Healthcare Industry Statistics, Facts, and Trends

August 14, 2025

The healthcare industry is regularly changing as new medicines, technologies, methodologies, and best practices are adopted each year. To keep our current and future students in the know, we’ve compiled this list of recent healthcare industry stats, facts, and trends, so give it a look to learn about everything happening in the field!

Healthcare Employment Statistics

Healthcare employed more than 17 million workers in 2023, making it the biggest employment sector in America (HRSA).

As of 2023, 10.8% of the U.S. workforce was employed in healthcare, an uptick from previous rates, such as 7.5% in 1990 and 10.6% in 2010 (Health System Tracker).

The top healthcare profession in the United States based on employment numbers is nursing, with more than 3.3 million registered nurses being in the field. This accounts for 1 out of every 5 healthcare professionals (Bureau of Labor Statistics).

Other prominent healthcare fields based on employment include personal care aides at approximately 1.4 million workers, nursing assistants at approximately 1.2 million workers, and physicians at 933,000 workers (Bureau of Labor Statistics).

Of the approximately 933,000 physicians currently active, around 800,000 work in patient care, and approximately 25% of them are internists or family medicine physicians (HRSA).

Workers in healthcare are 84% more likely to work in private organizations rather than for governmental institutions (Zippia).

Registered nurse employment is expected to grow by 5% from 2021 to 2031 (American Association of Colleges of Nursing).

Around 200,000 new RNs are needed every year to meet the ongoing demands of healthcare and replace retiring workers (American Hospital Association).

Travel nurses are being needed more and more, with 91% of nurse staffing agencies saying they are seeing revenue growth every year (Staffing Industry).

The healthcare field is expected see a faster growth in employment than other fields, creating 1.8 million jobs each year through 2032 (Bureau of Labor Statistics).

Healthcare is also expected to account for 45% of all newly created jobs during this period (Bureau of Labor Statistics).

Home healthcare is expected to grow the fastest in the greater healthcare industry, projected to increase 34% from 2019 to 2029 (Mercer).

Healthcare Demographics Statistics

As of 2022, about 8 out of 10 workers in healthcare were women, a much higher ratio than overall national employment, where women only make up about 50% of the workforce (Bureau of Labor Statistics).

Some of the medical areas most populated by female workers include speech-language therapy at 98%, dental hygiene at 96%, dental assisting at 94%, and nurse assisting at 90% (Bureau of Labor Statistics).

Men still outpace women in physician roles, however, with 56% of doctors being men and 44% being women (Bureau of Labor Statistics).

Meanwhile, around 39% of patient care practicing doctors are women, and women make up a larger portion of students in medical schools (HRSA).

The percentages of male and female workers in healthcare has stayed relatively stable over time (Zippia).

As of 2022, there were approximately 14.7 million people aged 16 or older working in the healthcare field, making up 9.3% of total U.S. employment (Bureau of Labor Statistics).

According to the 2022 numbers, 12% of healthcare workers were aged 16 to 24, approximately 66% of workers were 25 to 54, and the remaining 22% were 55 or older (Bureau of Labor Statistics).

Certain professions in healthcare attract older workers (those aged 55 or over), with people in that age bracket making up 36% of home health aides, 33% of personal care aides, 30% of medical records specialists, and 28% of physicians (Bureau of Labor Statistics).

As of 2022, the average age of a doctor in the U.S. is 51.2 (HRSA).

The median age of a registered nurse is 46, and more than 25% of RNs have reported that they plan to retire in the next five years (American Association of Colleges of Nursing).

White workers make up large portions of certain medical fields, with 90% of speech-language therapists, 83% of veterinary technologists and technicians, 80% of occupational therapists, 79% of dental hygienists, 79% of physical therapists, and 78% of physician assistants being White (Bureau of Labor Statistics).

Asian workers make up 6% of the nation’s total workforce, but they also make up large percentages of workers in certain healthcare roles. Approximately 22% of physicians, 19% of pharmacists, and 15% of clinical laboratory technologists and technicians are Asian (Bureau of Labor Statistics).

