Chiroaccess.com REPORTS HERE that "based upon an August 2010 study of California chiropractors, 20 to 25% are leaving practice within ten years of graduation. The authors believe that an oversupply of chiropractors and decreased income are two of the many factors that contribute to the exodus. From 1970 to 1998 there was an increase in the number of active California licenses from 4,274 to 11,637. Supporting the oversupply issue the authors note that 'The 170% growth rate in chiropractors during the study far exceeds the 65.1% increase in residential population.'”

"Other regional studies in North America document the direct impact of supply on income. A study of Canadian chiropractors in Ontario shows that accompanying a substantial increase in the number of chiropractors there was a dramatic drop in income. The research discovered a 50% drop in income from $97,892 annually in 1992-1993 to only $48,900 in 2002-2003. The exact income of U.S. chiropractors is difficult to know because many of the surveys capturing that information are no longer administered and there are questions relating to the reliability of some that still are used. Overall the data that does exist suggests a decline in both gross and net chiropractic incomes without adjusting for inflation."

In one study "the authors hypothesized the attrition rate of licensed chiropractors in California has gradually increased over the past several decades. "Attrition" as determined for this study is defined as a loss of legal authority to practice chiropractic for any reason during the first 10 years after the license was issued."

"The 10-year attrition rate rose from 10% for those graduates licensed in 1970 to a peak of 27.8% in 1991. The 10-year attrition rate has since remained between 20-25% for the doctors licensed between 1992-1998."

Another study, for comparison, reports on the annual attrition from emergency medicine clinical practice. "The cumulative attrition rates from 2 to 15 years postgraduation were stable (5% to 9%) and thereafter were progressively higher, with 18% having left emergency medicine clinical practice at 20 years postgraduation and 25% at 30 years postgraduation. Annualized attrition rates were highest for the first 5 years postgraduation and after 40 years postgraduation; between 5 and 40 years, the rates remained low (<1%). The overall annual attrition rate from emergency medicine clinical practice, including estimated death rate, was approximately 1.7%.

Another paper evaluates the chiropractic manpower status in Ontario, Canada. "Between 1990 and 2004, the total number of chiropractic registrants in Ontario doubled, with an average annual rate of growth of about 5.4%; however, recent data suggest that the number of nonpracticing chiropractors is increasing, whereas the number of new registrants is decreasing. The rate of applications to a chiropractic institution rose sharply and peaked in 1996-1997, thereafter declining but leveling off in 2002-2003. Despite the continued growth in the number of practicing chiropractors, the utilization of chiropractic services among the Ontario population has remained relatively stable, resulting in a decline in the average net annual incomes adjusted for inflation to 2002 dollars."

Says this study "our results support previous reports projecting an oversupply of chiropractors and suggest that the chiropractic profession in Ontario is in long-run oversupply. Competition from other providers, changing population demographics, and the recent loss of public funding for services may present significant future challenges to current practitioners. Opportunities related to participation in multidisciplinary environments and accessing unmet population health needs may contribute to influencing the demand for chiropractic services. A concerted effort by professional and educational institutions is required."