The headache specialist shortage, state by state

Updated 13 October 2026

There are 818 board-certified headache specialists for 340 million people across the 50 states and DC. That's about one for every 416,000 people. Alaska has none, and Nevada has two for 3.3 million people.

Migraine is one of the most common neurological diseases, and most people with it never see a headache specialist. Part of the reason is simple: in much of the country there aren't any nearby. We counted every specialist certified in headache medicine by the United Council for Neurologic Subspecialties (UCNS) and matched them to each state's population.

818certified headache specialists in the 50 states and DC

1 per 416kpeople, nationwide

5 stateswith one specialist or none: Alaska, Maine, Montana, North Dakota and Wyoming

7 stateshold half of all specialists (51%)

The states with the fewest specialists for their population

Nevada has one certified headache specialist for every 1.63 million people

People per specialist, the 10 thinnest states. Specialists listed in brackets. Alaska has none.

National: 416k

Nevada1.63M (2)

Arkansas1.54M (2)

Maine1.41M (1)

Georgia1.40M (8)

Alabama1.29M (4)

Tennessee1.20M (6)

Montana1.14M (1)

Iowa810k (4)

Virginia801k (11)

North Dakota797k (1)

Dashed line: national average of one specialist per 415,784 people.

Every state

Sorted from fewest specialists per person to most. Type a state to jump to it.

#	State	Specialists	People per specialist	Population (2024)
1	Alaska	0	No specialists	740,133
2	Nevada	2	1,633,734	3,267,467
3	Arkansas	2	1,544,177	3,088,354
4	Maine	1	1,405,012	1,405,012
5	Georgia	8	1,397,610	11,180,878
6	Alabama	4	1,289,425	5,157,699
7	Tennessee	6	1,204,625	7,227,750
8	Montana	1	1,137,233	1,137,233
9	Iowa	4	810,372	3,241,488
10	Virginia	11	801,018	8,811,195
11	North Dakota	1	796,568	796,568
12	Colorado	8	744,687	5,957,493
13	Indiana	10	692,428	6,924,275
14	Oklahoma	6	682,566	4,095,393
15	Idaho	3	667,206	2,001,619
16	Texas	48	651,892	31,290,831
17	Wyoming	1	587,618	587,618
18	Rhode Island	2	556,154	1,112,308
19	Washington	15	530,545	7,958,180
20	Delaware	2	525,958	1,051,917
21	Louisiana	9	510,860	4,597,740
22	Nebraska	4	501,366	2,005,465
23	Kansas	6	495,101	2,970,606
24	North Carolina	23	480,262	11,046,024
25	New Jersey	20	475,043	9,500,851
26	South Dakota	2	462,334	924,669
27	South Carolina	12	456,569	5,478,831
28	California	89	443,048	39,431,263
29	New Mexico	5	426,051	2,130,256
30	Michigan	24	422,519	10,140,459
31	Mississippi	7	420,435	2,943,045
32	Maryland	15	417,548	6,263,220
33	Illinois	31	410,005	12,710,158
34	Florida	58	402,969	23,372,215
35	Wisconsin	15	397,398	5,960,975
36	Utah	9	389,290	3,503,613
37	Hawaii	4	361,536	1,446,146
38	Massachusetts	20	356,809	7,136,171
39	Oregon	12	356,031	4,272,371
40	West Virginia	5	353,996	1,769,979
41	Missouri	18	346,970	6,245,466
42	Kentucky	15	305,891	4,588,372
43	Minnesota	20	289,658	5,793,151
44	Ohio	42	282,936	11,883,304
45	New Hampshire	5	281,806	1,409,032
46	Arizona	28	270,799	7,582,384
47	Pennsylvania	56	233,549	13,078,751
48	New York	94	211,354	19,867,248
49	Connecticut	24	153,128	3,675,069
50	District of Columbia	5	140,450	702,250
51	Vermont	6	108,082	648,493

What this means if you have migraine

You don't need a headache specialist to get good care. Most people with migraine are treated well by a primary care doctor or a general neurologist, and today's acute and preventive treatments are available from both.

A specialist matters most when migraine attacks are frequent, when two or more preventive treatments haven't worked, or when the diagnosis isn't clear. If there's no one near you, many specialists see patients by telehealth within their licensed states, and a longer trip for a first visit can be worth it.

Find a headache specialist near you

Bringing a clear record to any appointment helps the visit go further. Our free Visit Summary Builder puts your attacks, treatments and questions on one page.

How we counted

Specialists are physicians certified in headache medicine by the UCNS, as listed in our Find a Headache Specialist directory on 13 October 2026. Each person is counted once, in the state of their listed practice address.
Population is the US Census Bureau's 2024 state estimates.
The counts leave out physicians who treat headache without UCNS certification, specialists who see patients across state lines by telehealth, and 4 specialists listed in Puerto Rico. Some listed specialists may be retired or see few patients, so real access may be lower than the numbers suggest.

For journalists and researchers

You're welcome to use these numbers with a link to this page. For a state or city breakdown, or a comment, contact Cerebral Torque.

Cerebral Torque is an independent migraine education site. This page is for information only and isn't medical advice.