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The Board-Certified Surgeon Map (2026)

"Cosmetic surgeon" is not a protected title. Board-certified plastic surgeon — certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery (ABPS) — is the recognized standard for training in tummy tuck (abdominoplasty) and body contouring, and it's the single most important thing to check before you book. We mined the websites and public patient reviews of 11,866 US practices for board-certification evidence and found at least 6,230 with confirmed board certification, 52.5% of the directory. Rolled up by state, here's the map. Always confirm certification yourself at abplasticsurgery.org. Updated 2026-07-17.

Board-certified surgeons by state, per resident

Per resident, New Jersey leads, with 375 confirmed board-certified surgeons — 39.5 per million people. By raw count the big states lead (California 806, Florida 621, Texas 501), but per resident the picture shifts. Highest share of its directory: Nevada, where 76.7% of all listed practices show board-certification evidence.

#StateConfirmed board-certifiedShare of state's surgeonsPer million residents
1 New Jersey 375 59.5% 39.5
2 Connecticut 120 49% 32.7
3 Florida 621 63.2% 26.6
4 Delaware 27 69.2% 25.7
5 Utah 84 61.3% 24
6 North Dakota 18 43.9% 22.6
7 Georgia 239 60.4% 21.4
8 District of Columbia 15 83.3% 21.4
9 California 806 51.9% 20.4
10 Colorado 119 56.4% 20
11 Massachusetts 138 42.2% 19.3
12 South Carolina 106 58.6% 19.3
13 New York 370 51.3% 18.6
14 Kansas 53 54.6% 17.8
15 Alabama 91 56.5% 17.6
16 Alaska 13 61.9% 17.6
17 Pennsylvania 226 44.6% 17.3
18 Michigan 175 47.4% 17.3
19 Nevada 56 76.7% 17.1
20 Ohio 202 46% 17
21 Mississippi 50 52.6% 17
22 Idaho 34 54% 17
23 Arizona 127 69.4% 16.7
24 Louisiana 77 48.1% 16.7
25 Tennessee 120 54.5% 16.6
26 Illinois 210 41.5% 16.5
27 Maryland 101 64.3% 16.1
28 Texas 501 60.7% 16
29 Indiana 111 48.5% 16
30 Virginia 139 57.4% 15.8
31 Montana 18 47.4% 15.8
32 Washington 124 53.7% 15.6
33 Minnesota 85 43.1% 14.7
34 North Carolina 161 53.8% 14.6
35 Oregon 62 56.4% 14.5
36 Rhode Island 16 35.6% 14.4
37 South Dakota 13 34.2% 14.1
38 Nebraska 26 51% 13
39 Missouri 78 41.3% 12.5
40 Vermont 8 40% 12.3
41 New Hampshire 17 29.3% 12.1
42 Iowa 38 43.7% 11.7
43 Oklahoma 47 52.8% 11.5
44 Kentucky 52 41.9% 11.3
45 Wisconsin 65 28.9% 10.9
46 Arkansas 32 52.5% 10.4
47 Hawaii 15 60% 10.4
48 Maine 13 37.1% 9.3
49 Wyoming 5 29.4% 8.5
50 New Mexico 17 40.5% 8
51 West Virginia 14 24.6% 7.9

Counts are floors, not ceilings: a practice only lands in the board-certified column when its own website or its patients' reviews provide evidence. The real number is higher — and a practice not flagged here may still be board-certified, so always verify each surgeon directly at ABPS.

Looking for a board-certified surgeon?

This page is the map; the board-certified surgeon directory is the door-to-door list — every practice with board-certification evidence, grouped by state, with the evidence noted on each listing. Whichever you choose, confirm the surgeon's certification yourself at abplasticsurgery.org, and ask about your candidacy, the risks of surgery, and recovery. Many board-certified practices also offer a free consultation and financing so you can compare properly before committing.

Cite this data

Suggested attribution: “The Board-Certified Surgeon Map” — TummyTuckDoctors.net, 2026, linked to https://www.tummytuckdoctors.net/tummy-tuck-cost/board-certified-map/. The tables are CC BY 4.0: chart them, quote them, publish them — just link back. All prices are estimates that vary by surgeon, technique, and facility. Want a custom cut (by state, metro, or group)? Email us.

Download the full CSV Data updated 2026-07-17

Methodology: a practice counts as confirmed board-certified when its website or public patient reviews contain concrete evidence of board certification (mined and re-verified with each crawl of our 11,866-practice national directory). Because the flag requires proof, every number here is a floor ("at least N") — and it is not a substitute for checking a specific surgeon's certification at the ABPS. Population = US Census 2024 state estimates; per-million = confirmed board-certified surgeons ÷ state population × 1,000,000. Share = board-certified ÷ all directory practices in that state. Nothing here is medical advice. More data: the tummy tuck cost hub and America's surgeon capitals.