United States. Of these, most were specialized in emergency medicine, followed by surgery and psychiatry. Physician compensation Significant pay variations exist across specialties and regions, with orthopedic doctors and surgeons commanding the highest average annual salaries at 564,000 U.S. dollars. Meanwhile, the Midwest region offers the highest average physician compensation at 385,000 U.S. dollars annually. Interestingly, doctors in northern 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 workloads 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.

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 2024, the number of licensed physicians in the United States and the District of Columbia amounted to over a ******* 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.

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 February of 2026.

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.

As of January 2025, there were a total of 535,012 primary care physicians (PCPs) active in the United States. Of these, most were in the field of internal medicine. This was followed by PCPs in family medicine/general practice. Despite the aging population, there were only 1,626 active Geriatricians in the United States.

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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.

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.

Percentage point difference between the share of the total population who is Asian and the share of total physician workforce who is Asian, 2023. Notes: Persons of Hispanic origin may be of any race but are categorized as Hispanic for this analysis; other groups are non-Hispanic.

pie chart showing Estimated Distribution of Physician Roles in the U.S.

Introduction

Male and Female Doctors Statistics: Doctors play an essential role in the medical industry. Male and female doctors play critical roles in providing different healthcare services in medicine.

Historically, men have significantly dominated the medical profession. However, there has been a considerable growth in the number of female doctors over the years, as more women seek careers in medicine.

The distribution of male and female doctors across different specializations and geographic locations can vary significantly.

Key factors such as personal preferences, cultural norms, work-life balance considerations, etc., may influence the choices made by male and female doctors regarding their work environment as well as location.

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.

Notes: Persons of Hispanic origin may be of any race but are categorized as Hispanic for this analysis; other groups are non-Hispanic. Other includes people with more than one race, American Indian or Alaska Native people, and Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander people.

As of January 2025, California was the U.S. state with the highest number of active specialist physicians, reporting just over 63 thousand specialist doctors. Of the total 567 thousand specialist physicians in the U.S. in total, California accounted for around 11 percent.

Percentage point difference between the share of the total population who is White and the share of total physician workforce who is White, 2023. Notes: Persons of Hispanic origin may be of any race but are categorized as Hispanic for this analysis; other groups are non-Hispanic.

Graph and download economic data for Total Revenue for Offices of Physicians Excluding Mental Health Specialists, All Establishments, Employer Firms (REVEF621111ALLEST) from 1998 to 2022 about mental health, physicians, employer firms, accounting, revenue, establishments, services, and USA.

Percentage point difference between the share of the total population who is Hispanic and the share of total physician workforce who is Hispanic, 2023. Notes: Persons of Hispanic origin may be of any race but are categorized as Hispanic for this analysis; other groups are non-Hispanic.