Utah Physician Shortage Facts
Physician supply lags behind patient demand nationally and across Utah. As supply falls, patients wait longer to see a doctor, and doctors burn out.
By 2030
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.
- 32.7% of Utah physicians are within retirement range right now.
Utah is projected to be short 1,418 doctors.4,5,6
- Primary care alone is projected to be short 1,095 providers.
- There are only 90 residency slots in Utah for primary care each year.
- 45.2% of those residents will practice out of state.
Overall, Utah ranks in the bottom half of states for primary care and physician availability.7
23 of Utah’s 29 counties are health professional shortage areas (HPSAs).8,9
- 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.
- 615,591 Utah residents live in an HPSA.
Utah’s physician-to-patient ratio is 29 percent worse than the national average:
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