Family Medicine Physician Pay in the Southeast

The most current occupational employment data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) put the number of family medicine physicians employed in the United States at more than 104,000 as of May 20204 More than 24,700 family medicine physicians were employed at that time in the twelve-state Southeast region of the country.  BLS data reveals the region to have much disparity in family physician pay.  Four states in the region ranked among the top third of all states for family medicine physician annual mean wages, while at the same time seven other Southeastern states ranked among the bottom third of states on the same metric.  Overall, however, the region was a subpar one for family physician pay as the data showed about 67% of the region's practitioners lived in a state where the annual mean wage for family medicine physicians was below the national average.  A closer examination of May 2024 data from the BLS details the following about family medicine physician pay in the Southeast:

Family Medicine Physician Pay in the Southeast

State	# Employed	Annual Mean Wages	Wage Rank*
AL	380	$212,590	46th
AR	1,070	$117,030	49th
FL	7,580	$243,800	31st
GA	3,250	$286,050	10th
KY	1,520	$277,570	12th
LA	910	$238,000	34th
MS	780	$261,520	20th
NC	1,940	$226,820	38th
SC	1,060	$253,640	25th
TN	2,520	$256,650	23rd
VA	3,480	$220,010	43rd
WV	230	$249,170	27th
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 July 21, 2025

As of March 31, 2025, Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) data shows that nearly 122.4 million Americans lived in communities or settings designated as mental health care health professional shortage areas (HPSA).  This designation reflects a situation where the residents of a population group, geographic area, or facility have poor access to basic mental health services because too few mental health care practitioners serve the area given the size of the HPSA's population. The HRSA estimates that HPSAs throughout the country would need more than 6,200 additional mental health care practitioners in order to rectify the mental health care shortfall in these communities.

Here is a summary look at the U.S. mental health care shortfall by region (for state-level details, follow the "region" link):

The U.S. Mental Health Care Shortfall by Region

Region	(1) HPSAs	(2) Population	(3) Shortfall
Far Western U.S.	1,358	18,603,356	994
Great Lakes	847	21,634,379	923
Great Plains	890	8,830,228	409
Mid-Eastern U.S.	426	6,883,074	453
New England	201	1,812,356	90
Rocky Mountain	326	7,724,602	287
Southeast	1,458	36,452,825	1,987
Southwest	813	18,742,731	937
U.S. Territories	99	1,700,437	122
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)

Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) data shows that, as of March 31, 2025, over 77.2 million Americans lived in communities or settings designated as primary care health professional shortage areas (HPSA).  The primary care HPSA designation indicates that the residents of a geographic unit, facility, or population group have poor access to basic medical services because too few primary care practitioners serve the area given its population size. The HRSA estimates that HPSAs throughout the country would need more than 13,300 additional primary care practitioners in order to rectify the primary care shortfall in these communities and settings.

Here is a summary look at the U.S. primary care shortfall by region (for state-level details, follow the "region" link):

The U.S. Primary Care Shortfall by Region

Region	(1) HPSAs	(2) Population	(3) Shortfall
Far Western U.S.	1,444	11,794,609	1.922
Great Lakes	1,006	11,353,616	1,847
Great Plains	1,186	5,420,350	1,080
Mid-Eastern U.S.	437	7,042,814	1,574
New England	231	1,502,509	188
Rocky Mountain	457	2,524,773	408
Southeastern U.S.	2,023	25,699,753	4,214
Southwestern U.S.	898	10,816,479	1,906
U.S. Territories	67	1,098,945	225
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)

Based on March 31, 2025, data available from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), over 59.7 million Americans lived in settings or communities designated as dental health professional shortage areas (HPSA).  The dental health HPSA designation means that the residents of a population group, geographic unit, or facility have substandard access to dental care because not enough dentists serve the area given the size of the HPSA's population. In order to rectify the dental care shortfall in these communities and settings, the HRSA estimates that HPSAs throughout the country would need over 10,100 more dentists.

