A population group, facility, or geographic area where access to mental health care is poor due to an inadequate number of practitioners may be designated by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) as a mental health HPSA (health professional shortage area). As of March 31, 2025, more than 122.3 million Americans lived in a mental health care shortfall area according to HRSA data.  That figure included nearly 6.9 million residents living in the Mid-Eastern U.S., a region that encompasses five states and the District of Columbia.  The HRSA estimates that HPSAs in the Mid-Eastern U.S. would need 453 more mental health care practitioners to eliminate the shortfall in the region.  A closer examination of March 31, 2025, HRSA data reveals the following about the mental health care shortfall in the Mid-Eastern U.S.:

The Mental Health Care Shortfall in the Mid-Eastern U.S.

State	(1) HPSAs	(2) Population	(3) Shortfall
DE	12	316,367	41
DC	11	126,214	8
MD	48	1,515,872	81
NJ	39	404,293	28
NY	197	3,662,589	230
PA	119	857,739	65
Region	426	6,883,274	453
U.S.	6,418	122,383,988	6,202

(1) HRSA-designated Geographic Units, Population Groups, and Facilities with a mental health care shortfall

(2) Population of designated HPSAs

(3) Mental Health Care practitioners needed to remove HPSA Designation

Source:  Designated HPSA Quarterly Summary, March 31, 2025 (HRSA)

Family Medicine Physician Pay in New England

According to recently published data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), as of May 2024, there were just over 104,000 family medicine physicians employed across the United States. Of these, 6,120 were practicing in the six-state New England region.

BLS data highlights a significant pay disparity among family medicine physicians in New England. Massachusetts stands out, accounting for more than half of the region’s family medicine employment and ranking in the top 10 nationally for annual mean wages. In contrast, the other five New England states report average salaries below the national average.

The May 2024 BLS data provides the following insights into family medicine physician compensation across New England:

Family Medicine Physician Pay in New England

State	# Employed	Annual Mean Wages	Wage Rank*
CT	900	$213,400	45th
MA	3,550	$301,270	4th
ME	630	$221,190	42nd
NH	410	$248,550	28th
RI	280	$244,270	30th
VT	350	$238,710	32nd
U.S.	104,780	$253,047	-------

(*) annual mean wage ranking among the 50 states and the District of Columbia

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OES. Data extracted on June 5, 2025

Whenever residents of geographic areas, facilities, or population groups have subpar access to basic medical care because too few primary care physicians serve the area relative to its population, the setting can be designated a primary care HPSA (health professional shortage area) by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA).  As of March 31, 2025, the HRSA reported that more than 77.2 million Americans lived in primary care HPSAs.  That included just over 5.4 million residents of the seven-state Great Plains region.  This number represented almost 7% of the U.S. population that was living in a primary care shortfall area at that time.  The HRSA estimates that to eliminate the shortfall Great Plains region HPSAs would need 1,080 additional primary care physicians.  An examination of HRSA data details the following about the primary care shortfall in the Great Plains region:

The Primary Care Shortfall in the Great Plains Region

State	(1) HPSAs	(2) Population	(3) Shortfall
IA	161	745,778	162
KS	160	676,611	113
MN	212	1,415,841	201
MO	336	1,878,341	476
NE	131	235,596	33
ND	87	182,247	39
SD	99	267,936	56
Region	1,186	5,402,350	1,080
U.S.	7,749	77,253,848	13,364

(1) HRSA-designated Geographic Units, Population Groups, and Facilities with a primary care shortfall

(2) Population of designated HPSAs

(3) Primary Care practitioners needed to remove the HPSA Designation

Source:  Designated HPSA Quarterly Summary, 3/31/25 (HRSA)

Speech Language Pathologist Pay in the Great Plains Region

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' (BLS) most current occupational employment data indicated that nearly 174,000 speech language pathologists (SLPs) were working in the United States as of May 2024.  More than 12,000 of those employed in the U.S. as SLPs resided in the seven-state Great Plains region.  BLS data indicated that the region is one of the weakest in the country for speech language pathologist pay, as no state in the region registered a SLP annual mean wage level above the national average.  Moreover, three Great Plains states ranked among the ten worst states in the country for SLP annual mean wages.  More examination of BLS data from May 2024 reveals the following details about speech language pathologist pay in the Great Plains region:

