CA · Healthcare shortage profile
San Diego County, CA
Peak severity leads this reading: San Diego County's highest active HPSA score is 25.0, clearing HRSA's 17-point high-priority line. Population 3,298,634.
- Active HPSAs
- 75
- Population
- 3,298,634
- Peak shortage score
- 25.0
- MUA Index
- 41.8
Heavy-burden verdict
According to current HRSA Data Warehouse records, San Diego County ranks among the most underserved counties in the country - 75 active HPSA designations, more than 99% of the 3,289 real US counties, with dental the deepest gap.
- 75
- Active HPSA designations
- 27
- Dental shortages
- 25
- Peak severity score (of 26)
- Top 1%
- US counties by volume
Key findings
What the HRSA Data Warehouse does not surface for San Diego 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.
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Peak HPSA score 25.0 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.
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Closing San Diego County's active designations would take about 61 additional clinician FTEs, with dental the largest gap.
HRSA providers_needed summed once per HPSA id (no double-count across status rows): 23 primary care, 2.6 mental health, 36 dental. This is the federal gap estimate, not a headcount of practising clinicians.
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36% of San Diego County's 75 active designations are dental.
Discipline mix from designated HPSA records only: 25 primary care, 23 mental health, 27 dental (denominator 75).
Dense ZCTA lattice over San Diego County
San Diego County intersects 116 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
104 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, San Diego County carries 75 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. San Diego County sits among the top three county rank positions in CA, at rank 3 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: 06073. Population: 3,298,634.
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 75 active (designated) HPSAs in San Diego County, ranked by HRSA shortage score.
| Name | Type | Score |
|---|---|---|
| St. Vincent DE Paul Village, Inc. | dental | 25.0 |
| Family Health Centers OF San Diego Inc | dental | 25.0 |
| LA Maestra Family Clinic, Inc. | dental | 25.0 |
| San Diego Family Care | dental | 23.0 |
| Neighborhood Healthcare | dental | 23.0 |
| Vista Community Clinic | dental | 23.0 |
| Centro DE Salud DE LA Comunidad DE San Ysidro, Inc. | dental | 23.0 |
| Imperial Beach Community Clinic | dental | 23.0 |
| San Diego Family Care | mental_health | 22.0 |
| Operation Samahan, Inc. | mental_health | 21.0 |
| Centro DE Salud DE LA Comunidad DE San Ysidro, Inc. | mental_health | 21.0 |
| North County Health Project Incorporated | dental | 21.0 |
| Operation Samahan, Inc. | dental | 21.0 |
| San Diego American Indian Health Center | dental | 21.0 |
| St. Vincent DE Paul Village, Inc. | primary_care | 20.0 |
| Imperial Beach Community Clinic | mental_health | 20.0 |
| North County Health Project Incorporated | mental_health | 20.0 |
| Neighborhood Healthcare | mental_health | 20.0 |
| LA Maestra Family Clinic, Inc. | mental_health | 20.0 |
| Campo Medical / Dental Clinic | dental | 20.0 |
| Southern Indian Health Council, Inc | dental | 20.0 |
| San Diego American Indian Health Center | dental | 20.0 |
| Sycuan Medical Dental Center | dental | 20.0 |
| Weitchpec Indian Health Station | dental | 20.0 |
| Neighborhood Healthcare | primary_care | 19.0 |
| Family Health Centers OF San Diego Inc | mental_health | 19.0 |
| ME Mssa 161h- El Cajon Central and South/Fletcher Hills | dental | 19.0 |
| Operation Samahan, Inc. | primary_care | 18.0 |
| Imperial Beach Community Clinic | primary_care | 18.0 |
| Southern Indian Health Council, Inc | mental_health | 18.0 |
| San Diego American Indian Health Center | mental_health | 18.0 |
| St. Vincent DE Paul Village, Inc. | mental_health | 18.0 |
| Sycuan Medical Dental Center | mental_health | 18.0 |
| Indian Health Council, Inc.- Valley Center | dental | 18.0 |
| San Diego American Indian Health Center | primary_care | 17.0 |
| Sycuan Medical Dental Center | primary_care | 17.0 |
| Southern Indian Health Council, Inc | primary_care | 17.0 |
| Indian Health Council, Inc.- Valley Center | primary_care | 17.0 |
| Weitchpec Indian Health Station | primary_care | 17.0 |
| Southern Indian Youth Regional Treatment Center | primary_care | 17.0 |
Heavy-burden reading for San Diego County
Peak severity leads this reading: San Diego County's highest active HPSA score is 25.0, clearing HRSA's 17-point high-priority line. Dental care carries San Diego County's deepest shortage reading, 25.0 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 20.0 of 25; Mental health reads 22.0 of 25. The county also sits inside a Medically Underserved Area, indexed at 41.8, and the lower the index, the greater the measured need.
