CA · Healthcare shortage profile
Orange County, CA
The clinician FTE gap is the sharpest number here: closing Orange County's active designations would take about 30 additional FTEs on HRSA's providers_needed estimate. Population 3,186,989.
- Active HPSAs
- 57
- Population
- 3,186,989
- Peak shortage score
- 24.0
- MUA Index
- 46.7
Heavy-burden verdict
According to current HRSA Data Warehouse records, Orange County ranks among the most underserved counties in the country - 57 active HPSA designations, more than 99% of the 3,289 real US counties, with primary care the deepest gap.
- 57
- Active HPSA designations
- 19
- Dental shortages
- 24
- Peak severity score (of 26)
- Top 1%
- US counties by volume
Key findings
What the HRSA Data Warehouse does not surface for Orange County, CA on its own pages , computed from the retained designation mirror as of 2026-08-15. Each line carries its own denominator so it can be quoted as it stands.
-
Peak HPSA score 24.0 clears HRSA's 17-point high-priority line.
Scores at or above 17 on the 0–25/26 scales open NHSC placement priority for the matching provider type; eligibility still follows the designated area, not the county boundary alone.
-
Closing Orange County's active designations would take about 30 additional clinician FTEs, with primary care the largest gap.
HRSA providers_needed summed once per HPSA id (no double-count across status rows): 26 primary care, 3.9 dental. This is the federal gap estimate, not a headcount of practising clinicians.
-
35.1% of Orange County's 57 active designations are primary care.
Discipline mix from designated HPSA records only: 20 primary care, 18 mental health, 19 dental (denominator 57).
Dense ZCTA lattice over Orange County
Orange County intersects 92 Census ZCTAs, above the 15-ZIP dense-tercile cut. Shortage designations still attach at the county (or smaller HPSA) grain; the ZIP list is geography, not a second severity score.
Largest land-share ZCTAs in this county
80 additional ZCTAs intersect this county in the crosswalk (ordered by land share).
Source: Census ZCTA–county relationship file joined to this portal's county FIPS set. As of 2026-08-15.
Corpus placement
Active-designation volume placement
According to current HRSA Data Warehouse records, Orange County carries 57 active designations, above 99% of real US counties. Use the state peer line below before treating the national percentile as a local access verdict.
State peer position. Orange County falls in the upper quarter of CA counties by active-designation volume, at rank 6 of 58. Ties share a rank.
Computed from current designated HPSA rows for every five-digit county FIPS. See the placement methodology.
Healthcare shortage designations from HRSA. FIPS: 06059. Population: 3,186,989.
Medically Underserved Area
Peak severity scores
Current designated records only. Scores range 0–25 (primary/mental health), 0–26 (dental). Higher = greater need. What counts as a high score?
Highest-severity HPSA designations
Showing the 40 most-severe of 57 active (designated) HPSAs in Orange County, ranked by HRSA shortage score.
| Name | Type | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Celebrating Life Community Health Center | dental | 24.0 |
| Saint Youstina | dental | 23.0 |
| Friends OF Family Health Center | mental_health | 22.0 |
| Nhan Hoa Comprehensive Health Care Clinic, Inc. | mental_health | 21.0 |
| Celebrating Life Community Health Center | mental_health | 21.0 |
| Share Our Selves Corporation | dental | 21.0 |
| Laguna Beach Community Clinic, Inc | dental | 21.0 |
| Camino Health Center | dental | 21.0 |
| Families Together OF Orange County | dental | 21.0 |
| North Orange County Regional Health Foundation | dental | 21.0 |
| Southland Integrated Services Inc | mental_health | 20.0 |
| University OF California Irvine | mental_health | 20.0 |
| Livingstone Community Development Corporation | primary_care | 19.0 |
| Friends OF Family Health Center | primary_care | 19.0 |
| Celebrating Life Community Health Center | primary_care | 19.0 |
| Korean Community Services | primary_care | 19.0 |
| Families Together OF Orange County | mental_health | 19.0 |
| Hurtt Family Health Clinic, Inc. | mental_health | 19.0 |
| Share Our Selves Corporation | mental_health | 19.0 |
| Laguna Beach Community Clinic, Inc | mental_health | 19.0 |
| Camino Health Center | mental_health | 19.0 |
| Saint Youstina | mental_health | 19.0 |
| Hurtt Family Health Clinic, Inc. | dental | 19.0 |
| Friends OF Family Health Center | dental | 19.0 |
| Korean Community Services | dental | 19.0 |
| Serve The People, Inc | dental | 19.0 |
| University OF California Irvine | dental | 19.0 |
| Hurtt Family Health Clinic, Inc. | primary_care | 18.0 |
| Nhan Hoa Comprehensive Health Care Clinic, Inc. | primary_care | 18.0 |
| Serve The People, Inc | primary_care | 18.0 |
| Southland Integrated Services Inc | primary_care | 18.0 |
| Camino Health Center | primary_care | 18.0 |
| Families Together OF Orange County | primary_care | 18.0 |
| University OF California Irvine | primary_care | 18.0 |
| North Orange County Regional Health Foundation | primary_care | 18.0 |
| Share Our Selves Corporation | primary_care | 18.0 |
| Laguna Beach Community Clinic, Inc | primary_care | 18.0 |
| Serve The People, Inc | mental_health | 18.0 |
| Livingstone Community Development Corporation | mental_health | 18.0 |
| North Orange County Regional Health Foundation | mental_health | 18.0 |
Heavy-burden reading for Orange County
The clinician FTE gap is the sharpest number here: closing Orange County's active designations would take about 30 additional FTEs on HRSA's providers_needed estimate. Dental care carries Orange County's deepest shortage reading, 24.0 on HRSA's 0–26 dental scale, past the 17-point line HRSA uses to open National Health Service Corps placement and enhanced Medicare reimbursement. Primary care reads 19.0 of 25; Mental health reads 22.0 of 25. The county also sits inside a Medically Underserved Area, indexed at 46.7, and the lower the index, the greater the measured need.
