The PA profession grew 27.8% over the last five years, reaching 189,907 board-certified PAs at the end of 2024, according to the latest NCCPA Statistical Profile of Board Certified PAs released May 12.
NCCPA’s annual report, now in its 12th year of publication, includes data from more than 159,500 PAs nationwide.
“There are now 56 PAs per 100,000 population in the U.S., compared to 45 in 2020. This continued growth reflects the increasing demand for PAs across various healthcare specialties,” NCCPA President and CEO Dawn Morton-Rias, EdD, PA-C, said in a news release shared with Becker’s. “PAs play an indispensable role as patient care continues to rapidly evolve.”
Here is a breakdown of states, plus the District of Columbia, ranked by total number of PAs in descending order:
New York — 17,031
California — 15,014
Florida — 12,603
Texas — 12,335
Pennsylvania — 12,129
North Carolina — 9,626
Michigan — 7,407
Ohio — 5,643
Georgia — 5,407
Massachusetts — 5,233
Virginia — 5,180
Colorado — 5,170
New Jersey — 5,107
Illinois — 5,084
Washington — 4,426
Arizona — 4,152
Minnesota — 4,105
Maryland — 3,898
Wisconsin — 3,867
Tennessee — 3,455
Connecticut — 3,386
South Carolina — 2,984
Oregon — 2,674
Indiana — 2,603
Utah — 2,389
Oklahoma — 2,117
Kentucky — 2,032
Missouri — 1,866
Louisiana — 1,779
Idaho — 1,645
Nebraska — 1,605
Iowa — 1,506
Kansas — 1,490
Alabama — 1,400
Nevada — 1,364
West Virginia — 1,210
New Hampshire — 1,190
Maine — 1,139
Montana — 1,009
New Mexico — 990
Arkansas — 746
South Dakota — 749
Alaska — 701
Rhode Island — 648
Delaware — 555
Hawaii — 534
Vermont — 484
Mississippi — 446
North Dakota — 421
Wyoming — 331
District of Columbia — 323
