137 Million Americans Live in a Mental Health Desert — and the Number Just Grew by 15 Million in One Year
As of December 2025, 137 million Americans — 40% of the country — live in a federally designated Mental Health Professional Shortage Area. That is 15 million more people than the year before. The shortage didn't grow because the crisis got worse. It grew because the system designed to fix it kept failing.
Jun 30, 2026 Matthew Sexton, LCSW