Psychologists, Physicians Scarcer in Rural Areas?

National survey data found lower per-capita representation across 23 occupations in nonmetropolitan communities, with the largest workforce differences observed among psychologists, physicians, and surgeons.

By
Andrea Surnit
June 11, 2026
3 min

MDSpire News

Objective:

To analyze the distribution of patient-facing health care professionals in metropolitan versus nonmetropolitan areas.

Approach:

Key Findings:

8% of health care workers (1.1 million) were employed in nonmetropolitan areas, while 14% of the US population lived in those communities.
Nonmetropolitan areas had 231 health care workers per 10,000 residents compared to 415 per 10,000 in metropolitan areas, a 44% difference.
Psychologists and physicians showed the largest workforce differences, with nonmetropolitan areas having about one-quarter as many psychologists and one-third as many physicians per capita.

Interpretation:

Nonmetropolitan areas had fewer patient-facing health care workers relative to population size than metropolitan areas, with the largest gaps found in highly trained clinical and behavioral health roles.

Limitations:

The analysis could not determine the causes of geographic differences or their effects on health care access, quality, or outcomes.
Occupations were self-reported, and physician specialties could not be assessed.
Workplace urbanicity was assigned using broad geographic units that could not distinguish micropolitan areas.
Some workplace locations required statistical imputation.