“There’s a Chiropractor on Every Corner!”

While speaking with a Cardiologist at a social event, he said, “There’s a Chiropractor on Every Corner!”. I replied with a shoulder shrug and a sense that somehow Chiropractors were taking over our city. With this thought in mind, I thought I would investigate the actual number of Medical Doctors/Doctors of Osteopathy versus the number Chiropractors throughout Oregon, The United States and Worldwide.

Oregon

As of data from May 2024, Oregon had 15,067 licensed Physicians (MD/DO). 

As of October 1, 2024, there are 1,691 active licensed Chiropractors in Oregon. 

The percent of Chiropractors compared to their medical counterparts is 11%!

United States

As of 2024, the United States has over 1.1 million active licensed Physicians (MD/DO). 

There are over 70,000 licensed Chiropractors working in the United States.

The percent of Chiropractors compared to their medical counterparts is 6%!

Worldwide

There are an estimated 12.8 million Physicians (MD/DO) worldwide. 

There are an estimated 103,469 Chiropractors practicing worldwide. 

This information was a bit shocking, I did not realize there were that many Physicians! The percent of Chiropractors in proportion to their medical counterparts worldwide is .08%. As the majority of Chiropractors work independently and have their own outpatient clinics, even a small number of them in a city seems like they are everywhere. In realty, most medical practices have numerous providers in a single clinic or even 50-100+ per hospital. Chiropractic continues to solidify its position within health care and management of neuro-musculo-skeletal conditions.