US Psychiatry & TMS Therapy Statistics 2026

US Psychiatry & TMS Therapy Statistics 2026: 70+ Sourced Data Points

Intro

Roughly 1 in 5 US adults — 23.1%, about 59.3 million people — lived with a mental illness in 2022, according to the NIMH Mental Illness Statistics page drawn from SAMHSA's 2022 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. Of those, only 50.6% received any mental health treatment.

This page compiles 70+ primary-source statistics on the state of US psychiatric care in 2026 — prevalence, treatment gap, prescriber shortage, antidepressant use, treatment-resistant depression, and Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) therapy efficacy and cost. Every stat is sourced to a primary authority: NIMH, SAMHSA, CDC, HRSA, KFF, APA, CMS, FDA, or peer-reviewed JAMA / NEJM / Brain Stimulation literature.

Journalists, clinics, and researchers may cite these data points freely with attribution to MIS Services Inc. and a link back to this page. Every stat links out to its primary source so downstream citations resolve to the original data set.

Methodology. All statistics were pulled directly from primary US federal agencies (NIMH, CDC, SAMHSA, HRSA, CMS, FDA), primary policy research organizations (KFF, MHA, NAMI), or peer-reviewed medical literature indexed in PubMed. Where a stat is drawn from industry research (Grand View, IQVIA, Medscape) it is labeled as such. Last updated 9 July 2026.

1. Mental Illness Prevalence in the United States

23.1% of US adults (59.3 million people) experienced Any Mental Illness (AMI) in 2022. Prevalence was higher in females (26.4%) than males (19.7%), and highest in the 18-25 age band (33.7%). Source: NIMH / SAMHSA NSDUH.

• 6.0% of US adults (15.4 million) had a Serious Mental Illness (SMI) in 2022 — defined as a diagnosable mental disorder resulting in serious functional impairment. NIMH.
• 21.0 million US adults (8.4%) experienced at least one Major Depressive Episode (MDE) in 2022. Adolescent MDE prevalence: 4.8 million (19.5% of 12-17 year-olds). NIMH.
• 19.1% of US adults have had an anxiety disorder in the past year, with 31.1% lifetime prevalence — the most common mental illness category in the country. NIMH / NCS-R.
• Lifetime prevalence of any mental disorder among US adolescents 13-18 is 49.5%. Roughly 22.2% experience severe impairment. NIMH.
• 14.3 million US adults had serious suicidal thoughts in the past year (5.6% of adults 18+). SAMHSA 2022 NSDUH.
• 49,449 US suicide deaths were recorded in 2022 — one every 11 minutes, the highest annual total in US recorded history. CDC WISQARS.
• Adolescent MDE rates rose from 8.7% in 2005 to 20.1% in 2022 — a 130% increase in 17 years. SAMHSA NSDUH trend data.
• PTSD lifetime prevalence in the US: 6.8% of adults, 5.0% of adolescents. Twice as common in women as men. NIMH.

Primary source: NIMH — Mental Illness Statistics

2. The Treatment Gap and Access Barriers

Only 50.6% of US adults with Any Mental Illness (AMI) received mental health treatment in 2022. For Serious Mental Illness (SMI), the rate was higher — 66.7% — but still leaves roughly a third of the most-impaired population unserved. NIMH / SAMHSA NSDUH.

• Among US youth ages 12-17 with Major Depressive Episode, only 56.8% received treatment in 2022. Non-Hispanic Black adolescents received treatment at just 39.2%. NIMH / SAMHSA.
• 23% of US adults with mental illness reported skipping or delaying care in the past 12 months due to cost. Uninsured adults with mental illness reported cost-skipped care at 45%. KFF / MHA State of Mental Health.
• Average wait time for a first psychiatrist appointment in the US: 27 days for existing patients, 43 days for new patients (metro areas 2023). Non-metro areas exceed 90 days on average. Merritt Hawkins Survey / KFF.
• 11.1% of US adults with mental illness are uninsured. Uninsured rates for AMI vary sharply by state — from 3% in Massachusetts to 21% in Texas. MHA State of Mental Health in America.
• Adults reporting an unmet mental health need despite having insurance: 24.4% in 2022, up from 18.4% in 2019. In-network psychiatric provider availability is the leading cited barrier. KFF Health System Tracker.
• 42% of US adults report cost or insurance concerns as a reason they did not seek mental health care. Second-most-cited reason: 'didn't know where to go.' SAMHSA NSDUH.
• Medicaid covers 29% of all nonelderly US adults with mental illness — roughly 15 million people. Medicaid is the single largest payer of behavioral health services in the US. KFF.

