Audiologists per capita by state, 2026

The US has 14,632 audiologists in the federal registry, or 4.3 for every 100,000 people. 62% of counties have none registered at a practice address.

NPPES Sept 2026 + Census 2024
Published October 14, 2026

Audiologists registered: 14,632
Per 100,000 residents: 4.3
Per 100,000 adults 65+: 23.9
Counties with none registered: 62%

Key findings

14,632 audiologists have a US practice address in the federal NPI registry, about 4.3 per 100,000 residents. ^[1]^[2] That's close to the 14,200 audiologist jobs the Bureau of Labor Statistics counts for 2025. ^[6]
Most per person: District of Columbia (7.9), Colorado (7.6), South Dakota (6.7), Minnesota (6.5), Vermont (6.3).
Fewest per person: Nevada (2.9), California (3.0), Mississippi (3.1), New Jersey (3.2), Georgia (3.3).
1,955 of 3,135 counties have no audiologist registered at a practice address in the county. About 39.5 million people live in those counties. ^[3]^[4]
For adults 65 and older, the group most likely to need hearing care, there are 23.9 audiologists per 100,000 nationally.

Audiologists per 100,000 residents, by state

Ranked by audiologists per 100,000 residents. Download the data as a CSV. The 2017 column is ASHA's count of ASHA-certified audiologists, a narrower group, shown for context. ^[5]

#	State	Audiologists	Per 100k	Per 100k age 65+	Counties with none	2017 (ASHA)
1	District of Columbia	55	7.9	60.5	0 of 1	6.2
2	Colorado	453	7.6	46.4	39 of 64	7.2
3	South Dakota	62	6.7	35.7	53 of 66	5.9
4	Minnesota	379	6.5	35.9	51 of 87	5.6
5	Vermont	41	6.3	27.8	5 of 14	4.8
6	Alaska	43	6.0	39.4	21 of 30	5.1
7	Maryland	369	5.9	33.5	3 of 24	5.5
8	Missouri	364	5.8	31.1	87 of 115	4.9
9	Massachusetts	406	5.7	30.4	1 of 14	5.9
10	Montana	64	5.6	26.7	43 of 56	2.8
11	Utah	192	5.5	44.3	19 of 29	5.3
12	Tennessee	386	5.4	30.2	66 of 95	5.7
13	North Carolina	584	5.3	29.6	50 of 100	3.8
14	Ohio	633	5.3	27.9	29 of 88	5.1
15	Maine	71	5.1	21.5	4 of 16	4.0
16	Wisconsin	302	5.1	25.8	33 of 72	5.0
17	Wyoming	29	5.0	25.1	16 of 23	3.3
18	Indiana	338	4.9	27.8	50 of 92	4.3
19	North Dakota	39	4.9	28.3	47 of 53	6.0
20	Oregon	209	4.9	24.6	15 of 36	3.9
21	Nebraska	95	4.8	27.2	81 of 93	6.5
22	Washington	382	4.8	27.7	14 of 39	4.6
23	New York	927	4.7	24.7	18 of 62	4.6
24	Hawaii	65	4.6	20.9	2 of 5	3.4
25	Kansas	136	4.6	25.7	88 of 105	5.7
26	Pennsylvania	582	4.5	21.8	20 of 67	4.1
27	West Virginia	79	4.5	20.4	35 of 55	5.6
28	Connecticut	162	4.4	22.7	n/a	5.5
29	Oklahoma	181	4.4	26.2	58 of 77	3.9
30	Virginia	380	4.4	24.6	88 of 133	4.4
31	Illinois	534	4.2	23.5	64 of 102	4.0
32	Louisiana	191	4.2	23.4	39 of 64	5.0
33	Michigan	427	4.2	21.5	43 of 83	4.3
34	Idaho	81	4.1	22.9	31 of 44	3.6
35	Kentucky	189	4.1	22.9	93 of 120	3.2
36	Arizona	306	4.0	20.6	4 of 15	4.2
37	Florida	898	3.9	17.6	27 of 67	3.3
38	Rhode Island	43	3.9	19.7	1 of 5	5.0
39	Delaware	40	3.8	17.5	0 of 3	4.2
40	Iowa	124	3.8	20.2	71 of 99	5.7
41	New Hampshire	54	3.8	17.8	4 of 10	3.5
42	Arkansas	115	3.7	20.4	59 of 75	4.2
43	New Mexico	79	3.7	18.4	21 of 33	3.7
44	South Carolina	203	3.7	18.8	25 of 46	2.8
45	Texas	1,125	3.6	25.8	185 of 254	3.0
46	Alabama	176	3.4	18.4	45 of 67	4.9
47	Georgia	363	3.3	20.6	110 of 159	3.0
48	New Jersey	304	3.2	17.8	2 of 21	4.2
49	Mississippi	90	3.1	17.0	61 of 82	4.6
50	California	1,187	3.0	18.2	21 of 58	1.9
51	Nevada	95	2.9	16.5	13 of 17	2.4

