Dentists in the U.S. have been on the move in recent years, migrating from one state to another to practice. Some states stand out more than others in terms of net migration, especially when it comes to dentists newer to dentistry.
From 2019 to 2024, around 8% of U.S. dentists changed the state in which they practice. New dentists (those who graduated from dental school less than 10 years ago in 2019) made the move at a higher rate than more established dentists – new dentists had a migration rate of 17% compared to 4% of dentists who were more than 10 years out of dental school in 2019. In other words, around 1 in 6 new dentists moved from one state to another within a five-year period.
HPI Perspectives
April 2026
Migration of U.S. Dentists Across State Lines
About 1 in 6 new dentists changed states from 2019 to 2024
- Migration of U.S. Dentists Across State Lines, 2019-2024 (XLSX) - data tables in Excel including state-level net migration for all dentists and by experience level as well as comprehensive state-to-state migration matrices for each group.
- Migration of U.S. Dentists Across State Lines, 2019-2024 (PDF) - slide deck containing graphic representations and key findings for this HPI analysis.
HPI calculated net migration by comparing dentists in the 2019 and 2024 ADA masterfile data. The share of dentists entering a particular state was subtracted from the share of dentists leaving that same state and then divided by dentist counts in 2019.
The states that experienced the highest gains due to net migration relative to their 2019 supply of new dentists were Hawaii, New Hampshire, and Delaware. Meanwhile, the states that experienced the highest losses due to net migration relative to their 2019 supply of new dentists were the District of Columbia, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts.
States with smaller populations experienced some of the highest net migration rates between 2019 and 2024. It must be noted that the overall numbers of new dentists moving to these states is small, reflecting these states’ already small supply of dentists compared to other states. In the case of Idaho, for example, a 19% net migration rate represents 49 new dentists moving to Idaho compared to 269 new dentists moving to Florida for a 9% net migration rate.
To a certain extent, dentists’ migration patterns reflect those within the U.S. population. More populous states such as California, New York, and Illinois have experienced the highest net migration losses of U.S. residents from 2020 to 2025. These states all had either net migration losses of new dentists or no growth of new dentists from 2019 to 2024. Less populous states such as South Carolina, Idaho, and Montana have experienced the highest net migration of U.S. residents. The latter two states also experienced net gains of new dentists. One outlier of note is Hawaii—the state that experienced the most growth in its share of new dentists between 2019 and 2024 due to net migration is also one of the top states that U.S. residents left from 2020 to 2025.
Further research is needed to assess the impact that migration patterns among dentists could have on access to and delivery of care in specific states. Dentists migrating to a certain state does not mean they settle within underserved areas of that state. There is an ongoing gap between the share of dentists in urban areas versus those in rural areas, and migration may not make much difference state to state. When examining where dentists who migrate into a new state actually locate, HPI found that in most states, the “inflow” population of dentists mimics the overall population of dentists. That is, for dentists relocating to a new state, the share that settle in rural areas is similar to the share of dentists overall in that state who are in rural areas. Migration neither contributes to nor detracts from the rural shortage issue.
Research is also needed to understand why dentists, particularly less experienced dentists, choose certain states for their practice. Migration rates may indicate that dentists desire professional mobility. The ADA, the Council of State Governments, and the Department of Defense recently enacted an interstate dentist and dental hygienist licensure compact granting participating dentists the right to practice dentistry in other compact states without having to acquire individual licenses for each state. Twelve states have passed legislation to join the compact, and another eight states have pending legislation to do so.
HPI will continue to monitor trends in dentist supply and migration and how these patterns could impact access to care.