A survey by the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB) reveals that there are more than 100,000 architects in the United States. Because architects are often registered in more than one jurisdiction and because not all architects have NCARB records, NCARB is not able to use its registration records to determine the exact number of architects. 



This year’s data represent the third iteration of NCARB’s survey of registered architects—a project first undertaken in 1999. The Council’s Quality Assurance department gathered statistics from the 55 Member Boards comprising NCARB. Results indicate that a total of 101,183 architects are living in the 55 reporting jurisdictions, which include all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.



The survey also reveals a total of 111,642 reciprocal (out-of-state) registrants and 212,825 total registrations in the United States. This means, on average, an architect is registered in two jurisdictions. California has the highest number of resident architects (16,809) and the highest number of total registrations (21,437). Survey data are listed below. For more information about the 2003 Survey of Registered Architects, contact NCARB at 202/783-6500.

ARCHITECT REGISTRATIONS BY JURISDICTION
Jurisdiction Resident Reciprocal Total
Alabama 755 1409 2164
Alaska 220 297 517
Arizona 1907 3945 5852
Arkansas 463 865 1328
California 16809 4628 21437
Colorado 2909 3562 6471
Connecticut 1537 3972 5509
Delaware 145 1169 1314
District of Columbia 770 1845 2615
Florida 3996 2818 6814
Georgia 2572 3068 5640
Guam 28 68 96
Hawaii 904 950 1854
Idaho 479 1054 1533
Illinois 5345 3551 8896
Indiana 1064 2596 3660
Iowa 445 1027 1472
Kansas 913 1596 2452
Kentucky 659 1596 2255
Louisiana 1073 1498 2571
Maine 362 955 1317
Maryland 1733 3301 5034
Massachusetts 4305 5572 9877
Michigan 2674 2862 5536
Minnesota 1714 1429 3143
Mississippi 310 1127 1437
Missouri 1893 2697 4590
Montana 351 822 1173
Nebraska 504 1023 1554
Nevada 504 1950 2454
New Hampshire 287 1259 1546
New Jersey 3077 5264 8341
New Mexico** 722 1316 2038
New York 8665 5864 14529
North Carolina 1971 2808 4779
North Dakota 127 487 614
Northern Marina Islands 7 47 54
Ohio 3493 3304 6797
Oklahoma 800 1302 2102
Oregon 1376 1073 2449
Pennsylvania 4333 3967 8300
Puerto Rico* 600 115 715
Rhode Island 276 1107 1383
South Carolina 982 2329 3311
South Dakota 97 504 601
Tennessee 1345 1959 3304
Texas 6916 3528 10444
Utah 650 1301 1951
Vermont 248 609 857
Virgin Islands* 26 55 81
Virginia 2595 3512 6107
Washington 3421 1840 5261
West Virginia 116 990 1106
Wisconsin 1565 3020 4585
Wyoming 118 787 905

 

Total Architects:
101,183
Total Reciprocal Registrations:
111,642
Total Registrations:
212,825