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Healthcare providers in Colorado: counts by specialty
How many healthcare providers work in Colorado? The federal NPPES registry listed 193,196 active NPIs with a practice address in the state as of the June 2026 snapshot, the 16th largest workforce among the 50 states and the District of Columbia. The single largest specialty is Behavior Technician, and Denver is the city with the most records. The table below lists the 30 specialties with the most active providers and the share each one holds.
The 30 largest specialties in Colorado
| # | Specialty (primary taxonomy) | Active NPIs | % of state |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Behavior Technician | 11,571 | 6.0% |
| 2 | Mental Health Counselor | 9,712 | 5.0% |
| 3 | Clinical Social Worker | 8,376 | 4.3% |
| 4 | Professional Counselor | 8,027 | 4.2% |
| 5 | Physical Therapist | 7,036 | 3.6% |
| 6 | Family Medicine Physician | 4,768 | 2.5% |
| 7 | Speech-Language Pathologist | 4,756 | 2.5% |
| 8 | Registered Nurse | 4,568 | 2.4% |
| 9 | Pharmacist | 4,441 | 2.3% |
| 10 | Student in an Organized Health Care Education/Training Program | 3,948 | 2.0% |
| 11 | Physician Assistant | 3,741 | 1.9% |
| 12 | Chiropractor | 3,737 | 1.9% |
| 13 | General Practice Dentistry | 3,706 | 1.9% |
| 14 | Family Nurse Practitioner | 3,625 | 1.9% |
| 15 | Massage Therapist | 3,399 | 1.8% |
| 16 | Occupational Therapist | 3,109 | 1.6% |
| 17 | Behavior Analyst | 2,927 | 1.5% |
| 18 | Counselor | 2,698 | 1.4% |
| 19 | Dentist | 2,616 | 1.4% |
| 20 | Internal Medicine Physician | 2,508 | 1.3% |
| 21 | Case Manager/Care Coordinator | 2,209 | 1.1% |
| 22 | Optometrist | 2,098 | 1.1% |
| 23 | Addiction (Substance Use Disorder) Counselor | 2,061 | 1.1% |
| 24 | Clinical Psychologist | 2,048 | 1.1% |
| 25 | Social Worker | 1,818 | 0.9% |
| 26 | Specialist | 1,803 | 0.9% |
| 27 | Marriage & Family Therapist | 1,797 | 0.9% |
| 28 | Psychiatric/Mental Health Nurse Practitioner | 1,665 | 0.9% |
| 29 | Emergency Medicine Physician | 1,582 | 0.8% |
| 30 | Registered Dietitian | 1,523 | 0.8% |
What the numbers show
Behavior Technician leads with 11,571 active records, 6.0% of everything the state has, or 1.2 times the volume of Mental Health Counselor, the runner up at 9,712. Clinical Social Worker rounds out the podium with 8,376. Together, the top 5 specialties account for 23.1% of Colorado's providers, and the 30 listed in the table cover 61.0% of the total. Overall, the state registry splits into 758 distinct taxonomies.
Geographically, active NPIs spread across 545 cities and towns in the state, but with heavy concentration: Denver (31,715), Colorado Springs (24,659) and Aurora (20,653) post the largest volumes. Colorado holds 2.1% of all active US providers registered across the 50 states and the District of Columbia.
Source and method
Data: NPPES Data Dissemination file (National Plan and Provider Enumeration System), published by CMS as public domain data, snapshot of June 2026. Each provider is counted once, in the state and city of the Provider Business Practice Location, under the primary taxonomy declared in the NPI record itself. Only active NPI records are counted.
Important: an active NPI does not mean the professional is currently practicing, accepting new patients or even still working in the field; it only means the registration number remains valid. This page publishes aggregate counts only, never individual records.
Last updated: · Methodology and sources