NPI Central

How Many Doctors Are There in the US?

The figure below counts providers who list a physician credential — MD (Doctor of Medicine) or DO (Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine) — in the national NPI registry.

Based on NPPES, June 2026

1,223,914

active doctors are registered in the U.S. National Provider Identifier registry.

Browse MD providers

How this is counted: Counts NPI records listing an MD or DO credential. This reflects registered identifiers, not an official active-workforce census, and excludes physicians who do not list these credential strings.

doctors by state

Active doctors in the NPI registry by practice state, June 2026.

Frequently asked questions

Does this count every physician in the US?

It counts providers in NPPES who list an MD or DO credential. Not all hold an active license, and a small number of physicians record their credential differently, so treat it as a registry count rather than a workforce census.

Source: CMS NPPES Data Dissemination (June 2026). NPI Central is not affiliated with CMS. Counts reflect NPI records and are not an official workforce census.