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How many dentists are there per capita in each state?

In 2020 the U.S. had 61.04 professionally active dentists per 100,000 residents, ranging from 40.85 in Arkansas to 84.22 in Massachusetts across the 50 states, with the District of Columbia at 103.95, according to ADA Health Policy Institute data published by the National Center for Health Statistics. The ratios for all 51 jurisdictions are part of dental market data.

By DDSIntel Editorial· Published · Data as of

Key numbers

Which states have the most dentists per capita?

After the District of Columbia at 103.95 per 100,000 residents, Massachusetts had the highest ratio in 2020 at 84.22, followed by Alaska at 80.01, Hawaii at 79.03, New Jersey at 78.98 and California at 78.89, according to ADA Health Policy Institute data published by the National Center for Health Statistics.

Which states have the fewest dentists per capita?

Arkansas had the lowest ratio in 2020 at 40.85 dentists per 100,000 residents, followed by Alabama at 41.27, Mississippi at 42.84, Delaware at 44.28 and Georgia at 45.93. The U.S. figure was 61.04, so the gap between the lowest and highest states is wide.

Raw counts for each state, for a later year, are on dentists by state.

Why does this ratio differ from the 2025 national figure?

The ADA Health Policy Institute reported 60.0 dentists per 100,000 residents for 2025, while this state series gives 61.04 for 2020. The years and population estimates differ, so compare states only within one series. The same series is published for every state, with the 2020 values taken from one table.

The 2025 figure and the workforce profile are on how many dentists are in the U.S..

Does dentist density show where practices will change hands?

No. Density describes supply in a state, not any owner’s plans. It is useful context for reading public-record events at practices, which DDSIntel groups as dental transition signals: the same event means something different in a state with few dentists per resident than in one with many.

Frequently asked questions

What does professionally active mean?

Dentists listed in the ADA masterfile as licensed and not retired, working in practice, teaching, government, hospital or other dental roles.

Which state has the lowest dentist-to-population ratio?

Arkansas, at 40.85 per 100,000 residents in 2020.

Which state has the highest ratio?

Massachusetts among the 50 states at 84.22 per 100,000 residents in 2020; the District of Columbia was higher at 103.95.

Are there more recent per-state ratios?

DDSIntel shows per-state ratios only where it has read them at a public source. The 2020 table is the latest complete state series it has verified; see dental shortage areas for newer federal data.

Sources

  1. National Center for Health Statistics (CDC), from ADA Health Policy Institute data. Health, United States, 2020–2021, Table DentSt: Active dentists, by state. cdc.gov.
  2. ADA Health Policy Institute. The dentist workforce. ada.org.

Questions or corrections: request a correction. Markdown version: /data/dentist-density-by-state.md.