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Healthcare providers in Missouri: counts by specialty
How many healthcare providers work in Missouri? The federal NPPES registry listed 146,365 active NPIs with a practice address in the state as of the June 2026 snapshot, the 22nd largest workforce among the 50 states and the District of Columbia. The single largest specialty is Professional Counselor, and Saint Louis 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 Missouri
| # | Specialty (primary taxonomy) | Active NPIs | % of state |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Professional Counselor | 6,292 | 4.3% |
| 2 | Clinical Social Worker | 5,891 | 4.0% |
| 3 | Pharmacist | 5,341 | 3.6% |
| 4 | Family Nurse Practitioner | 5,317 | 3.6% |
| 5 | Speech-Language Pathologist | 5,188 | 3.5% |
| 6 | Physical Therapist | 4,887 | 3.3% |
| 7 | Chiropractor | 3,994 | 2.7% |
| 8 | Family Medicine Physician | 3,752 | 2.6% |
| 9 | Student in an Organized Health Care Education/Training Program | 3,689 | 2.5% |
| 10 | Behavior Technician | 3,532 | 2.4% |
| 11 | Internal Medicine Physician | 3,178 | 2.2% |
| 12 | Home Health Agency | 3,019 | 2.1% |
| 13 | Occupational Therapist | 2,835 | 1.9% |
| 14 | General Practice Dentistry | 2,734 | 1.9% |
| 15 | Mental Health Counselor | 2,682 | 1.8% |
| 16 | Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist | 2,090 | 1.4% |
| 17 | Dentist | 1,940 | 1.3% |
| 18 | Social Worker | 1,866 | 1.3% |
| 19 | Optometrist | 1,813 | 1.2% |
| 20 | Nurse Practitioner | 1,779 | 1.2% |
| 21 | Physician Assistant | 1,778 | 1.2% |
| 22 | Pediatrics Physician | 1,716 | 1.2% |
| 23 | Case Manager/Care Coordinator | 1,621 | 1.1% |
| 24 | Emergency Medicine Physician | 1,585 | 1.1% |
| 25 | Registered Nurse | 1,577 | 1.1% |
| 26 | In Home Supportive Care Agency | 1,506 | 1.0% |
| 27 | Registered Dietitian | 1,414 | 1.0% |
| 28 | Behavior Analyst | 1,340 | 0.9% |
| 29 | Physical Therapy Assistant | 1,300 | 0.9% |
| 30 | Anesthesiology Physician | 1,274 | 0.9% |
What the numbers show
Professional Counselor leads with 6,292 active records, 4.3% of everything the state has, or 1.1 times the volume of Clinical Social Worker, the runner up at 5,891. Pharmacist rounds out the podium with 5,341. Together, the top 5 specialties account for 19.2% of Missouri's providers, and the 30 listed in the table cover 59.4% of the total. Overall, the state registry splits into 740 distinct taxonomies.
Geographically, active NPIs spread across 974 cities and towns in the state, but with heavy concentration: Saint Louis (33,993), Kansas City (16,574) and Springfield (7,704) post the largest volumes. Missouri holds 1.6% 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