Where are South Dakota's doctor shortages?
66 South Dakota counties have at least one federal shortage designation for primary care, mental health or dental care. Look up a hospital to see whether its area has a shortage.
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Primary care shortage
55 counties
83% of South Dakota's 66 counties, against 88% nationally. 35 are designated as a whole county. 44 South Dakota hospitals are in these counties.
Mental health shortage
66 counties
100% of South Dakota's counties, against 93% nationally. 45 counties have a dental shortage designation.
South Dakota's highest-need counties for primary care
Counties with the highest primary care shortage score (0 to 25; higher means greater need).
Todd
Whole county · 1 designation
Score 22
Mental health score 22
Ziebach
Whole county · 2 designations
Score 21
Mental health score 22
Charles Mix
Part of county · 1 designation
Score 21
Mental health score 18
Corson
Whole county · 1 designation
Score 20
Mental health score 22
Jackson
Whole county · 2 designations
Score 19
Mental health score 18
Fall River
Whole county · 2 designations
Score 18
Mental health score 18
Every South Dakota county with a shortage designation
Click a column to sort, or filter by county name. "Whole county" means the entire county is designated; "Part" means one or more areas within it (such as census tracts) or a population group (such as low-income residents) is designated. The number is the highest shortage score in the county.
No South Dakota county with a shortage designation matches that name.
Only counties with at least one active area-based designation (geographic or population) are listed; South Dakota has 66 counties in all. Scores run from 0 to 25 for primary care and mental health and 0 to 26 for dental care; higher means greater need. Bars show each score against the maximum. Source: Health Resources and Services Administration (data.hrsa.gov).
Questions about shortage areas in South Dakota
Which South Dakota counties are primary care shortage areas?
55 South Dakota counties have all or part of the county designated as short of primary care providers (83% of 66). 35 are designated as a whole county: Bennett, Butte, Campbell, Clark, Corson, Day, Deuel, Dewey, Douglas, Edmunds, Fall River, Faulk, Hand, Harding, Hyde, Jackson, Jones, Kingsbury, Lyman, Marshall and more. In the other 20, part of the county or a population group (such as low-income residents) is designated.
Which South Dakota county has the greatest need for primary care?
Todd has the highest primary care shortage score in South Dakota: 22 on a scale of 0 to 25, where higher means greater need. Next highest: Ziebach (21), Charles Mix (21), Corson (20), Jackson (19).
Is there a mental health care shortage in South Dakota?
66 South Dakota counties have a mental health shortage designation (100% of counties, against 93% nationally), 62 of them for the whole county. The highest mental health score is in Corson (22 of 25). 45 counties have a dental shortage designation.
How does South Dakota compare with the rest of the U.S.?
83% of South Dakota's counties have a primary care shortage designation, lower than the national figure of 88% (2,759 of 3,143 counties). Many designations cover only part of a county or a population group, so a county being listed doesn't mean every resident lacks care.
What do the shortage scores mean?
HRSA scores each shortage area on how severe the need is, using things like the ratio of people to providers, poverty and travel time to care. Scores run from 0 to 25 for primary care and mental health, and from 0 to 26 for dental care. Higher scores mean greater need, and the highest-scoring areas get priority for National Health Service Corps clinicians.
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Shortage areas in every state
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. About the data.
Shortage areas in other states
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