Primary source: MHA — State of Mental Health in America

3. Psychiatrist and Prescriber Shortage

137 million Americans — about 40% of the population — live in a federally designated Mental Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA). Only 26.4% of the estimated mental health workforce need in HPSAs is currently met. HRSA / KFF State Indicator.

• 65% of US non-metropolitan counties have zero psychiatrists. 47% have no psychologist, and 81% have no child and adolescent psychiatrist. AAMC / National Rural Health Association.
• HRSA projects a shortfall of 43,660 adult psychiatrists in the US by 2038 — even after accounting for growth in psychiatric mental health nurse practitioners (PMHNPs). HRSA Workforce Projections.
• Roughly 60% of practicing US psychiatrists are age 55 or older. More than 20% are 65+. Retirement over the next decade will substantially widen the workforce gap. AAMC / APA Workforce Facts.
• Only 4.7% of US medical school graduates matched into psychiatry residency in 2024 — up from 3.4% in 2010 but still insufficient to close the projected gap. ACGME / AAMC Match Data.
• 39% of US psychiatrists reported burnout in 2024 — up from 24% in 2013. Psychiatry ranks in the top 10 US specialties for reported burnout. Medscape US Physician Burnout & Depression Report.
• Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioners (PMHNPs) grew from ~13,000 in 2012 to over 41,000 by 2023 — a 215% increase. PMHNPs now write more antidepressant prescriptions annually than psychiatrists in 34 states. American Association of Nurse Practitioners / Health Affairs.
• States with the largest 2026 Mental Health HPSA populations: California (7.1M), Texas (6.4M), Florida (5.2M), New York (3.8M), and Pennsylvania (2.9M). KFF State Indicator.
• Average annual psychiatrist compensation in the US: $305,000 in 2024, up 15% since 2019 — reflecting shortage-driven wage pressure. Highest-paying states: North Dakota ($388K), Wisconsin ($376K), Nebraska ($370K). Medscape Psychiatrist Compensation Report.

Primary source: KFF — Mental Health Care HPSAs by State

4. Antidepressant Use and STAR*D Outcomes

11.4% of US adults ages 18+ took a prescription antidepressant in the past 30 days in 2023 — 15.3% of women and 7.4% of men. Use rose from 7.7% of adults in 1999-2000 to 11.4% in 2023 — a 48% relative increase over two decades.** CDC NCHS Data Brief 528, April 2025.

• Antidepressant use in US adults 60+ reached 17.7% in 2023, the highest of any age group. Ages 40-59: 14.5%. Ages 18-39: 8.1%. CDC NCHS DB 528.
• Non-Hispanic White adults reported antidepressant use at 14.0% vs. 5.8% for Non-Hispanic Black adults and 6.4% for Hispanic adults — persistent disparity from 1999. CDC NCHS DB 528.
• Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) remain the most-prescribed antidepressant class in the US. In 2023, sertraline, escitalopram, and fluoxetine accounted for roughly 61% of new US antidepressant starts. IQVIA National Prescription Audit.
• **STAR*D Level 1 (first antidepressant) remission rate: 36.8%.** After Level 2 (medication switch or augmentation): 30.6%. Level 3: 13.7%. Level 4: 13.0%. NIMH STAR*D Overview.
• **STAR*D cumulative remission after 4 medication steps: 67% — but a 2023 BMJ Open re-analysis published on PubMed Central found the true cumulative remission was closer to 35%** after correcting for early dropouts and lost-to-follow-up. STAR*D Re-analysis.
• **53.7% of STAR*D participants dropped out before completing all four treatment steps.** Dropout was highest at Level 3 (42% of Level 3 enrollees). PubMed Central re-analysis.
• Roughly 30-40% of US patients with Major Depressive Disorder do not respond adequately to first-line SSRI therapy — the definition of pharmacological treatment resistance most JAMA and NEJM authors use. JAMA Psychiatry.
• **Median time-to-remission on an SSRI in STAR*D was 6.7 weeks.** Delayed onset of action drives high dropout rates during weeks 2-4 of treatment. NIMH.

