Clinical Social Worker vs Registered Nurse
Clinical Social Worker has 2.1 times as many registry records as Registered Nurse: 312,758 against 148,485. Each count is the NPPES records whose primary taxonomy is the specialty, so it measures how providers describe their main practice, not everyone trained in it.
Clinical Social Worker: 312,758 records in 56 states
Registered Nurse: 148,485 records in 56 states
By state, with records per 100,000 residents
| State | Clinical Social Worker | Registered Nurse | Per 100,000 (first) | Per 100,000 (second) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 29,293 | 25,740 | 149.7 | 131.5 |
| California | 36,261 | 13,506 | 93.1 | 34.7 |
| Michigan | 17,644 | 5,589 | 175.8 | 55.7 |
| Massachusetts | 17,815 | 4,985 | 254.4 | 71.2 |
| Texas | 11,683 | 8,921 | 38.3 | 29.2 |
| Ohio | 9,815 | 9,656 | 83.3 | 81.9 |
| Florida | 13,458 | 4,722 | 59.5 | 20.9 |
| North Carolina | 15,561 | 2,100 | 143.6 | 19.4 |
| Illinois | 13,637 | 2,628 | 108.7 | 20.9 |
| Pennsylvania | 7,830 | 5,372 | 60.4 | 41.4 |
| Washington | 6,382 | 5,708 | 81.7 | 73.1 |
| Colorado | 7,356 | 4,610 | 125.2 | 78.4 |
| Maryland | 9,007 | 2,453 | 145.7 | 39.7 |
| New Jersey | 9,790 | 1,613 | 105.4 | 17.4 |
| Minnesota | 6,609 | 3,418 | 115.2 | 59.6 |
| Virginia | 8,027 | 1,282 | 92.9 | 14.8 |
| Wisconsin | 4,142 | 4,628 | 70.1 | 78.3 |
| Connecticut | 7,729 | 751 | 213.7 | 20.8 |
| Georgia | 4,911 | 3,284 | 44.5 | 29.8 |
| Oregon | 5,014 | 2,449 | 118.4 | 57.9 |
| Indiana | 5,650 | 1,480 | 82.3 | 21.6 |
| Missouri | 5,398 | 1,586 | 87.1 | 25.6 |
| Tennessee | 3,275 | 3,269 | 46.0 | 45.9 |
| Utah | 5,485 | 990 | 160.5 | 29.0 |
| Arizona | 3,200 | 3,124 | 43.1 | 42.0 |
| Kentucky | 4,071 | 864 | 89.9 | 19.1 |
| Maine | 3,673 | 612 | 263.2 | 43.8 |
| New Mexico | 2,526 | 1,554 | 119.5 | 73.5 |
| Louisiana | 3,178 | 869 | 69.5 | 19.0 |
| South Carolina | 2,046 | 1,761 | 38.1 | 32.8 |
| Nevada | 2,164 | 1,458 | 67.7 | 45.6 |
| Oklahoma | 1,995 | 1,456 | 49.2 | 35.9 |
| Kansas | 2,393 | 997 | 81.4 | 33.9 |
| Arkansas | 2,103 | 1,216 | 68.6 | 39.6 |
| Alabama | 1,788 | 1,486 | 35.0 | 29.1 |
| Rhode Island | 2,438 | 813 | 222.5 | 74.2 |
| Iowa | 2,170 | 833 | 67.7 | 26.0 |
| District of Columbia | 1,921 | 812 | 282.9 | 119.6 |
| Idaho | 1,750 | 395 | 89.1 | 20.1 |
| Montana | 1,589 | 524 | 140.3 | 46.3 |
| Hawaii | 1,079 | 891 | 75.2 | 62.1 |
| New Hampshire | 1,592 | 377 | 113.5 | 26.9 |
| Alaska | 759 | 1,201 | 103.5 | 163.8 |
| Delaware | 935 | 967 | 90.6 | 93.7 |
| West Virginia | 835 | 1,003 | 47.2 | 56.7 |
| Nebraska | 737 | 909 | 37.3 | 45.9 |
| Mississippi | 1,028 | 596 | 35.0 | 20.3 |
| Vermont | 1,261 | 201 | 194.8 | 31.0 |
| North Dakota | 566 | 856 | 72.2 | 109.2 |
| South Dakota | 565 | 799 | 61.5 | 86.9 |
| Wyoming | 821 | 367 | 140.6 | 62.8 |
Source: CMS NPPES (NPPES files on CMS.gov), primary NUCC taxonomy by practice state; 2023 population estimates (census.gov).
Common questions
How many Clinical Social Worker providers are there vs Registered Nurse?
There are 312,758 Clinical Social Worker and 148,485 Registered Nurse records in the CMS NPPES registry, counted by primary taxonomy.
Which specialty is spread across more states?
Both have records in 56 states and territories.
Where is the data from?
Provider counts are from the CMS National Plan and Provider Enumeration System (NPPES). Per-capita rates use 2023 Census population estimates.
Figures on PlainDoctor are read from the federal files each page names (CMS NPPES, Medicare Part D, MIPS, Open Payments; the HHS-OIG exclusion list only as counts) and from Census population estimates, with the file date shown beside them. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of the NPPES file of Aug 9, 2026.