The state of psychiatry access, 2026
How far each state is from meeting its need for mental-health care, and how many psychiatrists it has, in the federal government's own numbers. Look up your state, sort the table, and download the data.
Key findings
As of September 30, 2026, HRSA counted 154,557,656 people in 7,127 designated mental-health shortage areas, where only 26.2% of the need for care is met. Closing the gap would take 7,796 more practitioners. Every state except New Jersey meets less than half its need. The country has 60,129 active psychiatrists, about one for every 5,684 residents, and that supply ranges from 8.0 per 100,000 in Idaho to 38.2 in Vermont.
- Mental-health need met
- People in shortage areas
- Practitioners needed
- Shortage designations
- Psychiatrists per 100,000
- Active psychiatrists
Where the least need is met
The share of need met is HRSA's measure of how much of the estimated demand for mental-health care in designated areas current practitioners can cover. The states meeting the least are West Virginia (5.7%), Delaware (6.6%), Maine (11.5%), North Carolina (11.8%), and New York (14.4%). The most is met in New Jersey (50.5%), New Hampshire (48.2%), Utah (48.0%), Georgia (46.1%), and Rhode Island (45.4%). Even the best-served state meets only about half its need. The District of Columbia shows 0% across 10 designations, 9 of them facilities, which makes it a poor comparison with whole states, so we leave it out of these comparisons.
Where the gap is largest in people
A low percentage in a small state and a middling one in a big state are different problems. By the number of practitioners HRSA says it would take to remove every designation, the largest gaps are in Florida (710), California (673), Texas (631), Illinois (395), and New York (256).
Psychiatrists per person
Shortage designations cover the whole mental-health workforce. Psychiatrists are the scarcest part of it. KFF counted 60,129 professionally active psychiatrists as of May 2026, or 17.6 for every 100,000 residents. The thinnest supply is in Idaho (8.0), Mississippi (9.5), Wyoming (10.0), and Indiana (10.1). The most is in Vermont (38.2), Massachusetts (37.9), New York (33.9), and Connecticut (32.8), and the District of Columbia is higher still at 72.8.
Why these numbers are higher than our last edition
Our previous edition reported about 137 million people in shortage areas and 27.3% of need met, as of December 31, 2025. This edition uses HRSA's September 30, 2026 count. The two aren't directly comparable. HRSA keeps designations that are proposed for withdrawal on its books until it publishes an annual Federal Register notice, so the count moves through the year. From this edition on, we archive every quarter and compare each one with the same quarter a year earlier.
Every state
Click a column heading to sort.
| State | Need met | People in shortage areas | Practitioners needed | Designations | Psychiatrists per 100k |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 23.2% | 3,491,919 | 227 | 72 | 10.1 |
| Alaska | 27.8% | 627,057 | 29 | 343 | 18.6 |
| Arizona | 15.7% | 4,088,063 | 224 | 282 | 13.2 |
| Arkansas | 26.3% | 1,176,745 | 73 | 94 | 12.2 |
| California | 21.9% | 12,270,229 | 673 | 643 | 21.6 |
| Colorado | 40.4% | 4,054,296 | 137 | 85 | 16.4 |
| Connecticut | 17.2% | 1,932,543 | 126 | 55 | 32.8 |
| Delaware | 6.6% | 537,966 | 61 | 16 | 16.2 |
| District of Columbia | 0.0% | 126,214 | 8 | 10 | 72.8 |
| Florida | 21.8% | 12,331,976 | 710 | 241 | 12.7 |
| Georgia | 46.1% | 5,680,979 | 194 | 93 | 11.9 |
| Hawaii | 32.2% | 504,844 | 23 | 33 | 23.5 |
| Idaho | 20.1% | 1,282,788 | 56 | 65 | 8.0 |
| Illinois | 21.0% | 8,646,794 | 395 | 245 | 16.5 |
| Indiana | 37.9% | 6,500,041 | 251 | 117 | 10.1 |
| Iowa | 20.1% | 1,899,150 | 82 | 174 | 12.7 |
| Kansas | 19.9% | 1,196,031 | 52 | 118 | 14.7 |
| Kentucky | 19.7% | 2,778,040 | 151 | 228 | 11.7 |
| Louisiana | 27.7% | 2,893,539 | 139 | 179 | 13.9 |
| Maine | 11.5% | 470,030 | 21 | 82 | 23.8 |
| Maryland | 19.8% | 2,882,446 | 150 | 69 | 26.4 |
| Massachusetts | 26.5% | 553,097 | 30 | 56 | 37.9 |
| Michigan | 37.3% | 4,663,345 | 195 | 276 | 17.7 |
| Minnesota | 24.3% | 2,709,724 | 123 | 150 | 16.2 |
| Mississippi | 33.3% | 2,312,386 | 107 | 87 | 9.5 |
| Missouri | 21.4% | 2,713,118 | 140 | 265 | 17.1 |
| Montana | 40.9% | 1,318,372 | 55 | 115 | 11.6 |
| Nebraska | 44.8% | 1,069,236 | 30 | 91 | 15.3 |
| Nevada | 21.7% | 2,715,680 | 185 | 66 | 11.1 |
| New Hampshire | 48.2% | 153,649 | 4 | 22 | 18.5 |
| New Jersey | 50.5% | 776,426 | 37 | 43 | 19.4 |
| New Mexico | 25.7% | 1,617,847 | 83 | 100 | 19.0 |
| New York | 14.4% | 4,047,428 | 256 | 213 | 33.9 |
| North Carolina | 11.8% | 4,104,845 | 253 | 224 | 16.0 |
| North Dakota | 37.4% | 464,452 | 16 | 69 | 17.3 |
| Ohio | 34.3% | 5,432,847 | 240 | 138 | 15.9 |
| Oklahoma | 24.0% | 2,604,390 | 148 | 139 | 12.0 |
