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Healthcare providers in Washington: counts by specialty
How many healthcare providers work in Washington? The federal NPPES registry listed 239,781 active NPIs with a practice address in the state as of the June 2026 snapshot, the 11th largest workforce among the 50 states and the District of Columbia. The single largest specialty is Mental Health Counselor, and Seattle 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 Washington
| # | Specialty (primary taxonomy) | Active NPIs | % of state |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mental Health Counselor | 19,220 | 8.0% |
| 2 | Massage Therapist | 13,846 | 5.8% |
| 3 | Counselor | 11,339 | 4.7% |
| 4 | Behavior Technician | 9,066 | 3.8% |
| 5 | Physical Therapist | 8,231 | 3.4% |
| 6 | Pharmacist | 7,884 | 3.3% |
| 7 | Clinical Social Worker | 6,846 | 2.9% |
| 8 | Family Medicine Physician | 6,308 | 2.6% |
| 9 | Registered Nurse | 5,754 | 2.4% |
| 10 | Student in an Organized Health Care Education/Training Program | 5,329 | 2.2% |
| 11 | Chiropractor | 4,747 | 2.0% |
| 12 | Addiction (Substance Use Disorder) Counselor | 4,506 | 1.9% |
| 13 | General Practice Dentistry | 4,445 | 1.9% |
| 14 | Speech-Language Pathologist | 4,343 | 1.8% |
| 15 | Family Nurse Practitioner | 3,906 | 1.6% |
| 16 | Physician Assistant | 3,732 | 1.6% |
| 17 | Dentist | 3,688 | 1.5% |
| 18 | Internal Medicine Physician | 3,421 | 1.4% |
| 19 | Behavior Analyst | 3,217 | 1.3% |
| 20 | Occupational Therapist | 3,211 | 1.3% |
| 21 | Specialist | 3,188 | 1.3% |
| 22 | Marriage & Family Therapist | 3,075 | 1.3% |
| 23 | Peer Specialist | 2,603 | 1.1% |
| 24 | Nurse Practitioner | 2,422 | 1.0% |
| 25 | Optometrist | 2,354 | 1.0% |
| 26 | Registered Dietitian | 2,308 | 1.0% |
| 27 | Psychiatric/Mental Health Nurse Practitioner | 2,295 | 1.0% |
| 28 | Case Manager/Care Coordinator | 2,145 | 0.9% |
| 29 | Social Worker | 2,101 | 0.9% |
| 30 | Clinical Psychologist | 1,923 | 0.8% |
What the numbers show
Mental Health Counselor leads with 19,220 active records, 8.0% of everything the state has, or 1.4 times the volume of Massage Therapist, the runner up at 13,846. Counselor rounds out the podium with 11,339. Together, the top 5 specialties account for 25.7% of Washington's providers, and the 30 listed in the table cover 65.7% of the total. Overall, the state registry splits into 778 distinct taxonomies.
Geographically, active NPIs spread across 695 cities and towns in the state, but with heavy concentration: Seattle (46,297), Spokane (16,160) and Tacoma (15,442) post the largest volumes. Washington holds 2.6% 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