Psychiatrist Shortage by State – 2026 Report

by | Jan 15, 2026 | Blogs



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In December 2024, more than 122 million Americans lived in designated Mental Health Professional Shortage Areas. The national psychiatrist-to-population ratio is one provider per 5,058 residents. According to current workforce projections, the United States will face a shortage of between 43,660 and 93,940 adult psychiatrists by 2037.

This report analyzes the distribution of psychiatrists across all 50 states, examining population-to-psychiatrist ratios alongside Health Professional Shortage Area designations to measure current access gaps. Our analysis evaluates geographic disparities between urban and rural communities using workforce projection models that provide a comprehensive view of the nationwide availability of psychiatrists.

What You Will Learn

  • Psychiatrist Distribution by State: Complete state-by-state rankings showing residents per psychiatrist, from lowest ratios to highest shortage areas
  • Mental Health Professional Shortage Areas by State: Data on HPSA designations, affected populations, and practitioners needed to eliminate shortages
  • Rural vs. Urban Access Disparities: County-level analysis showing how geographic location affects access to psychiatric care
  • Future Workforce Projections: Supply and demand forecasts through 2037 under multiple scenarios

 

Psychiatrist Distribution by State: 2025 Rankings

The data below presents all 50 states ranked by the availability of psychiatrists.

 

National Psychiatrist Distribution Rankings

Rank State Psychiatrists Population Residents per Psychiatrist
1 District of Columbia 487 702,250 1,442
2 Massachusetts 2,806 7,136,171 2,543
3 Vermont 241 648,493 2,691
4 New York 6,821 19,867,248 2,913
5 Connecticut 1,252 3,675,069 2,935
6 Maryland 1,831 6,263,220 3,421
7 Rhode Island 297 1,112,308 3,745
8 Maine 344 1,405,012 4,084
9 Hawaii 323 1,446,146 4,477
10 Pennsylvania 2,852 13,078,751 4,586
11 California 7,796 39,431,263 5,058
12 New Jersey 1,860 9,500,851 5,108
13 New Mexico 399 2,130,256 5,339
14 New Hampshire 250 1,409,032 5,636
15 Missouri 1,104 6,245,466 5,657
16 Michigan 1,770 10,140,459 5,729
17 Virginia 1,529 8,811,195 5,763
18 Illinois 2,173 12,710,158 5,849
19 Oregon 725 4,272,371 5,893
20 North Dakota 134 796,568 5,945
21 Kansas 496 2,970,606 5,989
22 Delaware 171 1,051,917 6,152
23 Minnesota 941 5,793,151 6,156
24 Ohio 1,908 11,883,304 6,228
25 South Carolina 875 5,478,831 6,262
26 North Carolina 1,734 11,046,024 6,370
27 Nebraska 312 2,005,465 6,428
28 Wisconsin 910 5,960,975 6,551
29 Colorado 886 5,957,493 6,724
30 West Virginia 256 1,769,979 6,914
31 Alaska 107 740,133 6,917
32 Washington 1,084 7,958,180 7,341
33 Louisiana 622 4,597,740 7,392
34 South Dakota 125 924,669 7,397
35 Arizona 995 7,582,384 7,620
36 Kentucky 598 4,588,372 7,673
37 Georgia 1,349 11,180,878 8,288
38 Tennessee 863 7,227,750 8,375
39 Oklahoma 488 4,095,393 8,392
40 Arkansas 367 3,088,354 8,415
41 Iowa 382 3,241,488 8,486
42 Florida 2,725 23,372,215 8,577
43 Texas 3,490 31,290,831 8,966
44 Alabama 570 5,157,699 9,049
45 Utah 376 3,503,613 9,318
46 Wyoming 63 587,618 9,327
47 Nevada 345 3,267,467 9,471
48 Indiana 709 6,924,275 9,766
49 Montana 116 1,137,233 9,803
50 Mississippi 278 2,943,045 10,586
51 Idaho 146 2,001,619 13,709

Key Insights:

Northeast dominance: The top five states are concentrated in the Northeast corridor, where academic medical centers attract psychiatric specialists. All maintain ratios of fewer than 4,000 residents per psychiatrist.

Western mountain states face the most severe per-capita shortages: Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Wyoming, and Utah have the most severe per-capita shortages due to large geographic areas and limited metropolitan centers.

 

Mental Health Professional Shortage Areas: State Analysis

The data below present HPSA designations by state, along with the number of additional psychiatrists required to remove shortage designations.