Similarly, Black workers account for just 12% of the working population but many of these individuals fulfill healthcare roles. As of 2022, 34% of nursing assistants, 29% of licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses, 28% of home health aides, and 25% of personal care aides were Black (Bureau of Labor Statistics).

Latinos/Latinas make up 19% of the total workforce, but these individuals make up 33% of medical assistants, 29% of home health aides, and 28% of dental assistants (Bureau of Labor Statistics).

In terms of nursing demographics, as of 2022, 80% were White, 7.4% were Asian, 6.9% were Latino/Latina, 6.3% were Black, 2.5% were biracial, 0.4% were Native American or Alaskan Native, and 0.4% were Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander (American Association of Colleges of Nursing).

As of 2022, 18% of people employed in the U.S. were foreign born, but these individuals had much higher representation in healthcare, such as making up 40% of home health aides, 28% of personal care aides, and 27% of physicians (Bureau of Labor Statistics).

From 2020 to 2022, more men entered the nursing profession, increasing representation from 9.4% to 11.2% during that period (American Association of Colleges of Nursing).

General Healthcare Statistics

Physicians worked an average of 47.9 hours each week in 2022 (Bureau of Labor Statistics).

71% of active physicians work in office-based care centers, while 15% work within hospital systems (HRSA).

COVID-19 initially brought a drop in revenue and employment in healthcare, much like it did in other sectors. This was largely due to elective care appointments being canceled and people’s wariness of healthcare facilities due to social distancing initiatives (Health System Tracker).

Following this drop, unsurprisingly, the healthcare sector quickly rebounded due to the ongoing needs imposed by the pandemic, with an employment upturn beginning in the summer of 2020 (Health System Tracker).

Healthcare employment in residential settings is still below their pre-pandemic levels, however. For instance, continuing care retirement communities have seen a 6.3% drop in their workforce (Health System Tracker).

Had the pre-pandemic rates for growth continued unabated, approximately 280,000 more workers would work in healthcare now than do currently (Health System Tracker).

The average weekly earnings of people in healthcare have regularly increased since the start of the pandemic, coming in at a 20.8% increase from 2020 to 2024 (Health System Tracker).

The U.S. has recently spent $13,493 per person on healthcare, coming in at 17.3% of the GDP for the country, higher than any other major economy (HRSA).

Washington, D.C. has the highest concentration of doctors in the country, with Massachusetts and Vermont closing out the top three regions. The regions with the lowest number of doctors are Mississippi, Idaho, and Oklahoma (HRSA).

In February of 2024, the healthcare field added more than 66,000 jobs compared to the previous month. This was also part of a 5.7% increase in jobs in the field compared to February of 2020 (Health System Tracker).

Most registered nurses have an associate or bachelor’s degree, with approximately 71% holding a bachelor’s degree or higher (American Association of Colleges of Nursing).

As of 2022, 17.4% of RNs held a master’s degree and 2.7% hold a doctorate (American Association of Colleges of Nursing).

36% of workers in the healthcare field have an advanced degree (Bureau of Labor Statistics).

There are about four times more registered nurses in America than physicians (American Association of Colleges of Nursing).

Medical school enrollment has increased in the past five-plus years by 6%, with female enrollment increasing by 14% from 2019 to 2024 and male enrollment increasing by 3% in the same period (HRSA).

A shortage of 187,000 full-time equivalent physicians is expected by 2037, with more rural areas experiencing a greater need than metropolitan areas (HRSA).

50% of final-year medical students get more than 100 job offers, and female and minority graduates get even more opportunities based on diversity initiatives (UrbanBound).

Prepare for the Healthcare Field at P.I.T.

At the Pennsylvania Institute of Technology, we help students prepare for rewarding careers in the thriving industry of healthcare, and we offer the following medical and medical-adjacent degrees and certifications:

Along with these in-depth programs, by choosing P.I.T. you’ll benefit from aspects like:

Flexible class schedules
Online or in-person classes
Supportive professors
Free tutoring and career advising
Options for stackable certificates

Reach Out to Our Team Today

Ready to get started on your healthcare career? Contact our team today and we can help you assess your needs and decide which program is the best fit. We look forward to speaking with you!