1. There were 25,464 orthopedic surgeons in the United States in 2008.
2. The highest number of practicing orthopedic surgeons practiced in California (2,569), followed by Texas (1,418), New York (1,343), Florida (1,274) and Illinois (816).
3. Forty-six percent of orthopedists practice as specialists, while 24 percent practice as general orthopedic surgeons and 30 percent practice as general orthopedic surgeons with a specialty interest.
4. The most common orthopedic specialty was adult knee (34.4 percent), followed by arthroscopy (34.3 percent), sports (33.4 percent), total joint (28.4 percent) and shoulder (25.1 percent).
5. The most common orthopedic surgeon practice setting was a private orthopedic group (44.3 percent), followed by private solo practice (20.9 percent), academic institution (8.5 percent), private multi-specialty group (8.3 percent) and hospital/medical center (6.7 percent).
Read more about the 2008 Orthopaedic Surgeon Census on the AAOS website.
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