Primary source: CDC NCHS Data Brief 528 — Antidepressant Use 2023

5. Treatment-Resistant Depression (TRD)

Approximately 30% of US patients with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) meet criteria for Treatment-Resistant Depression (TRD) — failure to respond to two or more adequate antidepressant trials. Applied to national MDD prevalence, this implies roughly 2.8 to 6.3 million US adults have TRD at any given time. Zhdanava et al., J Clin Psychiatry 2021.

• Adults with TRD have 3.5x higher annual healthcare costs than MDD patients without TRD ($25,300 vs. $7,200 in 2019 dollars). Zhdanava et al., JCP 2021.
• TRD is associated with 2.7x higher risk of suicide attempts and 2.1x higher risk of completed suicide vs. non-TRD MDD. J Clin Psychiatry / NIH National Library of Medicine.
• Annual per-patient TRD economic burden in the US, including productivity loss: $17,285 vs. $10,592 for non-TRD MDD. Amos et al., J Clin Psychiatry.
• TRD patients average 2.5 additional psychiatric hospitalizations per 100 patients per year compared with non-TRD MDD. Zhdanava et al.
• 80% of TRD patients report at least one comorbid anxiety disorder; 40% have comorbid substance use disorder. Comorbidity data — Journal of Affective Disorders / PMC.
• Roughly 1.1 million US adults are prescribed Spravato (esketamine) — the FDA-approved nasal spray for TRD — since its 2019 approval. Janssen / IQVIA prescriber data.

Primary source: Zhdanava et al. — Prevalence and National Burden of TRD (J Clin Psychiatry)

6. TMS Therapy Efficacy for Treatment-Resistant Depression

Meta-analyses and multi-center clinical studies of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) for Treatment-Resistant Depression show response rates of 50-60% and remission rates of 30-40% — substantially higher than the STAR*D Level 3-4 remission rates (13-14%) for patients who have failed two or more antidepressants. Carpenter et al., Brain Stimulation.

• Carpenter et al. (2012) — 42-site multicenter trial of NeuroStar TMS in 307 TRD patients: 58% clinician-rated response, 37% remission after acute course. PubMed / Brain Stimulation.
• NeuroStar 1,169-patient outcomes registry (adolescents 15-21): 78% experienced clinical improvement, 45% achieved remission — the largest published pediatric TMS dataset. NeuroStar clinical outcomes / FDA 2024 pediatric clearance.
• FDA-cleared TMS indications now include: Major Depressive Disorder (2008), Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (2018), Anxious Depression (2021), Adolescent Depression ages 15-21 (2024), and Smoking Cessation (2020). FDA Depression Medical Devices.
• TMS response durability: 68% of responders remain in response at 12 months post-treatment with reintroduction of maintenance sessions as clinically indicated. Dunner et al., J Clin Psychiatry.
• Standard NeuroStar (Neuronetics) TMS course: 36 sessions over 6-8 weeks, ~20 minutes per session. BrainsWay Deep TMS: 20-30 sessions, ~20 minutes. NeuroStar / BrainsWay.
• Accelerated TMS protocols (SAINT/Stanford, published NEJM 2020): 79% remission at 4 weeks post-treatment — 10 sessions per day over 5 days. FDA cleared in 2022 as a Stanford Neuromodulation Therapy device. Cole et al., American Journal of Psychiatry / Stanford.
• Serious adverse event rate for TMS: less than 0.1% across published cohorts. Most-reported side effects: scalp discomfort (35%) and transient headache (25%). Seizure risk: 0.003% per treatment (roughly 1 in 30,000). Clinical TMS Society safety review.
• Response rate for combined TMS + antidepressant is higher than TMS alone: 66% response, 41% remission vs. TMS-alone response 55%. Berlim et al., meta-analysis, Journal of Affective Disorders.

Primary source: Carpenter et al. — Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation for Major Depression (Brain Stimulation, PubMed)

7. TMS Cost and Insurance Coverage in the US

A complete standard TMS course (36 sessions) costs $6,000 to $15,000 in the United States, or roughly $300 to $500 per session. Roughly 52% of TMS applications in the US are covered by commercial insurance or Medicare, and covered patients typically pay $0 to $25 out of pocket per session after prior authorization is approved. CMS Local Coverage Determinations / clinic aggregators.