Excludes Connecticut, whose 2022 planning regions don't match the 2020 ZIP-to-county file.

What this means if you need a hearing test

A low ratio doesn't mean you can't get care. Licensed hearing aid specialists (8,410 in the registry) test hearing to fit hearing aids, and many people travel to a nearby city. But if you live in a county with no audiologist, a full diagnostic evaluation may take a longer drive or a longer wait.

Find the closest options with the provider search, or check what your state covers in hearing aid coverage by state.

How we counted

Audiologists: each individual National Provider Identifier (NPI) with an audiologist taxonomy code (231H), counted once, at its practice-location state and ZIP code, from the September 2026 NPPES release. ^[1] We left out records not updated since 2016, the same cutoff our directory uses for stale listings.
Population: Census Bureau civilian population estimates for July 1, 2024, in total and ages 65 and older. ^[2]
Counties: each practice ZIP code is assigned to the county that holds most of its land area, using the Census ZIP-to-county relationship file, and compared with 2024 county population estimates. ^[4]^[3] Connecticut is left out of the county figures because its 2022 planning regions don't match the 2020 county file. 188audiologists had ZIP codes that couldn't be matched to a county.

Limits of this data

The NPI registry is a list of providers who registered, not a workforce survey. Some registered audiologists work part time, teach or have retired without updating their record.
Practice addresses are self-reported. An audiologist who works at several sites is counted once, at the address on the record.
ASHA's 2017 figures count only ASHA-certified audiologists (audiologists holding asha's ccc-a certificate), so the two columns aren't a like-for-like trend.

How to cite this

DrAuditory, "Audiologists per capita by state, 2026," https://drauditory.com/data/audiologists-by-state/, published October 14, 2026. The data is free to reuse with a link back (CC BY 4.0).

Frequently asked questions

How many audiologists are there in the US?

Our count of the federal NPI registry finds 14,632 audiologists with a US practice address and a record updated since 2016. The Bureau of Labor Statistics counts about 14,200 audiologist jobs in 2025.

Which state has the most audiologists per person?

District of Columbia has the most, with 7.9 audiologists per 100,000 residents, followed by Colorado (7.6) and South Dakota (6.7).

Which state has the fewest audiologists per person?

Nevada has the fewest, with 2.9 per 100,000 residents, followed by California (3) and Mississippi (3.1).

How many counties have no audiologist?

1,955 of 3,135 counties (62%) have no audiologist registered at a practice address in the county. About 39.5 million people live in them.

Sources

1.NPPES Downloadable File (National Plan and Provider Enumeration System), September 2026 release Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)
2.State Population by Characteristics: 2020-2024 (civilian population by single year of age) U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, 2025
3.County Population Totals: 2020-2024 U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, 2025
4.2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Area to County Relationship File U.S. Census Bureau
5.ASHA-certified audiologist- and speech-language pathologist-to-population ratios, by state, and state rank, 2017 American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), 2018
6.Occupational Outlook Handbook: Audiologists U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2025

State pages

Each state's hearing aid rules: Medicaid, insurance mandates and trial periods.