 

Mental Health HPSA Designations by State

State Total HPSAs Population in HPSAs Percent Need Met Psychiatrists Needed
Alabama 64 2,943,245 27.9% 128
Alaska 341 414,742 12.0% 21
Arizona 208 2,074,757 10.1% 144
Arkansas 91 1,163,274 29.7% 69
California 599 11,030,569 22.4% 569
Colorado 78 2,744,353 34.2% 110
Connecticut 41 801,108 18.7% 53
Delaware 12 316,367 7.9% 41
District of Columbia 11 126,214 0.0% 8
Florida 219 7,826,846 23.8% 450
Georgia 88 5,025,398 43.4% 180
Hawaii 32 496,429 14.1% 28
Idaho 65 1,210,451 27.2% 48
Illinois 212 6,540,212 20.9% 291
Indiana 99 5,065,898 31.6% 211
Iowa 164 1,504,536 15.3% 67
Kansas 112 1,180,423 23.0% 51
Kentucky 167 2,184,175 22.7% 118
Louisiana 172 3,210,059 22.6% 160
Maine 65 268,713 13.9% 11
Maryland 48 1,515,872 22.1% 81
Massachusetts 51 256,453 34.8% 13
Michigan 236 3,690,930 40.3% 144
Minnesota 140 2,124,031 29.6% 91
Mississippi 84 2,132,264 39.1% 90
Missouri 257 1,969,048 14.2% 117
Montana 105 772,338 32.9% 38
Nebraska 90 1,051,830 48.4% 27
Nevada 57 1,959,041 20.6% 153
New Hampshire 19 91,279 52.7% 2
New Jersey 39 404,126 52.8% 28
New Mexico 95 1,362,121 19.0% 73
New York 197 3,662,589 15.6% 230
North Carolina 192 3,513,946 11.4% 217
North Dakota 74 285,045 23.5% 15
Ohio 138 4,829,025 30.4% 230
Oklahoma 129 1,911,019 30.9% 106
Oregon 125 1,388,666 30.6% 68
Pennsylvania 120 857,739 31.1% 65
Rhode Island 12 394,307 58.1% 11
South Carolina 58 657,075 27.3% 32
South Dakota 73 2,081,830 32.6% 99
Tennessee 83 2,987,186 14.4% 243
Texas 380 13,395,255 31.3% 614
Utah 55 2,430,542 53.3% 68
Vermont* 12 N/A N/A N/A
Virginia 99 2,385,548 29.3% 129
Washington 204 3,311,047 17.8% 156
West Virginia 115 766,433 11.4% 89
Wisconsin 169 1,551,077 39.9% 68
Wyoming 23 566,918 41.3% 23

*Vermont’s 12 HPSA designations are primarily facility-based rather than geographic population-based designations. Population data for these facility-based HPSAs is not reported.

Key Insights:

Population concentration vs. shortage severity: Texas and California have the most HPSAs by count, but Arizona and North Carolina have the lowest percentage of need met, at 10.1% and 11.4%, respectively.

Rural state challenges compound: States with large rural populations require more psychiatrists despite smaller total populations. New Mexico needs 73 additional psychiatrists to serve 1.3 million people in shortage areas.

 

Rural vs. Urban Psychiatric Access: Geographic Disparities

Below, we examined the percentage of counties without key behavioral health providers, broken down by rural versus urban classification.

 

County-Level Provider Availability by Rural-Urban Classification

Provider Type Rural Counties Without Provider Urban Counties Without Provider Rural-Urban Gap
Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner 69% 31% 38 percentage points
Psychologist 45% 16% 29 percentage points
Social Worker 22% 5% 17 percentage points
Counselor 18% 5% 13 percentage points

Key Insights:

Psychiatric advanced practice nurses face the largest disparity: More than two-thirds of rural counties have no psychiatric mental health nurse practitioners available.

Consistent pattern across provider types: All four behavioral health provider categories show substantially lower availability in rural areas. Even counselors are unavailable in nearly one in five rural counties.

 

Future Workforce Projections: Supply vs. Demand Through 2037

In the table below, we present three scenarios for the adequacy of the adult psychiatrist workforce in 2037.

 

Projected Psychiatrist Workforce Shortage by 2037

Scenario Projected Shortage Supply Adequacy Description
Status Quo 43,660 psychiatrists 43% Current training capacity and retirement trends continue without intervention
Unmet Need 58,840 psychiatrists 36% Accounts for populations currently avoiding treatment due to stigma or access barriers
Elevated Need 93,940 psychiatrists 26% Includes both reduced stigma and expanded insurance coverage, improving access

Key Insights:

Training pipeline cannot match retirements: Current psychiatry residency programs graduate approximately 1,500 new psychiatrists annually. However, an estimated 4,665 to 7,828 physicians will be needed annually through 2037 under the unmet-need scenario.

Expanded access magnifies shortages: Policy changes that improve insurance coverage or reduce stigma will increase treatment-seeking behavior. These changes require parallel investments in workforce capacity to prevent prohibitive wait times.

 

Request a PDF Copy of This Report

If you found this state-by-state analysis valuable, request a PDF copy of the complete report for your records. Our research team compiled data from HRSA, KFF, and AAMC to provide the most comprehensive analysis of the psychiatrist shortage.

 

Sources

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