Texas Physician Shortage Facts
THE PROBLEM
Physician supply lags behind patient demand nationally and across Texas. As supply falls, patients wait longer to see a doctor, and doctors burn out.
By 2030
![](https://ciceroinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/healthcare-icon-1.png)
The U.S. is projected to have 120,000 too few doctors nationally.1,2,3
- Nearly 40% of American physicians will reach retirement age.
- The United States will face a shortage of over 120,000 physicians.
- 29.4% of Texas physicians are within retirement range right now.
![](https://ciceroinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/healthcare-icon-2.png)
Texas is projected to be short 20,420 doctors.4,5,6
- There are only 334 residency slots in Texas for primary care each year.
- 45.2% of those residents will practice out of state.
![](https://ciceroinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/TX-rank-stats.png)
Overall, Texas ranks in the bottom half of states for primary care and physician availability.7
![](https://ciceroinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/TX-HPSAs.png)
224 of Texas’ 254 counties are health professional shortage areas (HPSAs).8,9,10
- 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.
- 6,066,420 Texas residents live in an HPSA.
Texas’ physician-to-patient ratio is 26% worse than the national average:
![Texas’ physician-to-patient ratio](https://ciceroinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/TX-national-comparison.png)
Louisiana Physician Shortage Facts