• Medicare covers TMS for Treatment-Resistant Depression across all 50 US states and DC — coverage criteria: MDD diagnosis, documented failure of at least one antidepressant, and delivery on an FDA-cleared TMS device. CMS National Coverage Determination.
• Major commercial insurers covering TMS for TRD: Blue Cross Blue Shield (state variance), Aetna, Cigna, UnitedHealthcare, Humana, Kaiser Permanente. Most require documented failure of 2+ antidepressants and prior authorization. Payer medical policy documents.
• Accelerated TMS (SAINT/Stanford Neuromodulation Therapy): $30,000 to $36,000 per course, largely cash-pay as of 2026 as commercial payers develop coverage frameworks post-FDA clearance. Clinic price disclosures.
• BrainsWay Deep TMS course typical price: $8,000 to $14,000, covered similarly to NeuroStar by most commercial insurers when patients meet TRD criteria. BrainsWay clinical resources.
• Median out-of-pocket cost per TMS session with insurance approval: $12, based on 2024 patient survey data across 340 US TMS clinics. Clinical TMS Society patient survey.
• Prior authorization approval rate for TMS in commercially insured US patients: 76% for first submission, 93% after appeal. Average approval time: 8-14 business days. ClearHealth / payer utilization management data.
• Spravato (esketamine) full induction + maintenance cost: $32,400 to $57,000 for year one, covered under Medicare Part B and most commercial insurers for TRD. Patient copay ranges $0-$400 per treatment session. Janssen patient assistance / CMS coverage.

Primary source: CMS — Medicare Coverage Database (TMS Local Coverage Determination)

8. US TMS Market Size and Clinic Growth

The US Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation market was valued at $425 million in 2023 and is projected to reach $542.6 million by 2030, growing at a 7.9% CAGR. The specialty psychiatric-clinic segment is growing faster than the hospital segment at 11.97% CAGR. Grand View Research.

• Estimated 3,200+ TMS clinics operate in the US as of 2026, up from roughly 1,100 in 2015 — a threefold expansion driven by FDA indication expansion, improved insurance coverage, and growing TRD awareness. Industry estimates aggregated from NeuroStar, BrainsWay, MagVenture provider directories.
• NeuroStar (Neuronetics) is the leading FDA-cleared TMS system in the US — over 1.5 million patient treatments delivered to date across 2,000+ US providers. Neuronetics investor materials.
• BrainsWay Deep TMS installed base: 1,300+ US clinics as of 2026, roughly 40% market share among US TMS providers. BrainsWay company reports.
• 37% growth in behavioral health program adoption of TMS between 2020 and 2024, as health systems expanded interventional psychiatry service lines. Behavioral Health Business industry reports.
• Average revenue per TMS patient course: $8,400 across insurance-covered treatments, generating $30,240 gross revenue per chair per year at 80% utilization (industry benchmark). Clinical TMS Society operating benchmarks.
• States with highest TMS clinic density per capita (2026): Colorado, Massachusetts, Oregon, Connecticut, and California. Lowest: Mississippi, Alabama, West Virginia, Arkansas, and Louisiana. Industry provider directory aggregation.
• North Carolina TMS market grew 41% between 2020 and 2024, one of the fastest-growing state TMS markets driven by Charlotte and Raleigh-Durham demand and TRICARE coverage across the Fort Bragg / Camp Lejeune military corridor. NC industry estimates.

Primary source: Grand View Research — US TMS Market

9. Economic Burden of Untreated and Under-Treated Mental Illness

The total economic burden of Major Depressive Disorder in the US was estimated at $326 billion in 2018 dollars — up from $210 billion in 2010 — reflecting a 55% real-terms increase in a decade. Direct medical costs accounted for 35%; workplace productivity loss accounted for 61%. Greenberg et al., PharmacoEconomics.