Speech Language Pathologist Pay in the Great Plains Region

State	# Employed	Annual Mean Wages	Wage Rank*
IA	1,390	$85,230	32nd
KS	1,790	$84,230	36th
MN	3,730	$82,020	42nd
MO	2,700	$84,930	33rd
NE	1,230	$83,880	38th
ND	670	$73,950	48th
SD	510	$69,230	50th
U.S.	173,910	$91,089	-------

(*) annual mean wage ranking among the 50 states and the District of Columbia

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OES. Data extracted on June 3, 2025

March 31, 2025, data from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) revealed that more than 59.7 million Americans lived in communities or settings designated as dental health professional shortage areas (HPSA).  This designation is given to population groups, geographic areas, or facilities where with access to dental care is limited because too few dentists serve the HPSA relative to the size of its population.  Southeastern U.S dental HPSA's were home to over 22.7 million residents, accounting for just over 38% of the entire U.S. population that lived in dental care shortfall areas.  The HRSA estimates that HPSAs in the Southeast would need 4,018 more dentists in order to eliminate the dental care shortfall in the region.  Here is a state-level summary of the Southeast's dental care shortfall:

The Dental Care Shortfall in the Southeast

State	(1) HPSAs	(2) Population	(3) Shortfall
AL	89	751,675	137
AR	132	580,085	103
FL	274	5,911,481	1,259
GA	184	1,963,457	411
KY	208	922,811	209
LA	163	1,869,995	252
MS	148	1,401,634	178
NC	189	2,911,480	576
SC	90	1,557,360	221
TN	143	1,941,163	314
VA	131	2,182,344	223
WV	117	749,549	135
Region	1,868	22,743,034	4,018
U.S.	7,054	59,718,174	10,143

(1) Designated Geographic, Population Group, and Facility HPSAs with a dental care shortfall

(2) Population of designated HPSAs

(3) Dental Care practitioners needed to remove HPSA Designation

Source:  Designated HPSA Quarterly Summary, 3/31/25 (HRSA)

May 2024 data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported dental assistant employment in the United States at more than 287,780.  The four-state Southwestern U.S. accounted for roughly 48,200 of those dental assistant jobs.  BLS data revealed the Southwestern U.S. to be a rather weak one for dental assistant pay, as only one state in the region registered a mean annual wage level for dental assistants that was better than the profession's national average of $48,225.  Moreover, all other states in the region ranked among the fifteen worst states in the nation for dental assistant mean annual wage levels. A deeper dive into May 2024 BLS data reveals the following details about dental assistant pay in the Southwestern U.S.:

Dental Assistant Pay in the Southwestern U.S.

State	# Employed	Mean Annual Wage	Wage Rank*
AZ	7,480	$50,040	17th
NM	2,010	$42,290	43rd
OK	4,540	$42,980	39th
TX	31,360	$42,520	41st
U.S.	287,780	$48,225	-------

(*) annual mean wage ranking among the 50 states and the District of Columbia

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OES. Data extracted on May 30, 2025

Clinical Lab Tech Pay in the Great Lakes Region

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) published data recently that put clinical laboratory technician and technologist employment at over 337,000 as of May 2024.  Just over 49,000 clinical lab tech positions were in the five-state Great Lakes region at that time.  For clinical lab techs, the Great Lakes region was a subpar one in terms of pay relative to the national average.  More than 77% of clinical lab techs in the region lived in one of the four Great Lakes region states where the annual mean wage for clinical lab techs lagged the national average. A closer review of BLS data from May 2024 yielded the following details about clinical lab tech pay in the Great Lakes region:

Clinical Lab Tech Pay in the Great Lakes Region

State	# Employed	Annual Mean Wages	Wage Rank*
IL	11,200	$68,680	16th
IN	8,610	$58,450	39th
MI	9,220	$60,650	32nd
OH	13,160	$62,730	27th
WI	6,960	$64,470	23rd
U.S.	337,740	$65,012	-------

(*) annual mean wage ranking among the 50 states

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OES. Data extracted on May 28, 2025

A mental health HPSA (health professional shortage area) is a facility, geographic unit, or population group designated by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) as having substandard availability of basic mental health care services. This designation reflects there being too few mental health care practitioners serving the community relative to the size of the population.  As of March 31, 2025, the HRSA reported that nearly 122.4 million Americans lived in a mental health care shortage area.

