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The 30 Largest US Cities With the Fewest Doulas Nearby, 2026
Doula support is linked to better birth experiences — but access depends enormously on where you live. Across these 30 cities, home to 4.8 million Americans, our national directory finds only a handful of doula practices within 25 miles. For families, this map shows where finding support takes extra effort; for doulas and birth workers, it's the clearest picture anywhere of where a new practice is needed most. (Reporters and health-equity researchers: cite freely with a link — CSV below.)
The list
Cities of 100,000+ residents, ranked by listed doula practices based in or within 25 miles of the city — fewest first.
| # | City | Population | Listed doulas within 25 miles |
| 1 | Wichita Falls, TX | 102,372 | 1 |
| 2 | Laredo, TX | 261,260 | 2 |
| 3 | Brownsville, TX | 191,967 | 2 |
| 4 | Yuma, AZ | 103,559 | 2 |
| 5 | Amarillo, TX | 203,729 | 3 |
| 6 | Fargo, ND | 136,285 | 3 |
| 7 | Corpus Christi, TX | 317,317 | 4 |
| 8 | Odessa, TX | 119,748 | 4 |
| 9 | Tuscaloosa, AL | 114,288 | 4 |
| 10 | Edinburg, TX | 108,733 | 4 |
| 11 | McAllen, TX | 148,782 | 5 |
| 12 | Billings, MT | 121,483 | 5 |
| 13 | Las Cruces, NM | 116,998 | 5 |
| 14 | Beaumont, TX | 112,893 | 5 |
| 15 | Tyler, TX | 112,219 | 5 |
| 16 | Chico, CA | 102,911 | 5 |
| 17 | Shreveport, LA | 176,578 | 6 |
| 18 | Macon-Bibb County, GA | 157,056 | 6 |
| 19 | Columbus, GA | 201,830 | 7 |
| 20 | Visalia, CA | 146,271 | 7 |
| 21 | Topeka, KS | 125,467 | 7 |
| 22 | Green Bay, WI | 106,311 | 7 |
| 23 | Toledo, OH | 265,638 | 8 |
| 24 | Sioux Falls, SD | 209,289 | 8 |
| 25 | Rockford, IL | 147,486 | 8 |
| 26 | Jackson, MS | 141,449 | 8 |
| 27 | Lubbock, TX | 272,086 | 9 |
| 28 | Palmdale, CA | 162,536 | 9 |
| 29 | Midland, TX | 143,687 | 9 |
| 30 | Abilene, TX | 130,501 | 9 |
What stands out
Wichita Falls, Texas tops the list: a city of 102,372 people with just 1 listed doula practice within 25 miles. Texas appears 13 times — more than any other state — with most of its entries in border and panhandle metros far from the big-city doula hubs. The pattern is consistent: doulas cluster in coastal and college-town markets, while fast-growing mid-size cities in the South and Plains are still waiting for the profession to arrive. Every city on this list is an open market for a doula ready to build a practice.
Cite this data
This dataset is free to use with attribution (CC BY 4.0). Suggested citation:
Methodology
We started with every incorporated US city of 100,000+ residents (US Census 2024 estimates) and counted the doula practices in our national directory that are based in the city or located within 25 miles of its center. The 25-mile radius matters: doulas typically travel, so counting only practices with an address inside city limits would understate real coverage — this measure credits every practice within a normal service range.
Two honest caveats. Our directory is built from public business listings, so it can miss doulas who practice without any online presence — every count here is a floor, and a city can only have more doulas than we found, not fewer. And low numbers say nothing negative about these cities themselves: they simply mark where demand for birth support has outpaced the supply of doulas. If you practice in one of these metros and aren't listed, tell us — we'll happily make your city's number go up.