Georgia Physician Shortage Facts

Physician supply lags behind patient demand nationally and across Georgia. As supply falls, patients wait longer to see a doctor, and doctors burn out.


The U.S. is projected to have 120,000 too few doctors nationally.

  • Nearly 40% of American physicians will reach retirement age.
  • The United States will face a shortage of over 120,000 physicians.
  • 32.9% of Georgia physicians are within retirement range right now.

Georgia is projected to be short 8,012 doctors.

  • There are only 167 residency slots in Georgia for primary care each year.
  • 33.5% of those residents will practice our of state.

Overall, Georgia ranks in the bottom half of states for primary care and physician availability.

GA physician rank stats

143 of Georgia’s 159 counties are health professional shortage areas (HPSAs).

  • Low-income citizens are disproportionately affected by these shortages.
  • HPSA designations indicate areas where there are 3,500 or more patients for every one provider.
  • 2,750,382 Georgia residents live in a HPSA.
GA-HPSAs

Georgia’s physician-to-patient ratio is 23 percent worse than the national average.

GA doctor state comparison

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