Esta página também existe em português: Português (Brasil)
Healthcare providers in South Dakota: counts by specialty
How many healthcare providers work in South Dakota? The federal NPPES registry listed 22,818 active NPIs with a practice address in the state as of the June 2026 snapshot, the 49th largest workforce among the 50 states and the District of Columbia. The single largest specialty is Physical Therapist, and Sioux Falls 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 South Dakota
| # | Specialty (primary taxonomy) | Active NPIs | % of state |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Physical Therapist | 1,063 | 4.7% |
| 2 | Mental Health Counselor | 951 | 4.2% |
| 3 | Pharmacist | 934 | 4.1% |
| 4 | Family Nurse Practitioner | 867 | 3.8% |
| 5 | Chiropractor | 863 | 3.8% |
| 6 | Registered Nurse | 796 | 3.5% |
| 7 | Family Medicine Physician | 737 | 3.2% |
| 8 | Clinical Social Worker | 683 | 3.0% |
| 9 | Physician Assistant | 681 | 3.0% |
| 10 | Speech-Language Pathologist | 643 | 2.8% |
| 11 | Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist | 549 | 2.4% |
| 12 | Occupational Therapist | 541 | 2.4% |
| 13 | General Practice Dentistry | 486 | 2.1% |
| 14 | Nurse Practitioner | 481 | 2.1% |
| 15 | Optometrist | 363 | 1.6% |
| 16 | Dentist | 312 | 1.4% |
| 17 | Student in an Organized Health Care Education/Training Program | 308 | 1.3% |
| 18 | Counselor | 293 | 1.3% |
| 19 | Professional Counselor | 291 | 1.3% |
| 20 | Internal Medicine Physician | 273 | 1.2% |
| 21 | Registered Dietitian | 270 | 1.2% |
| 22 | Behavior Technician | 267 | 1.2% |
| 23 | Social Worker | 240 | 1.1% |
| 24 | Addiction (Substance Use Disorder) Counselor | 227 | 1.0% |
| 25 | Athletic Trainer | 227 | 1.0% |
| 26 | Case Manager/Care Coordinator | 210 | 0.9% |
| 27 | Massage Therapist | 201 | 0.9% |
| 28 | Assisted Living Facility | 201 | 0.9% |
| 29 | Community/Retail Pharmacy | 185 | 0.8% |
| 30 | Licensed Practical Nurse | 184 | 0.8% |
What the numbers show
Physical Therapist leads with 1,063 active records, 4.7% of everything the state has, or 1.1 times the volume of Mental Health Counselor, the runner up at 951. Pharmacist rounds out the podium with 934. Together, the top 5 specialties account for 20.5% of South Dakota's providers, and the 30 listed in the table cover 62.8% of the total. Overall, the state registry splits into 534 distinct taxonomies.
Geographically, active NPIs spread across 306 cities and towns in the state, but with heavy concentration: Sioux Falls (7,973), Rapid City (3,816) and Aberdeen (983) post the largest volumes. South Dakota holds 0.2% 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