As of March 31, 2025, more than 21.6 million residents of the five-state Great Lakes region lived in a mental health care shortage area.  To eliminate that shortfall, the HRSA estimates that Great Lakes region HPSA's would need 923 additional mental health care providers servicing these communities.  A state-level examination of 3/31/25 HRSA data reveals the following about the mental health care shortfall in the Great Lakes region:

The Mental Health Care Shortfall in the Great Lakes Region

State	(1) HPSAs	(2) Population	(3) Shortfall
IL	211	6,540,212	291
IN	100	5,065,898	211
MI	233	3,690,930	144
OH	135	4,763,137	207
WI	168	1,574,202	70
Region	847	21,634,379	923
U.S.	6,418	122,383,988	6,202

(1) HRSA-designated Geographic Units, Population Groups, and Facilities with a mental health care shortfall

(2) Population of designated HPSAs

(3) Mental Health Care practitioners needed to remove HPSA Designation

Source:  Designated HPSA Quarterly Summary, March 31, 2025 (HRSA)

A geographic area, facility, or population unit where individuals have substandard access to basic medical care because there are too few primary care physicians relative to the community's population size can be designated a primary care HPSA (health professional shortage area) by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA).  As of March 31, 2025, more than 77.2 million Americans lived in primary care HPSAs.  This included 1.5 million people who lived in the six-state New England region.  The HRSA estimates that to eliminate this primary care shortage, New England HPSAs would need 188 more primary care physicians.  A closer study of 3/31/25 HRSA data reveals the following state-level breakdown of the primary care shortfall in New England:

The Primary Care Shortfall in New England

State	(1) HPSAs	(2) Population	(3) Shortfall
CT	46	694,859	53
MA	61	471,369	94
ME	76	85,155	18
NH	22	112,513	10
RI	13	137,033	13
VT	13	1,580	0
Region	231	1,502,509	188
U.S.	7,749	77,253,848	13,364

(1) HRSA-designated Geographic Units, Population Groups, and Facilities with a primary care shortfall

(2) Population of designated HPSAs

(3) Primary Care practitioners needed to remove the HPSA Designation

Source:  Designated HPSA Quarterly Summary, 3/31/25 (HRSA)

Nurse Practitioner Pay in the U.S. Southeast

Earlier this summer the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that more than 303,000 nurse practitioners (NPs) were employed in the United States as of May 2024.  The twelve-state U.S. Southeast accounted for 93,630 NP jobs in May 2024.  The U.S. Southeast region is the weakest in the nation for nurse practitioner pay.  The average NP annual mean wage in every state in the region is below the national average, and the region is home to seven of the ten worst states in the nation for nurse practitioner annual mean wages.  A further examination of BLS data from May 2024 shows the following about nurse practitioner pay in the U.S. Southeast:

Nurse Practitioner Pay in the U.S. Southeast

State	# Employed	Annual Mean Wages	Wage Rank*
AL	4,730	$109,650	48th
AR	3,350	$116,030	46th
FL	24,690	$128,340	24th
GA	10,580	$125,490	35th
KY	4,710	$116,930	45th
LA	4,480	$124,850	36th
MS	4,170	$122,930	39th
NC	8,020	$124,830	37th
SC	5,850	$113,950	47th
TN	14,300	$108,180	49th
VA	6,470	$122,180	41st
WV	2,280	$122,140	42nd
U.S.	303,410	$130,077	-------

(*) annual mean wage ranking among the 50 states and the District of Columbia

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OES. Data extracted on May 20, 2025

March 31, 2025, data available from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) indicated that over 59.7 million Americans lived in areas designated as dental health professional shortage areas (HPSA).  A dental health HPSA is a population group, geographic unit, or facility where the community has poor access to basic dental care because not enough dentists serve the area relative to the HPSA's population.  HPSAs in the six-state Far Western U.S. had more than 7 million residents who lived in dental care shortage areas.  The HRSA estimates that HPSAs in the Far West would need more than 1,000 additional dentists in order to eliminate the dental care shortfall in the region.  From the HRSA's March 31, 2025, data, here is a state-level summary of the dental care shortfall in the Far Western U.S.:

The Dental Care Shortfall in the Far Western U.S.

