The psychiatrist shortage by county is stark: half of U.S. counties have no psychiatrist. In 1,611 of 3,194 counties, home to 26.3 million people, not one psychiatrist lists a practice address. Psychiatric nurse practitioners now outnumber psychiatrists nationally and reach 656 of those counties, but 175 counties have no mental health professional of any kind.
Key findings
- 1,611 counties (50.4%) have no psychiatrist. 26,262,228 people live in them.
- 58,538 psychiatrists practice in the U.S., 17.3 per 100,000 residents. There are now slightly more psychiatric nurse practitioners: 59,934.
- Of the counties with no psychiatrist, 656 have at least one psychiatric NP, and 1,436 have some licensed mental health professional (psychologist, counselor, clinical social worker or psychiatric NP).
- 175 counties, home to 556,455 people, have no mental health professional of any of these kinds.
- Texas has the most counties without a psychiatrist (172), followed by Georgia (98), Nebraska (82), Kansas (80) and Kentucky (69).
Psychiatrist shortage by county: psychiatrists per 100,000 residents
| Most | Per 100,000 | Fewest | Per 100,000 |
|---|---|---|---|
| District of Columbia | 63.8 | Wyoming | 8.2 |
| Massachusetts | 38.6 | Idaho | 8.6 |
| Rhode Island | 35.7 | Mississippi | 9.3 |
| New York | 34.3 | Alabama | 9.5 |
| Connecticut | 33.0 | Nebraska | 10.0 |
| Vermont | 30.0 | Indiana | 10.0 |
Other specialty gaps
Psychiatry isn’t the only gap. Using the same method:
| Specialty | Counties with none | People living there |
|---|---|---|
| Cardiology | 1,943 | 37,179,174 |
| Psychiatry | 1,611 | 26,262,228 |
| OB-GYN | 1,489 | 21,697,593 |
| Pediatrics | 1,304 | 15,863,747 |
| Any physician | 144 | 442,463 |
A county without a specialist isn’t always without care: people travel to nearby cities, and telehealth is common in psychiatry. But distance and wait times grow where no one practices locally. See also where psychiatrists are oldest (27.6% graduated 35 or more years ago) and nurse practitioners per physician.
How we counted
- Every clinician with an active NPI and a U.S. practice address, by primary specialty and practice county. Psychiatrists include addiction, geriatric, forensic and psychosomatic psychiatry. Child and adolescent psychiatrists are counted separately; choose them in the map’s menu.
- “Mental health professional” here means psychiatrists (including child and adolescent psychiatrists), psychiatric NPs, psychologists, licensed counselors and clinical social workers.
- Registry addresses are sometimes billing offices, and telehealth-only clinicians may list an address far from their patients. Details on the Methodology page.
Find a psychiatrist or psychiatric NP near you with Find a doctor.
Source: contact.doctor analysis of the NPPES NPI Registry (November 2026) and U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2020–2024 population estimates.
Sources: the CMS NPI Registry (opens in a new tab) (practice addresses and specialties) and the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (opens in a new tab) (population).