Which record sets Fairfield County's peak score of 12.0?

"FCI-Danbury" leads the active set (score 12.0; primary care; 1,250 people in the service area; ~1.3 FTE still needed on the record; designated 05/21/2021). Below 17 the shortage is formal but outside HRSA's high-priority NHSC tier. Discipline mix across 4 active rows: 1 primary care, 2 mental health, 1 dental.

Why is Fairfield County not listed as a Medically Underserved Area?

Fairfield County has no MUA designation on this release. Federal shortage support here runs through the active HPSA record set alone.

Which other active designations sit under Fairfield County's severity reading?

After "FCI-Danbury", the next active names on this release are "FCI-Danbury", "FCI-Danbury", "FCI-Danbury" and "CF Bridgeport Correctional Center". Provider need (id-de-duped) totals ~4 FTE across disciplines that still carry a gap.

Which federal pathways follow Fairfield County's high-severity geography?

Fairfield County's 4 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 "FCI-Danbury".

0 Designated · below priority line

CT · Healthcare shortage profile

Fairfield County, CT

Peak severity leads this reading: Fairfield County's highest active HPSA score is 12.0, still below HRSA's 17-point high-priority line. Population 957,419.

Active HPSAs: 4
Population: 957,419
Peak shortage score: 12.0
MUA Index: -

CT state overview → About this data

Mid-burden verdict

According to current HRSA Data Warehouse records, Fairfield County holds a moderate federal shortage burden - 4 active HPSA designations, more than 44% of the 3,289 real US counties, with mental health the deepest gap.

4
Active HPSA designations: 2
Mental-health shortages: 12
Peak severity score (of 26): Top 56%
US counties by volume

Dense ZCTA lattice over Fairfield County

Fairfield County intersects 46 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

34 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.

Key findings

What the HRSA Data Warehouse does not surface for Fairfield County, CT 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.

Closing Fairfield County's active designations would take about 4 additional clinician FTEs, with mental health the largest gap.

HRSA providers_needed summed once per HPSA id (no double-count across status rows): 1.3 primary care, 1.7 mental health, 1.1 dental. This is the federal gap estimate, not a headcount of practising clinicians.
50% of Fairfield County's 4 active designations are mental health.

Discipline mix from designated HPSA records only: 1 primary care, 2 mental health, 1 dental (denominator 4).
Peak HPSA score 12.0 sits below HRSA's 17-point high-priority line.

Below-17 designations still count as shortages for program geography, but they do not clear the high-priority NHSC placement threshold on this release.

Corpus placement

Designated volume without a high-priority score

According to current HRSA Data Warehouse records, Fairfield County carries 4 active designations, above 44% of real US counties. None of those scores clear HRSA's high-priority line of 17 on this release, so the page leads with severity reading rather than a national distribution chart.

State peer position. Fairfield County falls in the lower half of CT counties by active-designation volume, at rank 9 of 17. 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: 09001. Population: 957,419.

Below high-priority line

Fairfield County is designated, but no active score clears 17

4 active designations sit on this FIPS (1 primary care, 2 mental health, 1 dental), and the peak severity is 12.0. That is a formal shortage footprint without HRSA's high-priority (≥17) tier, so NHSC placement geography is usually weaker here than on counties whose lead score clears the line.

Active HPSA scores

Primary Care 12.0

Mental Health 12.0

Dental 12.0

Current designated records only. No Medically Underserved Area designation covers Fairfield County in the current HRSA release, federal support here runs through the HPSA route alone. Scores range 0–25 (primary/mental health), 0–26 (dental). Higher = greater need. What counts as a high score?

Highest-severity HPSA designations

All 4 active (designated) HPSAs in Fairfield County, ranked by HRSA shortage score.

Name	Type	Score	Status	Pop. Served
FCI-Danbury	primary_care	12.0	designated	1,250
FCI-Danbury	mental_health	12.0	designated	1,600
FCI-Danbury	dental	12.0	designated	1,600
CF Bridgeport Correctional Center	mental_health	6.0	designated	3,785

Moderate-burden reading for Fairfield County

Peak severity leads this reading: Fairfield County's highest active HPSA score is 12.0, still below HRSA's 17-point high-priority line. Fairfield County's shortage runs equally deep in primary care and mental health and dental care: both scored 12.0 by HRSA, still short of the 17-point priority line, though the designation itself is formal. No Medically Underserved Area designation covers Fairfield County, so federal support here runs through the HPSA route alone.

Fairfield County sits in the middle of the national designation-volume distribution (above 44% of counties) with 4 active records. That is enough for a formal shortage footprint without landing in the heaviest US tier. Compare the three discipline counts (1/2/1) before assuming every care category is equally short.

Fairfield County falls in the lower half of CT counties by active-designation volume, at rank 9 of 17. For moderate counties, the useful move is usually a state peer check plus the score cards above, not a national superlative claim.

Mid-pack clinician FTE gap for Fairfield County

HRSA providers_needed summed once per HPSA id for Fairfield County's active designations: about 4 FTE, a federal gap estimate, not a headcount of practising clinicians.

Mental health 1.7 FTE (42%) Primary care 1.3 FTE (31%) Dental 1.1 FTE (27%)

Counties near Fairfield County's mental score of 12.0

One peer set for this severity-led county: nearest active mental HPSA score to 12.0 (severity lead on this page is “FCI-Danbury”).

Leavenworth County, KS

12.0 mental score · 81,881 pop.

Buffalo County, NE

12.0 mental score · 50,084 pop.

Butts County, GA

12.0 mental score · 25,434 pop.

Bosque County, TX

12.0 mental score · 18,235 pop.

Lancaster County, PA

12.0 mental score · 552,984 pop.

Winnebago County, WI

12.0 mental score · 171,730 pop.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which record sets Fairfield County's peak score of 12.0?: "FCI-Danbury" leads the active set (score 12.0; primary care; 1,250 people in the service area; ~1.3 FTE still needed on the record; designated 05/21/2021). Below 17 the shortage is formal but outside HRSA's high-priority NHSC tier. Discipline mix across 4 active rows: 1 primary care, 2 mental health, 1 dental.
Why is Fairfield County not listed as a Medically Underserved Area?: Fairfield County has no MUA designation on this release. Federal shortage support here runs through the active HPSA record set alone.
Which other active designations sit under Fairfield County's severity reading?: After "FCI-Danbury", the next active names on this release are "FCI-Danbury", "FCI-Danbury", "FCI-Danbury" and "CF Bridgeport Correctional Center". Provider need (id-de-duped) totals ~4 FTE across disciplines that still carry a gap.
Which federal pathways follow Fairfield County's high-severity geography?: Fairfield County's 4 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 "FCI-Danbury".

Source: HRSA Data Warehouse. FIPS: 09001. 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 09001 (Fairfield County, CT), vintage 2026-08-15. Active designation count 4; peak score 12.0; signature peak score 12.0. This profile is reference material, not professional advice; see methodology.