DDSWhich states have the most dentists?
In 2024, California had 30,201 professionally active dentists, Texas 16,692, New York 14,159, Florida 12,252 and Illinois 8,464, according to ADA Health Policy Institute data published by KFF. Those five states held more than four in ten of the 202,485 dentists counted across the 50 states and D.C.
Which states have the fewest dentists?
Wyoming had the fewest professionally active dentists in 2024, with 286, followed by Vermont with 340, North Dakota with 385, Delaware with 482 and South Dakota with 488. Small totals mean a single retirement or sale moves a state’s market more, which is why small counts are suppressed in published figures.
How do the state counts relate to national totals?
The state series sums to 202,485 dentists for 2024, while the ADA Health Policy Institute’s national count for 2025 is 205,088, or 60.0 per 100,000 residents. The figures cover different years, so DDSIntel shows each with its own period rather than mixing them in one comparison.
The national picture is on how many dentists are in the U.S., per-resident ratios are on dentists per capita by state, and the landing page map shows every state’s figures. Public-record events at practices are grouped as dental transition signals.
Frequently asked questions
Which state has the most dentists?
California, with 30,201 professionally active dentists in 2024.
Which state has the fewest dentists?
Wyoming, with 286 professionally active dentists in 2024.
Where does the state data come from?
The ADA Health Policy Institute, published by KFF State Health Facts, linked in the sources below.
Where are dentists in short supply?
See dental shortage areas for federal shortage designations by state.
Sources
- ADA Health Policy Institute, via KFF State Health Facts. Professionally Active Dentists, 2024. kff.org.
- ADA Health Policy Institute. The dentist workforce. ada.org.
Questions or corrections: request a correction. Markdown version: /data/dentists-by-state.md.