Orthopedic Physical Therapist: how many are there, and how many are in private practice?

National totals

What this specialty covers

A licensed physical therapist, including but not limited to an individual who is a Board Certified Specialist in Orthopaedic Physical Therapy, who has demonstrated specialized knowledge and skill in human anatomy and physiology, movement science; pathology/pathophysiology, pain science, medical and surgical considerations, orthopaedic physical therapy theory and practice, and critical inquiry for evidence-based practice.

Reading the sole-proprietor share

For Orthopedic Physical Therapist records, the 17.1% share means that NPPES marks that portion as sole proprietors, not that the same portion is confirmed to operate a private practice. The flag is a self-reported NPPES field and an imperfect proxy because it may not reflect employed clinicians in privately owned practices, ownership arrangements, or changes since reporting.

By state

New NPI registrations by year

Counts reflect the year each NPI was first issued, among records still active today. The final year is partial: this data covers through 2026-01-11.

Data notes

• The sole-proprietor field is self-reported by the provider in NPPES and is an imperfect proxy for private practice.
• A sole-proprietor count shown as <11 is suppressed: the true value is below 11, which could include zero.
• NPPES fields are provider supplied and may be outdated or incomplete; the sole-proprietor flag is not a definitive ownership measure.
• A primary taxonomy reflects the classification selected for the NPI record, so providers using another primary taxonomy may not appear in this specialty count.
• Active NPI status does not by itself confirm current clinical activity, licensure status, availability, or patient volume.
• Providers are counted once, by their primary taxonomy code only.

Source: CMS National Plan and Provider Enumeration System (NPPES) Data Dissemination file, FOIA-disclosable public data under CMS-6060-N. Aggregated by Hero EMR on 2026-08-03; deactivated NPIs excluded; specialty assigned from the primary taxonomy code (NUCC 25.1). Counts below 11 are suppressed. Individual providers are never published. All provider data pages.

Common questions