11 Cities with Most Doctors per Capita in America

We present you the list of 11 cities with most doctors per capita in America. These are the cities which most likely won’t be affected by a shortage of physicians which is expected in the near future. According to Association of American Medical Colleges, America will face a shortage of 90.000 physicians by 2025. Due to aging population and increasing number of patients suffering from chronic illnesses, demand for doctors will rise by 17 percent. The Association predicts that primary care physicians and surgical specialists will be in the highest demand.

However, it seems that the US is already facing the problem of physician shortfall. With 265.5 active physicians per 100.000, America ranks very low compared to other high-income countries. You can check our list of 11 countries with most doctors per capita to see which countries hire the most doctors in the world.

Besides shortfall of physicians, another problem US health care system faces today in terms of physician capacity is uneven distribution across the country. For instance, while in Massachusetts there are 432.4 doctors per 100.000 population, in Mississippi the rate is as low as 184.7. Moreover, the number of doctors who work in rural areas is much lower than in urban zones, which puts into question the quality of health care rural Americans receive.

Shortage of doctors and uneven distribution have put an extra burden on doctors. Although Americans visit doctors on average four times a year, which is low compared to the median for high-income countries, physicians are seeing 93.2 patients per week, or in other words 19 patients per day. With so many patients in waiting rooms, it is no wonder that majority of doctors spends only 13 to 16 minutes per patient.

The list of problems US health system faces doesn’t end with physicians shortfall and uneven distribution of doctors across the country. Other parameters, such as life expectancy, the number of patients with chronic illnesses, and infant mortality rate, also show that the quality of health care Americans receive isn’t as high as one would expect from the country which spends the most on health in the world. According to Commonwealth Fund, the main reason behind this paradox is high technology use. Compared to other nations, Americans receive the most diagnostic imaging exams, including MRIs, CT scans, PET exams. Additionally, high costs of surgical procedures equally contribute to high expenditure on health.

We can assume that these 11 cities with most doctors per capita in America at least don’t struggle with physicians shortfall. We created the list using Dartmouth Health Atlas as a source which presents the number of physicians per 100.000 by hospital service areas (HSA). HSA is a collection of Zip codes whose residents receive most of their hospitalizations from the hospitals in that area. You can read about the methodology to determine HSA in more details here. Now, let’s turn to our list.

11. Sitka, Alaska

Number of physicians per 100.000: 334.6
Population: 9,020

Occupying land area of 2,870.3 square miles, Sitka is the largest city-borough in the U.S. Two hospitals are located in Sitka – Sitka Community Hospital and Mt. Edgecumbe Hospital. In these two hospitals, there are 189.1 primary care physicians per 100.000 residents, 33.7 specialists, and 62.4 surgeons.

10. Tyrone, Pennsylvania

Number of physicians per 100.000: 335.2
Population: 5,412

Small picturesque town Tyrone is located on the Little Juniata River. Tyrone Hospital is a general medical and surgical hospital in Tyrone with 25 beds. According to latest data, 7.766 patients visited the hospital’s emergency room and 679 were admitted to the hospital.

9. San Leandro, California

Number of physicians per 100.000: 335.5
Population: 87,965

San Leandro, a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay, is a home to a couple of medical centers, including Kaiser Permanente Medical Center which was opened last year. In San Leandro, there are 131.4 primary care physicians, 76.5 specialists, and 59.2 surgeons per 100.000 residents.

8. Petersburg, Alaska

Number of physicians per 100.000: 348.1
Population: 2,920

One more city on our list located in Alaska, Petersburg has only 2.920 citizens. However, when doctors rate per capita is calculated, we get following numbers: 218 primary care physicians, 37.7 specialists, and 45.1 surgeons per 100.000 residents.

7. Anson, Texas

Number of physicians per 100.000: 350.9
Population: 2,347

The city which was named after the last president of the Republic of Texas, Anson, is a home to Anson General Hospital which is a general medical and surgical hospital with 30 beds. Latest data show that 2,650 patients visited the hospital’s emergency room while 327 were admitted to the hospital.

6. Livermore, California

Number of physicians per 100.000: 352.7
Population: 85,516

Livermore in California holds sixth place on our list 11 cities with most doctors per capita in America. This is the second most populated city on our list in which 152.4 primary care physicians, 78.4 specialists, and 58.9 surgeons per 100.000 residents work.

5. Wrangell, Alaska

Number of physicians per 100.000: 366.7
Population: 2,400

Residents of Wrangell, city which is located on Wrangell Island, rely on Wrangell Medical Center to receive the health care they need. The Center is a hospital and long-term care facility with 22 beds. According to the latest data, there are 210.9 primary care physicians, 37.3 specialists, and 63.9 surgeons per 100.000 residents in the Wrangell.

4. Dillingham, Alaska

Number of physicians per 100.000: 379.9
Population: 2,400

The last city on our list which is located in Alaska, Dillingham, has 233.5 primary care physicians, 40.3 specialists, and 48.6 surgeons per 100.000 residents.

3. Cherokee, North Carolina

Number of physicians per 100.000: 431.9
Population: 2,138

It is quite possible that the number of doctors in Cherokee will increase in the near future since Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians plans to open an $80 million hospital with 20 beds on its tribal trust land in the city. Currently, there are 212.2 primary care physicians, 69.2 specialists, and 86.1 surgeons per 100.000 residents working in the city.

2. Blowing Rock, North Carolina

Number of physicians per 100.000: 471.7
Population: 1,237

Smallest city on our list Blowing Rock has a population of only 1.237. There are two medical facilities in the city – Blowing Rock Rehabilitation & Davant Extended Care Center, and Watauga Medical Center. According to Dartmouth Atlas, 246.3 primary care physicians, 68.7 specialists, and 111.8 surgeons per 100.000 residents work in the Blowing Rock.

1. Saline, Michigan

Number of physicians per 100.000: 521.4
Population: 9.080

With 521.4 doctors per capita, a small city of Saline, Michigan, is the first on our list 11 cities with most doctors per capita in America. Moreover, this is a city which was ranked as the 63rd best place to live (out of 1,300 location), and it also found its place on CNN/Money’s list of best places to retire in 2005. There are 181.6 primary care physicians, 123.3 specialists, and 59.8 surgeons per 100.000 residents working in the Saline.