NC's physician-to-population ratio is increasing, but most of the growth is in urban areas.

By Julie Spero, Evan Galloway

Oct 2, 2019

• The number of physicians in NC has grown over time, outpacing population growth.
• The main concern is not the overall number of physicians in North Carolina, but the distribution of physicians in the state. Most of the growth in physicians per capita has occurred in urban counties.
• In rural (non-metropolitan) counties, growth in physicians per capita has been slow. Access-to-care issues remain concerning in many rural and underserved places.