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Healthcare providers in Illinois: counts by specialty
How many healthcare providers work in Illinois? The federal NPPES registry listed 313,799 active NPIs with a practice address in the state as of the June 2026 snapshot, the 8th largest workforce among the 50 states and the District of Columbia. The single largest specialty is Clinical Social Worker, and Chicago 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 Illinois
| # | Specialty (primary taxonomy) | Active NPIs | % of state |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Clinical Social Worker | 15,894 | 5.1% |
| 2 | Physical Therapist | 13,346 | 4.3% |
| 3 | Mental Health Counselor | 12,013 | 3.8% |
| 4 | Professional Counselor | 10,952 | 3.5% |
| 5 | Speech-Language Pathologist | 10,850 | 3.5% |
| 6 | Pharmacist | 9,758 | 3.1% |
| 7 | Internal Medicine Physician | 8,993 | 2.9% |
| 8 | Behavior Technician | 8,919 | 2.8% |
| 9 | Family Medicine Physician | 7,933 | 2.5% |
| 10 | Family Nurse Practitioner | 7,817 | 2.5% |
| 11 | General Practice Dentistry | 7,586 | 2.4% |
| 12 | Chiropractor | 7,575 | 2.4% |
| 13 | Student in an Organized Health Care Education/Training Program | 7,069 | 2.3% |
| 14 | Occupational Therapist | 6,095 | 1.9% |
| 15 | Dentist | 5,938 | 1.9% |
| 16 | Social Worker | 5,838 | 1.9% |
| 17 | Clinical Psychologist | 5,200 | 1.7% |
| 18 | Nurse Practitioner | 5,037 | 1.6% |
| 19 | Physician Assistant | 4,899 | 1.6% |
| 20 | Optometrist | 4,077 | 1.3% |
| 21 | Counselor | 3,994 | 1.3% |
| 22 | Emergency Medicine Physician | 3,570 | 1.1% |
| 23 | Pediatrics Physician | 3,524 | 1.1% |
| 24 | Behavior Analyst | 3,439 | 1.1% |
| 25 | Registered Dietitian | 3,063 | 1.0% |
| 26 | Anesthesiology Physician | 2,881 | 0.9% |
| 27 | Developmental Therapist | 2,849 | 0.9% |
| 28 | Psychiatry Physician | 2,777 | 0.9% |
| 29 | Physical Therapy Assistant | 2,678 | 0.9% |
| 30 | Registered Nurse | 2,570 | 0.8% |
What the numbers show
Clinical Social Worker leads with 15,894 active records, 5.1% of everything the state has, or 1.2 times the volume of Physical Therapist, the runner up at 13,346. Mental Health Counselor rounds out the podium with 12,013. Together, the top 5 specialties account for 20.1% of Illinois's providers, and the 30 listed in the table cover 62.8% of the total. Overall, the state registry splits into 796 distinct taxonomies.
Geographically, active NPIs spread across 1,482 cities and towns in the state, but with heavy concentration: Chicago (79,430), Naperville (6,084) and Springfield (5,826) post the largest volumes. Illinois holds 3.4% 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