Health professional shortage areas by state: primary care, mental health and dental

State	Primary care	Whole county	Mental health	Dental
Alabama	64	35	66	49
Alaska	28	20	30	30
Arizona	15	0	15	15
Arkansas	72	15	73	74
California	45	5	50	37
Colorado	54	16	63	48
Connecticut	10	2	10	9
Delaware	3	0	3	3
Florida	66	17	67	65
Georgia	143	46	153	124
Hawaii	4	3	4	4
Idaho	43	10	44	41
Illinois	93	40	102	78
Indiana	76	46	92	57
Iowa	74	26	92	49
Kansas	79	15	96	41
Kentucky	112	36	118	116
Louisiana	60	25	62	60
Maine	13	0	12	15
Maryland	22	2	22	19
Massachusetts	11	2	8	4
Michigan	74	5	74	62
Minnesota	69	36	74	62
Mississippi	81	24	81	79
Missouri	112	22	113	111
Montana	55	25	54	40
Nebraska	71	28	88	31
Nevada	17	11	17	15
New Hampshire	9	0	5	3
New Jersey	6	1	7	2
New Mexico	32	19	32	32
New York	53	4	48	33
North Carolina	96	8	99	94
North Dakota	47	36	48	27
Ohio	80	16	78	55
Oklahoma	75	9	77	71
Oregon	35	8	34	33
Pennsylvania	37	0	20	44
Rhode Island	2	0	3	2
South Carolina	45	20	46	41
South Dakota	55	35	66	45
Tennessee	93	18	94	86
Texas	233	128	249	214
Utah	22	9	27	18
Vermont	6	3	0	2
Virginia	104	50	133	103
Washington	39	22	39	39
West Virginia	53	7	53	54
Wisconsin	49	15	48	44
Wyoming	22	10	23	8

Number of counties with at least one active area-based designation (geographic or population HPSA), and how many are designated as a whole county for primary care. Source: Health Resources and Services Administration (data.hrsa.gov).

What a shortage area means

HRSA designates Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs) where there are too few providers for the population: for primary care, generally fewer than one doctor for every 3,500 people (or 3,000 in high-need areas). Designations unlock federal programs such as National Health Service Corps clinicians and Medicare bonus payments. Each gets a score from 0 to 25 for primary and mental health care, or 0 to 26 for dental care; higher means greater need.