Volume places Orange County above 99% of real US counties (57 active designations: 20 primary care, 18 mental health, 19 dental). Peak severity on the current designated set is 24.0. The table on this page lists the highest-severity records first so a reader can see which named facilities, geographies, or population groups drive that burden without treating the county total as a personal appointment forecast.
Orange County falls in the upper quarter of CA counties by active-designation volume, at rank 6 of 58. Heavy-burden counties are where NHSC placement, Community Health Center grant geography, and related federal instruments concentrate; eligibility still follows the designated area and provider type, not the county boundary alone.
Orange County designations by care type
Active Health Professional Shortage Area designations in the county, by provider category (high-priority disciplines emphasized).
- Primary care
Primary care
20 designations
- Dental
Dental
19 designations
- Mental health
Mental health
18 designations
Heavy-volume FTE gap in Orange County
Signature reading: HRSA providers_needed sums to about 30 FTE across Orange County's active designations (once per HPSA id), a federal gap estimate, not practising headcount.
Source: HRSA Data Warehouse, Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSA) + Medically Underserved Areas/Populations (MUA/P) HPSA primary-care, mental-health, and dental designations for Orange County, CA · 2026 HRSA designation data updated quarterly; HPSA scores 0-25 (primary/mental) and 0-26 (dental); higher = greater shortage severity. Coverage tiers from U.S. Census ACS PUMS + KFF state tracker.
Acting on a heavy-burden county
Orange County's shortage designations unlock specific federal programs and comparisons, here is how to act on them.
- Orange County's 57 active designations make providers here eligible for National Health Service Corps loan repayment, estimate the award and service terms. NHSC estimator
- See how the county's primary care burden compares with the rest of CA before you draw conclusions from a single score. CA overview
- Check whether an area clears HRSA's 3,500:1 population-to-provider threshold with the provider-to-population ratio behind an HPSA score. HPSA score lookup
HPSA scores describe shortage severity within HRSA's designation criteria, not the availability of any individual provider. For a specific appointment, contact a provider or your insurer; use HRSA's current tools to verify a designation.
Counties With a Similar Dental Shortage Score
Other U.S. counties whose active HRSA dental HPSA score is closest to Orange County's 24.0. This compares the designation score only, not local appointment availability or care quality. Start with Dane County, WI and Minnehaha County, SD.
Showing 6 of 2744 counties nationally with an active designation this severe.
Counties with a matching designation count to Orange County's 57
One peer set for this FTE-led county: nearest active designation count to 57 - the inventory behind the ~30 FTE published need.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Does Orange County's MUA standing sit beside its HPSA records?
- Yes - Orange County carries an MUA designation (index 46.7; lower = greater measured need) in addition to its HPSA rows. MUA and HPSA are separate HRSA tracks; both can open different federal pathways.
- Where is the largest clinician FTE gap inside Orange County?
- Id-de-duped providers_needed across active HPSAs totals ~30 FTE, with primary care the largest slice (26). "CELEBRATING LIFE COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTER" is the highest-scored active row (score 24.0; dental; 1,014,820 people in the service area; designated 08/06/2021). This is HRSA's published gap, not a headcount of practising clinicians.
- Which named designations drive Orange County's FTE reading?
- Active names on this release include "CELEBRATING LIFE COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTER", "SAINT YOUSTINA", "FRIENDS OF FAMILY HEALTH CENTER" and "NHAN HOA COMPREHENSIVE HEALTH CARE CLINIC, INC.". Discipline counts: 20 primary care, 18 mental health, 19 dental across 57 designated rows.
- Do Orange County's FTE gaps unlock federal programs?
- Yes where an ACTIVE designation exists, NHSC, CHC grants, Medicare bonus and J-1 waivers follow the designated geography and provider type. A published FTE gap without an active row does not, by itself, open those pathways.
- How does Orange County's FTE burden compare inside CA?
- 57 active designations and ~30 FTE published need. Orange County falls in the upper quarter of CA counties by active-designation volume, at rank 6 of 58. Score-nearest counties on this release include Dane County, WI and Minnehaha County, SD.
Source: HRSA Data Warehouse. FIPS: 06059. This county’s designations come from BCD_HPSA_FCT_DET_PC.csv (primary care) , BCD_HPSA_FCT_DET_MH.csv (mental health) and BCD_HPSA_FCT_DET_DH.csv (dental) — download the normalized export on our open data page. PlainHealthAccess is not affiliated with HRSA or any government agency.
HRSA Data Warehouse HPSA + MUA/P records for FIPS 06059 (Orange County, CA), vintage 2026-08-15. Active designation count 57; peak score 24.0; signature 30 FTE gap. This profile is reference material, not professional advice; see methodology.