According to the National Institutes of Mental Health, more than 1 in 5 Americans experienced a mental illness in 2022.
An analysis by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that only 26.8% of mental health care needs were met in 2024, and more than 122 million Americans were living in areas with a shortage of mental health care professionals.
The average number of mental health providers in Louisiana is 332.4 per 100,000 people. That's just below the national average with 344.9 mental health providers per 100,000 people in the U.S., according to America's Health Rankings based on 2024 data.
Louisiana ranks 26th in the nation for the number of mental health providers per 100,000 people. Massachusetts took the top spot with 791.5 mental health providers per 100,000 people, and Alabama had the least with 152.2 mental health providers per 100,000 people.
Mental health providers, in this 2025 parish data from U.S. County Health Rankings and Roadmaps, include psychiatrists, psychologists, licensed clinical social workers, counselors, marriage and family therapists and advanced practice nurses specializing in mental health care as of September 2024.
The parishes with the most mental health providers per 100,000 people include, in descending order:
- Madison Parish with 876 per 100,000,
- Caddo Parish with 785 per 100,000,
- Orleans Parish with 680 per 100,000,
- Concordia Parish with 622 per 100,000,
- Richland Parish with 619 per 100,000,
- Rapides Parish with 589 per 100,000,
- Ouachita Parish with 551 per 100,000,
- East Carroll with 527 per 100,000,
- East Baton Rouge Parish with 475 per 100,000,
- and Lincoln Parish with 465 per 100,000.
The parishes with the least mental health providers per 100,000 people include, in ascending order:
- Cameron Parish with 21 per 100,000,
- Assumption Parish with 35 per 100,000,
- Catahoula Parish with 48 per 100,000,
- Vermillion Parish with 58 per 100,000,
- West Carroll Parish with 64 per 100,000,
- Winn Parish with 68 per 100,000,
- Grant Parish with 78 per 100,000,
- Evangeline and Beauregard parishes with 79 per 100,000,
- and St. James Parish with 83 per 100,000.
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