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Healthcare providers in Iowa: counts by specialty
How many healthcare providers work in Iowa? The federal NPPES registry listed 64,606 active NPIs with a practice address in the state as of the June 2026 snapshot, the 37th largest workforce among the 50 states and the District of Columbia. The single largest specialty is Chiropractor, and Iowa City 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 Iowa
| # | Specialty (primary taxonomy) | Active NPIs | % of state |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chiropractor | 3,248 | 5.0% |
| 2 | Pharmacist | 3,169 | 4.9% |
| 3 | Mental Health Counselor | 3,041 | 4.7% |
| 4 | Physical Therapist | 2,877 | 4.5% |
| 5 | Family Medicine Physician | 2,750 | 4.3% |
| 6 | Clinical Social Worker | 2,540 | 3.9% |
| 7 | Family Nurse Practitioner | 2,040 | 3.2% |
| 8 | General Practice Dentistry | 1,679 | 2.6% |
| 9 | Physician Assistant | 1,534 | 2.4% |
| 10 | Nurse Practitioner | 1,351 | 2.1% |
| 11 | Social Worker | 1,207 | 1.9% |
| 12 | Occupational Therapist | 1,133 | 1.8% |
| 13 | Speech-Language Pathologist | 1,123 | 1.7% |
| 14 | Optometrist | 1,109 | 1.7% |
| 15 | Addiction (Substance Use Disorder) Counselor | 994 | 1.5% |
| 16 | Behavior Technician | 988 | 1.5% |
| 17 | Internal Medicine Physician | 938 | 1.5% |
| 18 | Student in an Organized Health Care Education/Training Program | 937 | 1.5% |
| 19 | Dentist | 878 | 1.4% |
| 20 | Registered Nurse | 785 | 1.2% |
| 21 | Skilled Nursing Facility | 732 | 1.1% |
| 22 | Community/Retail Pharmacy | 719 | 1.1% |
| 23 | Psychiatric/Mental Health Nurse Practitioner | 713 | 1.1% |
| 24 | Registered Dietitian | 712 | 1.1% |
| 25 | Athletic Trainer | 649 | 1.0% |
| 26 | Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist | 645 | 1.0% |
| 27 | Anesthesiology Physician | 613 | 0.9% |
| 28 | Emergency Medicine Physician | 583 | 0.9% |
| 29 | Physical Therapy Assistant | 567 | 0.9% |
| 30 | Community/Behavioral Health Agency | 542 | 0.8% |
What the numbers show
Chiropractor leads with 3,248 active records, 5.0% of everything the state has, or 1.0 times the volume of Pharmacist, the runner up at 3,169. Mental Health Counselor rounds out the podium with 3,041. Together, the top 5 specialties account for 23.3% of Iowa's providers, and the 30 listed in the table cover 63.1% of the total. Overall, the state registry splits into 624 distinct taxonomies.
Geographically, active NPIs spread across 759 cities and towns in the state, but with heavy concentration: Iowa City (7,541), Des Moines (6,543) and Cedar Rapids (3,803) post the largest volumes. Iowa holds 0.7% 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