Number of Doctors in the US by Specialty (2026)
The CMS National Downloadable File lists about 737,399 physicians among 1,637,594 doctors and clinicians. The largest physician specialties are Internal Medicine (104,664), Family Practice (97,968), Emergency Medicine (45,957); the largest group overall is Nurse Practitioner (285,674).
Source: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), “National Downloadable File (Doctors and Clinicians)”. Data updated October 2, 2026.
Ten highest values
CliniciansThe full table below is the text version of this chart. It shows the highest values only; it does not say which places are better or worse.
The full table
60 rows| Specialty (as CMS lists it) | Clinicians | Share of all clinicians | Physician specialty? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nurse Practitioner | 285,674 | 17.4% | No (other clinician) |
| Physician Assistant | 139,779 | 8.5% | No (other clinician) |
| Internal Medicine | 104,664 | 6.4% | Yes |
| Family Practice | 97,968 | 6.0% | Yes |
| Physical Therapist in Private Practice | 95,929 | 5.9% | No (other clinician) |
| Clinical Social Worker | 72,286 | 4.4% | No (other clinician) |
| Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA) | 58,671 | 3.6% | No (other clinician) |
| Mental Health Counselor | 52,854 | 3.2% | No (other clinician) |
| Emergency Medicine | 45,957 | 2.8% | Yes |
| Anesthesiology | 45,261 | 2.8% | Yes |
| Chiropractic | 40,347 | 2.5% | No (other clinician) |
| Optometry | 37,434 | 2.3% | No (other clinician) |
| Diagnostic Radiology | 35,123 | 2.1% | Yes |
| Obstetrics/Gynecology | 34,629 | 2.1% | Yes |
| Clinical Psychologist | 28,519 | 1.7% | No (other clinician) |
| Psychiatry | 28,486 | 1.7% | Yes |
| General Surgery | 23,505 | 1.4% | Yes |
| Orthopedic Surgery | 23,395 | 1.4% | Yes |
| Hospitalist | 23,281 | 1.4% | Yes |
| Cardiovascular Disease (Cardiology) | 21,026 | 1.3% | Yes |
| Neurology | 18,759 | 1.2% | Yes |
| Ophthalmology | 18,375 | 1.1% | Yes |
| Occupational Therapist in Private Practice | 17,395 | 1.1% | No (other clinician) |
| Podiatry | 16,157 | 1.0% | No (other clinician) |
| Gastroenterology | 15,999 | 1.0% | Yes |
| Dermatology | 13,628 | 0.8% | Yes |
| Pathology | 13,128 | 0.8% | Yes |
| Pediatric Medicine | 12,852 | 0.8% | Yes |
| Pulmonary Disease | 11,526 | 0.7% | Yes |
| Marriage and Family Therapist | 10,520 | 0.6% | No (other clinician) |
| Urology | 10,378 | 0.6% | Yes |
| Hematology/Oncology | 10,250 | 0.6% | Yes |
| Otolaryngology | 10,026 | 0.6% | Yes |
| Nephrology | 9,992 | 0.6% | Yes |
| Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation | 9,323 | 0.6% | Yes |
| Qualified Audiologist | 9,295 | 0.6% | No (other clinician) |
| Qualified Speech Language Pathologist | 8,519 | 0.5% | No (other clinician) |
| Endocrinology | 7,259 | 0.4% | Yes |
| Infectious Disease | 7,201 | 0.4% | Yes |
| Registered Dietitian or Nutrition Professional | 7,081 | 0.4% | No (other clinician) |
| Critical Care (Intensivists) | 5,893 | 0.4% | Yes |
| Neurosurgery | 5,756 | 0.4% | Yes |
| Certified Nurse Midwife (CNM) | 5,701 | 0.4% | No (other clinician) |
| Rheumatology | 5,517 | 0.3% | Yes |
| Radiation Oncology | 5,387 | 0.3% | Yes |
| General Practice | 5,269 | 0.3% | Yes |
| Interventional Cardiology | 5,024 | 0.3% | Yes |
| Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery | 4,735 | 0.3% | Yes |
| Anesthesiology Assistant | 4,393 | 0.3% | No (other clinician) |
| Medical Oncology | 4,220 | 0.3% | Yes |
| Vascular Surgery | 4,177 | 0.3% | Yes |
| Allergy/Immunology | 3,584 | 0.2% | Yes |
| Pain Management | 3,030 | 0.2% | Yes |
| Thoracic Surgery | 2,927 | 0.2% | Yes |
| Interventional Radiology | 2,899 | 0.2% | Yes |
| Cardiac Electrophysiology | 2,752 | 0.2% | Yes |
| Sports Medicine | 2,336 | 0.1% | Yes |
| Hospice/Palliative Care | 2,252 | 0.1% | Yes |
| Geriatric Medicine | 1,991 | 0.1% | Yes |
| Colorectal Surgery (Proctology) | 1,846 | 0.1% | Yes |
How we calculated this
Each clinician in the CMS National Downloadable File has one primary specialty. We count clinicians per specialty, show the 60 largest, and mark a specialty as a physician specialty unless it is on our list of non-physician specialties (nurse practitioner, physician assistant, dentist, therapist, social worker and similar). Specialty names are CMS's, in English.
Data sources and dates
- Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS): “National Downloadable File (Doctors and Clinicians)”, updated October 2, 2026.
Limits of the data
Only clinicians in the Medicare file are counted. A doctor with several specialties is counted once, under the primary specialty CMS lists. Percentages are of all clinicians in the file.
Every figure is a count, sum or average of values in the official files above; none is estimated. Read the about page for how this site works and data freshness for when each source was last refreshed.
Download and cite
Download the table as CSV One row per row of the table, English column names, no totals row.
Cite this page
US Patient Guide. “Number of Doctors in the US by Specialty (2026).” Computed from Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), “National Downloadable File (Doctors and Clinicians)” (data updated October 2, 2026). https://uspatientguide.com/statistics/doctors-by-specialty/
Common questions
How many doctors are there in the United States?
About 737,399 physicians among 1,637,594 clinicians in the CMS file.
What is the most common doctor specialty?
Internal Medicine, with 104,664 physicians.