| Oregon | 25.4% | 1,703,364 | 90 | 135 | 18.3 |
| Pennsylvania | 34.3% | 1,012,322 | 67 | 130 | 21.7 |
| Rhode Island | 45.4% | 411,900 | 15 | 14 | 28.6 |
| South Carolina | 32.7% | 5,371,248 | 233 | 101 | 14.5 |
| South Dakota | 18.7% | 657,991 | 36 | 65 | 12.6 |
| Tennessee | 14.9% | 2,999,680 | 220 | 98 | 11.0 |
| Texas | 31.9% | 14,065,653 | 631 | 414 | 11.3 |
| Utah | 48.0% | 2,986,377 | 97 | 63 | 11.8 |
| Vermont | Not reported | Not reported | Not reported | 12 | 38.2 |
| Virginia | 18.0% | 2,253,193 | 150 | 133 | 16.7 |
| Washington | 21.1% | 5,635,742 | 249 | 244 | 14.7 |
| West Virginia | 5.7% | 810,123 | 94 | 124 | 15.7 |
| Wisconsin | 35.9% | 1,753,519 | 85 | 170 | 15.3 |
| Wyoming | 30.6% | 567,575 | 23 | 26 | 10.0 |
Methodology
Shortage figures come from Table 5 of HRSA's Designated HPSA Quarterly Summary, mental health care by state, as of September 30, 2026. We pulled the table directly from HRSA's report generator and checked it twice, with two separate extractions of the same file that matched on every row. Percent of need met, population, and practitioners needed are HRSA's own figures. HRSA's national total includes U.S. territories and freely associated states; the state table covers the 50 states and the District of Columbia.
Psychiatrist counts are professionally active psychiatrists from KFF State Health Facts (May 2026), which reads, "Special data request on State Licensing Information from Redi-Data Inc., May 2026." Population is the Census Bureau's Vintage 2025 estimate for July 1, 2025. Psychiatrists per 100,000 is our calculation from those two sources.
Limits: a shortage designation measures the broad mental-health workforce against need in a defined area, population group, or facility, so its population counts can overlap and shouldn't be read as a share of a state's residents. Psychiatrist counts are headcounts, not full-time equivalents, and don't show who takes insurance or new patients. This isn't a ranking of care quality.
How we keep this current
Each source updates on its own calendar, and so does this report.
| Data | When it's updated | Next update |
|---|---|---|
| Shortage-area figures (HRSA) | Every quarter, when HRSA posts its next Designated HPSA Quarterly Summary | January 2027 |
| Psychiatrists by state (KFF) | Once a year, when KFF posts a new timeframe | Summer 2027 |
| State population (Census) | Once a year, when the Census Bureau releases new estimates in December | January 2027 |
See something that's out of date? Tell us, with a link to the source.
Frequently asked questions
How many people live in a mental-health shortage area?
HRSA counted 154,557,656 people in designated mental-health shortage areas as of September 30, 2026, across 7,127 designations. That total includes U.S. territories.
What percent of mental-health need is met in the US?
About 26.2% in designated shortage areas, as of September 30, 2026. HRSA estimates it would take 7,796 more practitioners to remove every designation.
Which state meets the least of its mental-health need?
Among states, West Virginia met the least, at 5.7%, followed by Delaware at 6.6%, as of September 30, 2026. The District of Columbia shows 0%, but most of its designations are facilities, so it doesn't compare cleanly with states.
Which state has the fewest psychiatrists per person?
Idaho, with 8.0 psychiatrists per 100,000 residents, about one for every 12,452 people. The national figure is 17.6 per 100,000.
How many psychiatrists are there in the United States?
KFF counted 60,129 professionally active psychiatrists as of May 2026, about one for every 5,684 residents.
How to cite this report
Refai S. The State of Psychiatry Access, 2026. shrinkiatry; October 15, 2026. https://shrinkiatry.com/reports/state-of-psychiatry-access/
Use these charts
You're welcome to put either chart on your own site. Keep the link so readers can find the source.
Sources
- Health Resources and Services Administration, Bureau of Health Workforce. Designated HPSA Quarterly Summary, Table 5, as of September 30, 2026. https://data.hrsa.gov/Default/GenerateHPSAQuarterlyReport
- KFF State Health Facts. Professionally active physicians by specialty, psychiatry, May 2026. https://www.kff.org/state-health-policy-data/state-indicator/physicians-by-specialty-area/
- U.S. Census Bureau. State population estimates, Vintage 2025. https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/popest/2020s-state-total.html
Written and reviewed by Shariq Refai, MD, MBA, FAPA, a board-certified psychiatrist. First published July 29, 2026. Last reviewed October 15, 2026.
Go deeper
For why the gap persists, read the psychiatrist shortage brief and where the psychiatrists are. For the pipeline, see the Psychiatry Residency Salary and Data Report and the Psychiatry Residency Guide. For programs that reach underserved areas, browse the Psychiatry Innovation Atlas.