According to the American Medical Association, the U.S. could see a shortage of up to 124,000 physicians by 2034.
In February, CompHealth's Working Locums blog released a list of states with the highest demand for physicians. Here are the top 10 states with the highest demand for physicians and the factors driving their shortages, per CompHealth:
1. California: The high cost of living areas makes it challenging to recruit physicians in rural areas of the state, where about a third of residents experience a physician shortage.
2. New York: Some regions in the state have populations aging faster than others. Long Island's median age is now 42 years old, older than both the state and national average.
3. Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania has double as many medically underserved populations than the state average, despite having the third highest number of medical school graduates.
4. Texas: Texas is experiencing a population boom, having grown 12% in the last year. While the state has seen growth in the number of physicians overall, it still has just 204.6 physicians per 100,000 people, lower than the national average.
5. Florida: Florida has a population that is both aging and growing, yet a third of the state's full-time physicians are over 60.
6. Wisconsin: The state's physician shortage is caused by an aging population in both patients and physicians, with a projected shortage of 745 physicians by 2035.
7. Illinois: Rural areas in Illinois have almost 50% fewer physicians per capita than urban areas.
8. Indiana: Both rural and urban counties in Indiana face a steep healthcare shortage. Sixty-two percent of urban patients face a healthcare shortage, as do 87% of rural ones.
9. Massachusetts: According to a survey from the Massachusetts Medical Society, 25% of the state's physicians plan to leave the profession in the next two years.
10. North Carolina: One-third of the state's population has not seen a primary care physician in the last six years.