Here is a summary look at the U.S. dental care shortfall by region (for state-level details, follow the "region" link):

The U.S. Dental Care Shortfall by Region

Region	(1) HPSAs	(2) Population	(3) Shortfall
Far Western U.S.	1,294	7,083,237	1,025
Great Lakes	916	7,278,467	1,323
Great Plains	1,053	4,017,861	675
MidEast	411	6,927,660	1,256
New England	222	1,074,377	158
Rocky Mountain	402	1,812,491	207
Southeast	1,868	22,743,034	4,018
Southwestern U.S.	764	6,046,418	1,099
U.S. Territories	124	2,734,629	382
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)

Nurse Practitioner Pay in the Mid-Eastern U.S.

Data published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) put the number of nurse practitioners (NPs) working in the United States at more than 303,000 as of May 2024.  More than 49,500 of the nation's nurse practitioner jobs at that time were in the Mid-Eastern region, an area which includes five states and the District of Columbia.  The Mid-Eastern U.S. was one of the best regions of the country for nurse practitioner pay.  Moreover, over 60% of employed NPs in the region lived in New York, New Jersey or DC, three states that ranked among the ten best states in the country for nurse practitioner annual mean wages. A closer examination of BLS employment data from May 2024 shows the following about nurse practitioner pay in the Mid-Eastern U.S.:

Nurse Practitioner Pay in the Mid-Eastern U.S.

State	# Employed	Annual Mean Wages	Wage Rank*
DC	1210	$130,190	22nd
DE	790	$137,600	10th
MD	6,640	$127,100	31st
NJ	9,590	$140,470	8th
NY	20,430	$148,410	2nd
PA	10,860	$126,730	32nd
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 July 7, 2025

A facility, geographic area, or population group where community members have poor access to mental health care services can be designated by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) as a health professional shortage area (HPSA).  A mental health care shortfall designation indicates that too few mental health care practitioners are serving the community relative to the size of its population.  As of March 31, 2025, nearly 122.4 million Americans lived in mental health care shortfall areas according to the HRSA. That figures includes over 8.8 million residents of the seven-state Great Plains region who were living in mental health care shortfall areas. The HRSA estimates that Great Plains region HPSAs would need 409 additional mental health care practitioners to eliminate the shortfall in the region. A further examination of 3/31/25 HRSA data reveals the following state-level details about the mental health care shortfall in the Great Plains region:

The Mental Health Care Shortfall in the Great Plains Region

State	(1) HPSAs	(2) Population	(3) Shortfall
IA	165	1,504,536	67
KS	110	1,180,423	51
MN	141	2,170,516	93
MO	255	1,969,048	117
NE	88	1,064,487	32
ND	73	284,923	15
SD	58	656,295	34
Region	890	8,830,228	409
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)

As designated by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), a primary care health professional shortage area (HPSA) is a facility, geographic area, or population group where residents are underserved for basic medical care because not enough primary care physicians service the community given the size of its population.  As of March 31, 2025, more than 77.2 million Americans lived in HRSA-designated primary care shortfall areas.  The twelve-state Southeastern U.S. had, as of 3/31/25, almost 25.7 million residents living in primary care shortfall areas.  The HRSA estimates that to eliminate this shortfall, the Southeastern U.S. would need over 4,200 additional primary care physicians serving HPSAs in the region.  A deeper examination of 3/31/25 HRSA data provides the following state-level view of the primary care shortfall in the Southeastern U.S.:

The Primary Care Shortfall in the Southeastern U.S.