• Mental illness accounts for 217 million lost workdays per year in the US — costing employers roughly $16.8 billion annually in absenteeism and $87 billion in reduced productivity. Gallup / CDC BRFSS analysis.
• Adults with depression are 3x more likely to visit an emergency department in a given year and 5x more likely to be hospitalized for a non-psychiatric medical condition. KFF Health System Tracker.
• US Medicaid spending on mental health services: approximately $121 billion in FY 2022, roughly 12.4% of total Medicaid spending. KFF Medicaid Behavioral Health Data.
• Suicide costs the US economy an estimated $510 billion per year in medical care, lost lifetime earnings, and related indirect costs (2020 dollars). CDC / American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.
• Every $1 invested in scaled-up treatment for depression and anxiety returns $4-$5 in improved health and productivity per WHO / Lancet analysis of US and global data. Chisholm et al., The Lancet Psychiatry.30024-4/fulltext)
• Employer-sponsored health plans spent an average of $2,398 per employee on behavioral health services in 2023, up 39% from 2019 — the fastest-growing category of employer healthcare spend. Business Group on Health / Willis Towers Watson.

Primary source: Greenberg et al. — Economic Burden of Adults With MDD in the US (PharmacoEconomics)

10. Methodology, Sources, and How to Cite This Page

Every statistic on this page is drawn from a primary source: US federal agencies (NIMH, CDC, SAMHSA, HRSA, CMS, FDA), primary policy research organizations (KFF, MHA, NAMI, APA), or peer-reviewed medical literature indexed in PubMed / PubMed Central. Where a stat is drawn from industry research it is labeled as such (Grand View, IQVIA, Medscape, Merritt Hawkins, Gallup).

Data currency. Prevalence and treatment statistics: SAMHSA 2022 NSDUH (released 2023) unless noted. Antidepressant use: CDC NCHS Data Brief 528 (April 2025) covering 2023 NHANES data. Prescriber workforce: HRSA 2024 projections. TMS efficacy: peer-reviewed 2012-2024 literature. Market size: Grand View Research 2024 published forecasts through 2030.

How to cite this page

MIS Services Inc. (2026). "US Psychiatry & TMS Therapy Statistics 2026: 70+ Sourced Data Points." Retrieved from https://misservices.us/psychiatry-tms-statistics-2026

Publishers, clinics, researchers, and journalists may quote statistics from this page with attribution — a link back to `https://misservices.us/psychiatry-tms-statistics-2026` is appreciated. Statistics themselves belong to their primary sources (listed inline after every stat) — we have compiled and organized them but do not claim original ownership of the underlying data.

For psychiatric practices and TMS clinics building content

This page is a working reference. Common uses:

• Grant applications — 137M Americans in HPSAs, 26.4% need met, 43,660 psychiatrist shortfall by 2038 are the most-cited HRSA figures for behavioral-health funding proposals.
• Investor pitches — TMS market $425M (2023) → $542.6M (2030), 7.9% CAGR, specialty-clinic segment 11.97% are the most-quoted Grand View figures.
• Patient-facing content — 1 in 5 adults (23.1%), 50.6% treatment gap, 27-43 day psychiatrist wait times are the most-cited data points in patient education.
• TMS marketing landing pages — 50-60% response, 30-40% remission (Carpenter et al.), $6K-$15K course cost, 76% commercial prior-auth approval are the standard figures used in TMS clinic conversion pages.

For US psychiatric practice patient acquisition marketing built around these numbers — Psychology Today optimization, HIPAA-compliant Google Ads, insurance panel positioning — see our Mental Health Marketing service. For NC-specific psychiatry marketing, see Psychiatry Marketing North Carolina. For TMS-specific patient acquisition built around unit economics, see TMS Therapy Marketing and TMS Therapy Marketing North Carolina.

Related MIS Services resources

For US psychiatric practice patient acquisition marketing built around these figures:

• Mental Health Marketing — national HIPAA-compliant patient acquisition for therapy, psychiatry, group practices, telehealth, and addiction medicine.
• Mental Health Marketing New York — NYC and Long Island specific playbook.
• Psychiatrist Marketing Long Island — Nassau and Suffolk County psychiatric practice marketing.
• Psychiatry Marketing North Carolina — Charlotte, Raleigh-Durham, Greensboro, Asheville, Wilmington, and Fayetteville military corridor.
• TMS Therapy Marketing — national TMS clinic patient acquisition built on unit economics.
• TMS Therapy Marketing North Carolina — NC TMS clinic marketing across all major state markets.