Texas, California and New York employ the nation’s highest numbers of nurse practitioners and physician assistants — two advanced practice provider roles central to healthcare delivery. Nationally, there are about 323,040 employed nurse practitioners and 162,150 physician assistants, according to May 2025 data released May 15 by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Physician offices and general medical and surgical hospitals employ the largest shares of both professions, with demand for NPs and PAs continuing to rise as health systems expand outpatient care, address physician shortages and rely more heavily on team-based care models.
But when measured by concentration — the number of NPs and PAs employed per 1,000 jobs in a state’s economy — the rankings shift significantly. Mississippi had the nation’s highest NP concentration at 4.035 per 1,000 jobs, while Alaska had the highest PA concentration at 2.154. Hawaii had the nation’s lowest NP concentration at 0.884, and Mississippi had the lowest PA concentration at 0.274.
Here are the rankings for nurse practitioners and physician assistants by employment per 1,000 jobs, using May 2025 Bureau of Labor Statistics data.
Nurse practitioners
1. Mississippi — 4.035
2. Tennessee — 3.706
3. West Virginia — 3.633
4. Arkansas — 3.044
5. North Dakota — 3.001
6. Delaware — 2.946
7. Louisiana — 2.782
8. Ohio — 2.774
9. Alabama — 2.670
10. Minnesota — 2.637
11. Kansas — 2.629
12. Missouri — 2.627
13. New Hampshire — 2.583
14. Maine — 2.578
15. Montana — 2.462
16. South Carolina — 2.458
17. Maryland — 2.430
18. Kentucky — 2.385
19. New York — 2.363
20. Rhode Island — 2.344
21. Indiana — 2.327
22. New Jersey — 2.323
23. Vermont — 2.298
24. Nebraska — 2.289
25. Arizona — 2.229
26. Massachusetts — 2.218
27. South Dakota — 2.220
28. Connecticut — 2.208
29. Florida — 2.194
30. Alaska — 2.170
31. Georgia — 2.139
32. Oklahoma — 2.120
33. Iowa — 2.078
34. Idaho — 2.042
35. New Mexico — 2.035
36. North Carolina — 1.984
37. Washington — 1.888
38. Michigan — 1.882
39. Texas — 1.846
40. Pennsylvania — 1.759
41. Wisconsin — 1.754
42. Virginia — 1.730
43. Utah — 1.581
44. Wyoming — 1.566
45. Illinois — 1.520
46. Colorado — 1.487
47. Oregon — 1.431
48. California — 1.379
49. Nevada — 1.243
50. District of Columbia — 0.974
51. Hawaii — 0.884
Physician assistants
1. Alaska — 2.154
2. Connecticut — 2.106
3. New York — 1.976
4. Delaware — 1.765
5. Rhode Island — 1.622
6. Maine — 1.606
7. New Hampshire — 1.551
8. Idaho — 1.542
9. West Virginia — 1.535
10. North Carolina — 1.516
11. Pennsylvania — 1.487
12. South Dakota — 1.486
13. Michigan — 1.434
14. Vermont — 1.358
15. Nebraska — 1.297
16. Minnesota — 1.241
17. Massachusetts — 1.230
18. Wisconsin — 1.218
19. North Dakota — 1.199
20. Montana — 1.179
21. Wyoming — 1.172
22. Arizona — 1.159
23. Georgia — 1.147
24. Oregon — 1.141
25. Colorado — 1.139
26. New Jersey — 1.117
27. Maryland — 1.066
28. Virginia — 1.055
29. Oklahoma — 1.037
30. Washington — 0.997
31. South Carolina — 0.977
32. Florida — 0.937
33. Utah — 0.926
34. Ohio — 0.883
35. Hawaii — 0.850
36. New Mexico — 0.809
37. Missouri — 0.784
38. Iowa — 0.770
39. California — 0.747
40. Texas — 0.719
41. Louisiana — 0.705
42. Nevada — 0.702
43. Kentucky — 0.679
44. Tennessee — 0.682
45. District of Columbia — 0.670
46. Indiana — 0.659
47. Arkansas — 0.649
48. Illinois — 0.621
49. Kansas — 0.617
50. Alabama — 0.438
51. Mississippi — 0.274
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