Mental Health Counselor vs Professional Counselor
Mental Health Counselor has 2.1 times as many registry records as Professional Counselor: 290,729 against 140,321. 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.
Mental Health Counselor: 290,729 records in 55 states
Professional Counselor: 140,321 records in 55 states
By state, with records per 100,000 residents
| State | Mental Health Counselor | Professional Counselor | Per 100,000 (first) | Per 100,000 (second) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | 28,617 | 3,965 | 73.4 | 10.2 |
| Texas | 9,782 | 20,712 | 32.1 | 67.9 |
| Florida | 23,249 | 868 | 102.8 | 3.8 |
| New York | 19,989 | 574 | 102.1 | 2.9 |
| Illinois | 10,716 | 9,508 | 85.4 | 75.8 |
| Pennsylvania | 10,019 | 9,335 | 77.3 | 72.0 |
| Massachusetts | 18,415 | 461 | 263.0 | 6.6 |
| Washington | 18,094 | 589 | 231.6 | 7.5 |
| Oregon | 15,190 | 2,558 | 358.8 | 60.4 |
| Colorado | 8,626 | 6,935 | 146.8 | 118.0 |
| Ohio | 7,764 | 6,775 | 65.9 | 57.5 |
| New Jersey | 10,009 | 4,115 | 107.7 | 44.3 |
| North Carolina | 8,858 | 5,048 | 81.7 | 46.6 |
| Georgia | 4,878 | 6,496 | 44.2 | 58.9 |
| Virginia | 4,088 | 6,474 | 47.3 | 74.9 |
| Oklahoma | 6,520 | 2,546 | 160.8 | 62.8 |
| Michigan | 3,987 | 4,958 | 39.7 | 49.4 |
| Maryland | 4,201 | 4,072 | 68.0 | 65.9 |
| Missouri | 2,399 | 5,799 | 38.7 | 93.6 |
| Louisiana | 5,286 | 2,906 | 115.6 | 63.5 |
| Wisconsin | 2,622 | 4,459 | 44.4 | 75.4 |
| Tennessee | 4,698 | 2,204 | 65.9 | 30.9 |
| South Carolina | 4,189 | 2,577 | 78.0 | 48.0 |
| Minnesota | 4,133 | 2,407 | 72.0 | 41.9 |
| Arizona | 3,260 | 2,960 | 43.9 | 39.8 |
| Kentucky | 3,794 | 2,153 | 83.8 | 47.6 |
| Connecticut | 2,386 | 2,812 | 66.0 | 77.7 |
| Indiana | 4,962 | 200 | 72.3 | 2.9 |
| Nebraska | 4,490 | 249 | 227.0 | 12.6 |
| Arkansas | 2,663 | 1,637 | 86.8 | 53.4 |
| Mississippi | 3,163 | 1,068 | 107.6 | 36.3 |
| Alabama | 2,243 | 1,797 | 43.9 | 35.2 |
| New Mexico | 2,722 | 1,284 | 128.7 | 60.7 |
| Utah | 2,813 | 496 | 82.3 | 14.5 |
| Nevada | 2,468 | 458 | 77.3 | 14.3 |
| Idaho | 1,620 | 1,204 | 82.5 | 61.3 |
| Alaska | 2,237 | 575 | 305.0 | 78.4 |
| Iowa | 2,567 | 105 | 80.0 | 3.3 |
| New Hampshire | 2,284 | 49 | 162.9 | 3.5 |
| Montana | 1,146 | 1,090 | 101.2 | 96.2 |
| Maine | 1,151 | 1,069 | 82.5 | 76.6 |
| Kansas | 716 | 1,495 | 24.3 | 50.8 |
| Vermont | 1,506 | 75 | 232.6 | 11.6 |
| Rhode Island | 1,437 | 41 | 131.1 | 3.7 |
| West Virginia | 694 | 679 | 39.2 | 38.4 |
| District of Columbia | 751 | 615 | 110.6 | 90.6 |
| Hawaii | 1,049 | 69 | 73.1 | 4.8 |
| Delaware | 793 | 278 | 76.8 | 26.9 |
| South Dakota | 753 | 245 | 81.9 | 26.7 |
| Wyoming | 327 | 595 | 56.0 | 101.9 |
| North Dakota | 230 | 478 | 29.3 | 61.0 |
Source: CMS NPPES (NPPES files on CMS.gov), primary NUCC taxonomy by practice state; 2023 population estimates (census.gov).
Common questions
How many Mental Health Counselor providers are there vs Professional Counselor?
There are 290,729 Mental Health Counselor and 140,321 Professional Counselor records in the CMS NPPES registry, counted by primary taxonomy.
Which specialty is spread across more states?
Both have records in 55 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.