State provider profile · CMS NPPES
South Dakota Doctors & Healthcare Providers
Every CMS NPPES-registered provider in South Dakota — actual federal records by specialty, city, and Medicare participation, with no composite score or editorial opinion on top.
- 16,905
- Providers
- 378
- Specialties
- 30+
- Cities (10+ NPIs)
- 50th
- of 56 by size
The state in one line
South Dakota has 16,905 CMS-registered healthcare providers — the 50th-largest provider base of 56 U.S. jurisdictions, led by Physical Therapist.
- 16,905
- NPPES-registered providers
- 50th
- of 56 jurisdictions
- Top 89%
- by provider count
- 5.6%
- Physical Therapist (largest specialty)
Where South Dakota ranks among all U.S. states
Provider count vs every U.S. state, DC and territory — CMS NPPES
16,905 11th percentile higher than 11% of 56 jurisdictions
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more jurisdictions. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source CMS National Plan & Provider Enumeration System (NPPES) · 2026
16,905 providers across 378 specialties
How to read this directory
This count includes every individual clinician — physicians, dentists, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, therapists, and psychologists — with a current active National Provider Identifier on file with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and a primary practice address in South Dakota. Organizations such as hospitals, group practices, and pharmacies carry their own separate NPPES records and are deliberately not included in this individual-provider total, and each clinician is counted once under their registered primary taxonomy. Every figure is drawn from the federal National Provider Identifier Registry (CMS NPPES) — more than 7 million providers, maintained since May 2007, with 2023 Medicare Part D data — and, according to CMS, can be searched, compared, and traced in our methodology.
Important: this is a directory of public CMS government data — not a quality ranking, a review aggregator, or medical advice. NPPES records are self-reported and refreshed monthly, so a listed address or phone number can lag reality; always call the office to confirm location, insurance acceptance, and new-patient availability before booking. Verify licensure and disciplinary history — which are not shown here — through the NPI Registry and your state medical board.
South Dakota at a glance
Diverse specialty mixTop specialties in South Dakota
Distribution by primary NUCC taxonomy — 378 specialties total
- Top specialty: Physical Therapist
- 946
- 5.6% of South Dakota's 16,905 providers
| # | Specialty | Providers |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Physical Therapist | 946 |
| 2 | Pharmacist | 931 |
| 3 | Registered Nurse | 814 |
| 4 | Family Nurse Practitioner | 789 |
| 5 | Mental Health Counselor | 684 |
| 6 | Physician Assistant | 628 |
| 7 | Speech-Language Pathologist | 598 |
| 8 | Family Medicine Physician | 580 |
| 9 | Chiropractor | 527 |
| 10 | Occupational Therapist | 498 |
| 11 | Clinical Social Worker | 484 |
| 12 | Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist | 479 |
| 13 | Student in an Organized Health Care Education/Training Program | 457 |
| 14 | Nurse Practitioner | 432 |
| 15 | Internal Medicine Physician | 327 |
| 16 | Counselor | 322 |
| 17 | General Practice Dentistry | 316 |
| 18 | Addiction (Substance Use Disorder) Counselor | 285 |
| 19 | Behavior Technician | 269 |
| 20 | Social Worker | 258 |
Which cities in South Dakota have the most providers?
Top cities in South Dakota by provider count
Active CMS NPPES-registered providers by primary practice city
- Sioux Falls
Sioux Falls
6,350 providers
- Rapid City
Rapid City
2,952 providers
- Aberdeen 746
Aberdeen
746 providers
- Watertown 539
Watertown
539 providers
- Yankton 502
Yankton
502 providers
- Fort Meade 410
Fort Meade
410 providers
- Spearfish 376
Spearfish
376 providers
- Brookings 374
Brookings
374 providers
- Mitchell 354
Mitchell
354 providers
- Dakota Dunes 311
Dakota Dunes
311 providers
What this shows Sioux Falls leads South Dakota's 30+ reporting cities; provider supply concentrates in the largest metros, so a statewide total understates rural access gaps.
Full city breakdown with each city's share of the state total:
| # | City | Providers |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sioux Falls | 6,350 |
| 2 | Rapid City | 2,952 |
| 3 | Aberdeen | 746 |
| 4 | Watertown | 539 |
| 5 | Yankton | 502 |
| 6 | Fort Meade | 410 |
| 7 | Spearfish | 376 |
| 8 | Brookings | 374 |
| 9 | Mitchell | 354 |
| 10 | Dakota Dunes | 311 |
| 11 | Pierre | 281 |
| 12 | Huron | 202 |
| 13 | Hot Springs | 191 |
| 14 | Vermillion | 176 |
| 15 | Eagle Butte | 166 |
| 16 | Pine Ridge | 161 |
| 17 | Rosebud | 148 |
| 18 | Sisseton | 145 |
| 19 | Sturgis | 116 |
| 20 | Brandon | 100 |
| 21 | Ellsworth Afb | 100 |
| 22 | Madison | 97 |
| 23 | Chamberlain | 82 |
| 24 | Winner | 81 |
| 25 | Wagner | 73 |
| 26 | Milbank | 63 |
| 27 | Belle Fourche | 54 |
| 28 | Custer | 54 |
| 29 | Harrisburg | 54 |
| 30 | Mobridge | 49 |
Nearby States
Other high-volume states in the CMS NPPES registry for side-by-side context.
License & disciplinary context — South Dakota
Aggregate state medical board disciplinary action statistics for South Dakota licensees, sourced from the state medical board annual report and cross-checked against the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB).
View South Dakota disciplinary trends →Using the South Dakota data
South Dakota has 16,905 active registered providers — here is how to act on that.
- Narrow by specialty first: South Dakota's provider mix differs from the national distribution, and the per-specialty pages show who actually practices here. Browse specialties
- Verify any shortlisted provider's federal record and license before booking — registration alone is not a quality signal. NPI lookup
- Check South Dakota's disciplinary-action trends to understand the state board's enforcement context. Board actions
Counts reflect CMS NPPES registrations, which can lag retirements and relocations. PlainDoctor does not rate, rank, or recommend providers.
Explore South Dakota
Frequently Asked Questions
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Provider data from CMS NPPES (download.cms.gov/nppes); specialty mix by NUCC Health Care Provider Taxonomy. PlainDoctor does not rate or rank providers. Methodology · About