State	(1) HPSAs	(2) Population	(3) Shortfall
AK	339	411,622	59
CA	529	2,740,227	427
HI	32	196,213	33
NV	65	797,261	154
OR	137	1,029,448	158
WA	192	1,908,466	194
Region	1,294	7,083,237	1,025
U.S.	7,054	59,718,174	10,143

(1) HRSA-designated Geographic Units, Population Groups, and Facilities with a dental care shortfall

(2) Population of designated HPSAs

(3) Dental Care practitioners needed to remove HPSA Designation

Source:  Designated HPSA Quarterly Summary, 3/31/25 (HRSA)

Geographic units, population groups, and facilities where residents have substandard access to mental health care services can be designated as a health professional shortage area (HPSA) by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA).  This designation can be based on either the size of the HPSA's population relative to (a) the number of psychiatrists that serve the community, or (b) the combined number of psychiatrists, clinical social workers, clinical psychologists, and certain other types of mental health care practitioners who service the area.  A shortfall indicates that the number of actual practitioners serving the HPSA is lower than what would be expected for the number of residents living in the designated area.

Based on March 31, 2025 HRSA data, nearly 122.4 million Americans lived in mental health HPSAs.  That included 18.7 million residents of the four-state U.S. Southwest.  To eliminate the mental health care shortfall in the Southwest, the HRSA estimated that an additional 937 mental health care practitioners would be needed to service mental health HPSAs in the region.  A state-level look at HRSA data as of March 31, 2025 reveals the following about the mental health care shortfall in the Southwest:

The Mental Health Care Shortfall in the Southwest

State	(1) HPSAs	(2) Population	(3) Shortfall
AZ	206	2,074,757	144
NM	96	1,362,121	73
OK	129	1,911,019	106
TX	382	13,394,834	614
Region	813	18,742,731	937
U.S.	6,418	122,383,988	6,202

(1) HRSA-designated Geographic Units, Population Groups, and Facilities with a mental health care shortfall

(2) Population of designated HPSAs

(3) Mental Health Care practitioners needed to remove HPSA Designation

Source:  Designated HPSA Quarterly Summary, March 31, 2025 (HRSA)

Family Medicine Physician Pay in the Southwest

Information published earlier this year by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) put the number of employed family medicine physicians in the U.S. at more than 104,000 as of May 2024.  According to BLS data, the four-state Southwest U.S. region is a standout for family medicine pay, employing about 13,800 physicians in the field. Each state in the region reported annual mean wages at or above the national average, with New Mexico and Arizona both placing in the top ten for highest-paying states. A closer review of May 2024 BLS data details the following about family medicine physician pay in the Southwest:

Family Medicine Physician Pay in the Southwest

State	# Employed	Annual Mean Wages	Wage Rank*
AZ	3,820	$306,890	3rd
NM	710	$291,980	8th
OK	2,780	$253,090	26th
TX	6,510	$270,420	16th
U.S.	104,780	$253,047	-------

(*) annual mean wage ranking among the 50 states and the District of Columbia

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OES. Data extracted on May 16, 2025

The Ten Largest General Hospitals in Ohio

Based on Fourth Quarter 2024 Medicare Provider of Services file certified bed count data, the ten largest general hospitals in Ohio are:

• Cleveland Clinic
  Location:  Cleveland, OH
  Certified Bed Count:  1,267
  
  
• Summa Health
  Location:  Akron, OH
  Certified Bed Count:  1,061
  
  
• UH Cleveland Medical Center
  Location:  Cleveland, OH
  Certified Bed Count:  1,037
  
  
• Riverside Methodist Hospital
  Location:  Columbus, OH
  Certified Bed Count:  1,000
  
  
• Ohio State University Hospital
  Location:  Columbus
  Certified Bed Count:  971
  
  
• Miami Valley Hospital
  Location:  Dayton
  Certified Bed Count:  970
  
  
• Mount Carmel East
  Location:  Columbus
  Certified Bed Count:  937
  
  
• Promedica Toledo Hospital
  Location:  Toledo
  Certified Bed Count:  794
  
  
• Genesis Healthcare System
  Location:  Zanesville
  Certified Bed Count:  767
  
  
• MetroHealth System
  Location:  Cleveland
  Certified Bed Count:  702
  

Supplemental resource:  Top Ranked Teaching Hospitals in the Great Lakes Region

The Ten Largest General Hospitals in Florida

Certified bed count data from the Fourth Quarter 2024 Medicare Provider of Services file reveal the following to be the ten largest general hospital providers in Florida:

• AdventHealth Orlando
  Location:  Orlando, FL
  Certified Bed Count:  3,289
  
  
• Jackson Memorial Hospital
  Location:  Miami, FL
  Certified Bed Count:  2,255
  
  
• Orlando Health Orlando Regional Medical Center
  Location:  Orlando, FL
  Certified Bed Count:  2,024
  