State	(1) HPSAs	(2) Population	(3) Shortfall
AL	109	2,018,437	221
AR	144	1,101,893	131
FL	292	6,166,533	1,338
GA	231	2,783,079	586
KY	231	1,426,402	305
LA	175	2,086,166	206
MS	153	1,379,002	251
NC	195	2,296,076	409
SC	93	1,395,598	162
TN	142	2,364,873	272
VA	137	1,933,391	210
WV	121	748,303	123
Region	2,023	25,699,753	4,214
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)

Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) data as of March 31, 2025, indicated that over 59.7 million Americans lived in communities designated as a dental health HPSA (health professional shortage area).  A dental health HPSA is a population group, geographic area, or facility where access to dental care suffers from too few dentists serving the community relative to the size of its population.  As of 3/31/25, HRSA designated dental care shortfall areas in the five-state Great Lakes region totaled almost 7.3 million residents.  In order to remove that dental care shortfall designation, the HRSA estimates that HPSAs in the Great Lakes states would need 1,323 more dentists serving their communities.  A deeper look at HRSA data provides the following state-level summary view of the dental care shortfall in the Great Lakes region:

The Dental Care Shortfall in the Great Lakes Region

State	(1) HPSAs	(2) Population	(3) Shortfall
IL	227	2,134,589	408
IN	124	976,210	164
MI	242	1,582,942	297
OH	162	1,717,141	289
WI	161	867,585	165
Region	916	7,278,467	1,323
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)

Family Medicine Physician Pay in the Great Lakes Region

Information published recently by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) put the number of family medicine physicians employed in the United States at more than 104,000 as of May 2024.  Almost 10,000 family medicine physicians were employed at that time in the five-state Great Lakes region.  BLS data reveals the region to have much disparity in family physician pay.  Indiana and Wisconsin are both top ten states nationally for family medicine physician annual mean wages.  However, more than 70% of Great Lakes region family medicine physicians live in other states in the region, all of which register family physician annual mean wage levels below the national average.  A closer examination of May 2024 data from the BLS details the following about family medicine physician pay in the Great Lakes region:

Family Medicine Physician Pay in the Great Lakes Region

State	# Employed	Annual Mean Wages	Wage Rank*
IL	1,540	$206,010	48th
IN	1,700	$295,310	5th
MI	4,400	$222,500	41st
OH	1,780	$230,400	36th
WI	1,510	$293,630	6th
U.S.	98,590	$214,370	-------

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

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

The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) can designate a population group, facility, or geographic area as a health professional shortage area (HPSA) for mental health care services. This designation indicates that there is a mental health care services shortfall in the community because too few mental health care practitioners service the area relative to the size of the population. From March 31, 2025 HRSA data, more than 122.4 million Americans live in a mental health care HPSA. That number included 1.8 million residents of the six-state New England region. To eliminate that mental health care shortfall, the HRSA estimates that HPSAs in the region would need 90 additional mental health care practitioners.  A further review of 3/31/25 HRSA data details the following about the state-level mental health care shortfall in New England:

The Mental Health Care Shortfall in New England

State	(1) HPSAs	(2) Population	(3) Shortfall
CT	43	801,604	53
ME	65	268,713	11
MA	51	256,453	13
NH	18	91,279	2
RI	12	394,307	11
VT	12	N/A	N/A
Region	201	1,812,356	90
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 primary care health professional shortage area (HPSA) is a designation given by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to a population group, geographic area, or facility where residents have limited access to basic medical care because not enough primary care physicians serve the area relative to its population size.  As of March 31, 2025, the HRSA reported that more than 77.2 million Americans lived in a community that had a primary care shortfall.  Per HRSA data, the six-state Far Western U.S. was home to nearly 11.8 million Americans who lived in primary care shortfall areas.  The HRSA estimates that to eliminate this shortfall, HPSAs in the Far Western U.S would need 1,922 additional primary care physicians.  A closer review of 3/31/25 HRSA data reveals the following about the primary care shortfall in the Far Western U.S.:

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

State	(1) HPSAs	(2) Population	(3) Shortfall
AK	343	288,772	71
CA	630	6,549,786	971
HI	33	519,572	87
NV	74	952,427	183
OR	150	877,420	111
WA	214	2,606,632	499
Region	1,444	11,794,609	1.922
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)