Psychologists and Shortage Areas in Oakland County

How many psychologists practice in Oakland County for the number of people who live here, and where are the gaps? This study counts psychologists by the practice address they list in the federal National Provider Identifier (NPI) registry, compares counties per 100,000 residents, and sets that next to the federal government's mental health shortage designations in the county.

What the numbers show

In the federal NPI registry, 1,660 psychologists list a primary practice address in Oakland County, or 128.8 for every 100,000 residents. That is 1.8 times the Michigan rate (72.4) and well above Wayne County (72.8) and Macomb County (45.5). Among Michigan counties with 100,000 or more residents, only Washtenaw County (230.4) and Kalamazoo County (139.1) have higher rates.

Practices are not spread evenly. Farmington Hills (207), Troy (178), Southfield (161) and Bloomfield Hills (112) are the most common practice cities; 30 psychologists list Pontiac.

The federal Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) designates Health Professional Shortage Areas for mental health. A population designation covers a specific group in an area, such as residents with low incomes. Scores run from 0 to 25 and add points for the population-to-provider ratio, poverty, the share of older and younger residents, alcohol and substance use, and travel time to care, so a higher score means greater need.

Low-income residents of Pontiac (30,173 people) were designated on April 20, 2026, with a score of 17; an earlier Pontiac designation from July 18, 2016 is proposed for withdrawal. A low-income designation for southeast Oakland County (55,630 people in Ferndale, Hazel Park, Lathrup Village, Madison Heights, Oak Park, Royal Oak Township and Southfield) is also proposed for withdrawal. The federally qualified health center listed in the file as Oakland Integrated Healthcare Network holds a facility designation (score 20); federally qualified health centers receive one automatically. Wayne County has 19 designated mental health shortage areas and facilities and Macomb County has 3.

A county can have many psychologists and still have groups who struggle to reach one. A head count does not show who takes which insurance, who has openings, or how far a family has to travel.

What this means if you are looking for a psychologist in Oakland County

• There are many psychologists in the county, so it is reasonable to look for a good fit: ask about their approach, availability, fees and insurance before you book.
• A registry listing is not an open appointment. Ask how soon a first session is available.
• If cost is the barrier, Oakland Community Health Network runs the county's public mental health services (crisis line 1-888-238-0611), and Common Ground answers around the clock at 1-800-231-1127. The resources page lists more.
• Psychologists are one kind of mental health professional. Counselors, social workers, marriage and family therapists and psychiatrists also provide care; this study counts psychologists only.

Method and sources

The count comes from the full NPPES data file that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) publishes each month, here the November 2026 file with data through November 2, 2026, downloaded on November 12, 2026. It includes every individual provider with an active NPI, any Psychologist taxonomy (codes beginning 103T) and a primary practice location in Michigan: 7,333 psychologists. Each psychologist is placed in the county of their primary practice ZIP code, using the Census Bureau's 2020 ZIP code area to county file (a ZIP that crosses a county line goes to the county holding most of its land); 10 ZIP codes not in that file were placed by city name. Splitting border ZIP codes by land share instead gives Oakland County 126.4 per 100,000. Residents are the Census Bureau's July 1, 2025 county estimates. The Oakland County count was checked a second time against the live NPI Registry search, ZIP by ZIP, and the Pontiac designation against HRSA's Excel edition of the same file.

• CMS NPPES downloadable data files: download.cms.gov/nppes/NPI_Files.html
• CMS NPI Registry search: npiregistry.cms.hhs.gov/
• HRSA mental health HPSA detail file: data.hrsa.gov/DataDownload/DD_Files/BCD_HPSA_FCT_DET_MH.csv
• Oakland Community Health Network, crisis and access lines: www.oaklandchn.org/
• HRSA, scoring shortage designations: bhw.hrsa.gov/workforce-shortage-areas/shortage-designation/scoring
• HRSA, what is shortage designation: bhw.hrsa.gov/workforce-shortage-areas/shortage-designation
• Census Bureau county population estimates, Vintage 2025: www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2025/counties/totals/
• Census Bureau 2020 ZIP code tabulation area to county relationship file: www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/rel2020/zcta520/

Limits

• NPI records are self-reported, and addresses are not always current. A psychologist who has moved, retired or stopped seeing clients can still be listed.
• Psychologists without an NPI, which is mainly needed to bill insurance, are missing. So are psychologists who practice in the county but list an address elsewhere, including some who work only by telehealth.
• The count is of people, not hours: part-time and full-time psychologists count the same. This is not a count from Michigan's licensing board; 92.4% of the records list a Michigan license number.
• A practice address shows where the office is, not where its clients live.
• Shortage designations and their status change over time; these are as of the date the file was downloaded.