Volume places San Diego County above 99% of real US counties (75 active designations: 25 primary care, 23 mental health, 27 dental). Peak severity on the current designated set is 25.0. 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.
San Diego County sits among the top three county rank positions in CA, at rank 3 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.
San Diego County designations by care type
Active Health Professional Shortage Area designations in the county, by provider category (high-priority disciplines emphasized).
- Dental
Dental
27 designations
- Primary care
Primary care
25 designations
- Mental health
Mental health
23 designations
Heavy-volume FTE gap in San Diego County
HRSA providers_needed summed once per HPSA id for San Diego County's active designations: about 61 FTE, a federal gap estimate, not a headcount of practising clinicians.
Source: HRSA Data Warehouse, Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSA) + Medically Underserved Areas/Populations (MUA/P) HPSA primary-care, mental-health, and dental designations for San Diego 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
San Diego County's shortage designations unlock specific federal programs and comparisons, here is how to act on them.
- San Diego County's 75 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 dental 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 San Diego County's 25.0. This compares the designation score only, not local appointment availability or care quality. Start with Cook County, IL and Queens County, NY.
Showing 6 of 2744 counties nationally with an active designation this severe.
Counties near San Diego County's dental score of 25.0
One peer set for this severity-led county: nearest active dental HPSA score to 25.0 (severity lead on this page is “ST. VINCENT DE PAUL VILLAGE, INC.”).
Cook County, IL
25.0 dental score · 5,275,541 pop.
Queens County, NY
25.0 dental score · 2,405,464 pop.
Santa Clara County, CA
25.0 dental score · 1,936,259 pop.
Hillsborough County, FL
25.0 dental score · 1,459,762 pop.
Contra Costa County, CA
25.0 dental score · 1,165,927 pop.
Westchester County, NY
25.0 dental score · 1,004,457 pop.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Does San Diego County's MUA standing sit beside its HPSA records?
- Yes - San Diego County carries an MUA designation (index 41.8; lower = greater measured need) in addition to its HPSA rows. MUA and HPSA are separate HRSA tracks; both can open different federal pathways.
- Which record sets San Diego County's peak score of 25.0?
- "ST. VINCENT DE PAUL VILLAGE, INC." leads the active set (score 25.0; dental; 13,063 people in the service area; designated 08/01/2008). Clearing 17 opens NHSC high-priority placement for the matching provider type on the designated geography. Discipline mix across 75 active rows: 25 primary care, 23 mental health, 27 dental.
- Which other active designations sit under San Diego County's severity reading?
- After "ST. VINCENT DE PAUL VILLAGE, INC.", the next active names on this release are "ST. VINCENT DE PAUL VILLAGE, INC.", "FAMILY HEALTH CENTERS OF SAN DIEGO INC", "LA MAESTRA FAMILY CLINIC, INC." and "SAN DIEGO FAMILY CARE". Provider need (id-de-duped) totals ~61 FTE across disciplines that still carry a gap.
- Which federal pathways follow San Diego County's high-severity geography?
- San Diego County's 75 active designations can open NHSC placement, CHC grants, Medicare bonus and J-1 waivers, eligibility follows the designated area and provider type, not merely the county line around "ST. VINCENT DE PAUL VILLAGE, INC.".
- How does San Diego County's peak severity sit inside CA?
- San Diego County holds 75 active HPSA rows with peak 25.0. San Diego County sits among the top three county rank positions in CA, at rank 3 of 58. Score-nearest national peers appear below when the peer module renders. Score-nearest counties on this release include Cook County, IL and Queens County, NY.
Source: HRSA Data Warehouse. FIPS: 06073. 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 06073 (San Diego County, CA), vintage 2026-08-15. Active designation count 75; peak score 25.0; signature peak score 25.0. This profile is reference material, not professional advice; see methodology.