Physical Therapist
293,966 active US providers register Physical Therapist as their primary taxonomy. That is 3.2% of every provider in the registry, and the 5th largest of 584 specialties with a page here.
- Taxonomy code
- 225100000X
- Grouping
- Respiratory, Developmental, Rehabilitative and Restorative Service Providers
- Classification
- Physical Therapist
- Active providers
- 293,966
- States covered
- 51 of 51
What the code means
Physical therapists (PTs) are licensed health care professionals who diagnose and treat individuals of all ages, from newborns to the very oldest, who have medical problems or other health-related conditions that limit their abilities to move and perform functional activities in their daily lives. PTs examine each individual and develop a plan using treatment techniques to promote the ability to move, reduce pain, restore function, and prevent disability. In addition, PTs work with individuals to prevent the loss of mobility before it occurs by developing fitness- and wellness-oriented programs for healthier and more active lifestyles. PTs: 1.Diagnose and manage movement dysfunction and enhance physical and functional abilities. 2.Restore, maintain, and promote not only optimal physical function but optimal wellness and fitness and optimal quality of life as it relates to movement and health. 3.Prevent the onset, symptoms, and progression of impairments, functional limitations, and disabilities that may result from diseases, disorders, conditions, or injuries. 4.Treat conditions of the musculoskeletal, neuromuscular, cardiovascular, pulmonary, and/or integumentary systems. 5.Address the negative effects attributable to unique personal and environmental factors as they relate to human performance. 6.PTs provide care for people in a variety of settings, including hospitals, private practices, outpatient clinics, home health agencies, schools, sports and fitness facilities, work settings, and nursing homes. State licensure is required in each state in which a PT practices.
Definition quoted verbatim from the NUCC Health Care Provider Taxonomy code set, version 25.1. Not paraphrased.
Where they are
Counted by practice location, not by mailing address or by licence state. A provider practising across a state line is counted where they practise.
| State | Providers | Share |
|---|---|---|
| New York | 25,032 | |
| California | 24,984 | |
| Texas | 16,815 | |
| Florida | 16,670 | |
| Pennsylvania | 13,814 | |
| Illinois | 13,397 | |
| New Jersey | 11,222 | |
| Michigan | 10,701 | |
| North Carolina | 9,364 | |
| Washington | 8,262 | |
| Ohio | 7,980 | |
| Massachusetts | 7,644 | |
| Virginia | 7,603 | |
| Georgia | 7,325 | |
| Maryland | 7,270 |
Showing the 15 largest of 51 states with at least one.
Who registers under this code
263,479 of these are people and 30,487 are organisations, so 10% of the code is businesses rather than clinicians. Half of them had registered by 2014, and 73,287 registered in the last five years, 25% of the current population.
That is close to the pace of the registry as a whole.
Where the practices are
By practice-location city. City counts are noisier than state counts, because a large employer files one address for many providers.
- NEW YORK, NY4,124
- CHICAGO, IL2,875
- BROOKLYN, NY2,706
- SAN DIEGO, CA1,495
- HOUSTON, TX1,436
- LOS ANGELES, CA1,371
- SEATTLE, WA1,269
- SAN ANTONIO, TX1,237
- PHOENIX, AZ1,151
- PITTSBURGH, PA1,132
What else they list
Providers whose primary code is Physical Therapist most often carry these secondary taxonomies as well. This is the closest thing the registry has to a map of which specialties overlap in practice, and it is not published anywhere else.
| Also listed | Providers | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Occupational Therapist | 5,975 | 2.0% |
| Orthopedic Physical Therapist | 3,197 | 1.1% |
| Speech-Language Pathologist | 2,755 | 0.9% |
| Athletic Trainer | 1,768 | 0.6% |
| Pediatric Physical Therapist | 1,248 | 0.4% |
| Sports Physical Therapist | 1,093 | 0.4% |
| Physical Therapy Assistant | 1,066 | 0.4% |
| Physical Therapy Clinic/Center | 902 | 0.3% |
Nearby specialties
Other taxonomies NUCC files under Physical Therapist.
- Orthopedic Physical Therapist12,428
- Pediatric Physical Therapist7,523
- Geriatric Physical Therapist2,240
- Neurology Physical Therapist1,217
- Sports Physical Therapist1,186
Looking up a specific provider
These counts come from the monthly NPPES file. To check one provider, use their NPI: the lookup reads the live registry and shows whether the identifier is still active, which the monthly file cannot tell you about the last few weeks.
Counts from npidata_pfile_20050523-20260712.csv, built 2026-08-09. Primary taxonomy only, deactivated identifiers excluded.