  
• Baycare / St. Joseph's Hospital
  Location:  Tampa
  Certified Bed Count:  1,390
  
  
• Baptist Medical Center Jacksonville
  Location:  Jacksonville, FL
  Certified Bed Count:  1,229
  
  
• Memorial Regional Hospital
  Location:  Hollywood
  Certified Bed Count:  1,079
  
  
• UF Health Shands Hospital
  Location:  Gainesville
  Certified Bed Count:  1,054
  
  
• Tampa General Hospital
  Location:  Tampa
  Certified Bed Count:  1,041
  
  
• Baptist Hospital of Miami
  Location:  Miami
  Certified Bed Count:  948
  
  
• Sarasota Memorial Hospital
  Location:  Sarasota
  Certified Bed Count:  897

Supplemental resource:  Top Ranked Teaching Hospitals in the Southeast

Speech Language Pathologist Pay in New England

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) employment data released earlier this year reported nearly 173,910 speech language pathologists (SLPs) at work in the United States as of May 2024.  About 9,840 SLPs were employed in the six-state New England region according to the BLS data.  New England is a relatively good region for speech language pathologist pay, notwithstanding the fact that Maine and Vermont ranked among the ten worst states in the country for SLP annual mean wages. Despite the poor pay environment in those states, 80% of SLPs in New England lived in one of three states in the region that ranked among the fifteen best states in the nation for speech language pathologist annual mean wage levels. A closer review of May 2024 BLS data reveals the following details about speech language pathologist pay in New England:

Speech Language Pathologist Pay in New England

State	# Employed	Annual Mean Wages	Wage Rank*
CT	2,160	$103,460	8th
MA	5,000	$99,570	13th
ME	610	$80,100	44th
NH	790	$86,900	29rd
RI	810	$100,40	12th
VT	470	$81,890	43rd
U.S.	173,910	$91,089	-------

(*) annual mean wage ranking among the 50 states and the District of Columbia

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OES. Data extracted on May 9, 2025

Clinical Lab Tech Pay in the Far Western U.S.

More than 337,000 clinical laboratory technicians and technologists were working in the United States as of May 2024 according to the most recent occupational employment data released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).  Just under 44,500 of the nation's employed clinical lab techs were working in the six-state Far Western U.S. region.  For clinical lab techs, the Far West was one of the very best regions in the nation in terms of pay.  Nearly every state in the region had an average annual mean wage level for clinical lab techs that topped the national average. Moreover, three states in the region ranked in the top 10 nationally for clinical lab tech annual mean wages.  A closer examination of BLS data from May 2024 reveals the following details about clinical lab tech pay in the Far Western U.S.:

Clinical Lab Tech Pay in the Far Western U.S.

State	# Employed	Annual Mean Wages	Wage Rank*
AK	700	$71,590	12th
CA	29,460	$76,690	6th
HI	1,260	$70,030	14th
NV	2,270	$63,600	24th
OR	3,020	$78,530	4th
WA	7,740	$73,280	10th
U.S.	337,740	$65,012	-------

(*) annual mean wage ranking among the 50 states and the District of Columbia

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OES. Data extracted on May 7, 2025

Data released recently from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that, as of May 2024, more than 287,000 dental assistants were working in the United States.  About 24,000 dental assistants at work in May 2024 lived in the seven-state Great Plains region of the country.  BLS data reveals much disparity in the Great Plains region for dental assistant pay.  Dental assistants in Minnesota enjoy the highest average annual mean wage in the country, and North Dakota is another top 10 state for dental assistant annual mean wages.  However, about 53% of the region's dental assistants work in one of three states that rank 31st or worse for average annual mean wages for the profession.  A deeper dive into May 2024 BLS data details the following about dental assistant pay in the Great Plains region of the U.S.:

Dental Assistant Pay in the Great Plains Region

State	# Employed	Annual Mean Wages	Wage Rank*
IA	3,540	$49,020	24th
KS	3,020	$42,490	42nd
MN	5,590	$63,680	1st
MO	7,380	$45,390	37th
NE	2,360	$46,300	31st
ND	920	$54,720	7th
SD	1,240	$49,080	23rd
U.S.	287,780	$48,225	-------

(*) annual mean wage ranking among the 50 states and the District of Columbia

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OES. Data extracted on May 5, 2025