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Healthcare providers in North Carolina: counts by specialty
How many healthcare providers work in North Carolina? The federal NPPES registry listed 271,629 active NPIs with a practice address in the state as of the June 2026 snapshot, the 9th largest workforce among the 50 states and the District of Columbia. The single largest specialty is Clinical Social Worker, and Charlotte 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 North Carolina
| # | Specialty (primary taxonomy) | Active NPIs | % of state |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Clinical Social Worker | 17,032 | 6.3% |
| 2 | Behavior Technician | 12,675 | 4.7% |
| 3 | Mental Health Counselor | 10,608 | 3.9% |
| 4 | Pharmacist | 9,700 | 3.6% |
| 5 | Physical Therapist | 9,295 | 3.4% |
| 6 | Physician Assistant | 9,294 | 3.4% |
| 7 | Community/Behavioral Health Agency | 8,116 | 3.0% |
| 8 | Speech-Language Pathologist | 7,883 | 2.9% |
| 9 | Student in an Organized Health Care Education/Training Program | 7,204 | 2.7% |
| 10 | Family Medicine Physician | 7,071 | 2.6% |
| 11 | Family Nurse Practitioner | 6,723 | 2.5% |
| 12 | General Practice Dentistry | 5,875 | 2.2% |
| 13 | Professional Counselor | 5,825 | 2.1% |
| 14 | Internal Medicine Physician | 5,220 | 1.9% |
| 15 | Occupational Therapist | 4,831 | 1.8% |
| 16 | Nurse Practitioner | 4,601 | 1.7% |
| 17 | Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist | 3,873 | 1.4% |
| 18 | Chiropractor | 3,693 | 1.4% |
| 19 | Addiction (Substance Use Disorder) Counselor | 3,375 | 1.2% |
| 20 | Dentist | 3,113 | 1.1% |
| 21 | Home Health Agency | 3,041 | 1.1% |
| 22 | Registered Dietitian | 2,931 | 1.1% |
| 23 | Pediatrics Physician | 2,872 | 1.1% |
| 24 | In Home Supportive Care Agency | 2,805 | 1.0% |
| 25 | Behavior Analyst | 2,554 | 0.9% |
| 26 | Optometrist | 2,454 | 0.9% |
| 27 | Psychiatry Physician | 2,416 | 0.9% |
| 28 | Emergency Medicine Physician | 2,296 | 0.8% |
| 29 | Community/Retail Pharmacy | 2,131 | 0.8% |
| 30 | Counselor | 2,097 | 0.8% |
What the numbers show
Clinical Social Worker leads with 17,032 active records, 6.3% of everything the state has, or 1.3 times the volume of Behavior Technician, the runner up at 12,675. Mental Health Counselor rounds out the podium with 10,608. Together, the top 5 specialties account for 21.8% of North Carolina's providers, and the 30 listed in the table cover 63.2% of the total. Overall, the state registry splits into 768 distinct taxonomies.
Geographically, active NPIs spread across 1,005 cities and towns in the state, but with heavy concentration: Charlotte (31,374), Raleigh (21,293) and Durham (16,130) post the largest volumes. North Carolina holds 3.0% 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