Consider this: the average person will walk over 115,000 miles in their lifetime. And with every mile, their feet—each made up of 26 bones, 33 joints, 107 ligaments, and over 20 muscles—will hit the ground 1,800 times. It’s not surprising that three out of four Americans will experience foot problems in their lifetime.
And yet, in a population of 300 million, there are only 7,025 podiatrists, making it the least common occupation in the United States. In a list of 478 detailed occupations on DataUSA, a podiatrist is at the very bottom, outnumbered even by motion-picture projectionists.