Medically Underserved Area Mono-discipline · mental health

GA · Healthcare shortage profile

Walton County, GA

Home to 96,673 residents, with 1 active HRSA shortage designation.

Active HPSAs
1
Population
96,673
Peak shortage score
8.0
MUA Index
55.1
GA state overview → About this data

Light-burden verdict

According to current HRSA Data Warehouse records, Walton County carries a comparatively light shortage burden - 1 active HPSA designation, more than 2% of the 3,289 real US counties, with mental health the deepest gap.

1
Active HPSA designations
1
Mental-health shortages
8
Peak severity score (of 26)
Top 98%
US counties by volume

Key findings

What the HRSA Data Warehouse does not surface for Walton County, GA 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.

  1. 100% of Walton County's 1 active designations are mental health.

    Discipline mix from designated HPSA records only: 0 primary care, 1 mental health, 0 dental (denominator 1).

  2. Closing Walton County's active designations would take about 13 additional clinician FTEs, with mental health the largest gap.

    HRSA providers_needed summed once per HPSA id (no double-count across status rows): 13 mental health. This is the federal gap estimate, not a headcount of practising clinicians.

  3. Peak HPSA score 8.0 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, Walton County carries 1 active designation, above 2% 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. Walton County falls in the lower half of GA counties by active-designation volume, at rank 102 of 159. 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: 13297. Population: 96,673.

Medically Underserved Area

MUA Designated
MUA Index: 55.1

Active HPSA scores

Mental Health 8.0

Current designated records only · mental health only on this FIPS. Scores range 0–25 (primary/mental health), 0–26 (dental). Higher = greater need. What counts as a high score?

Highest-severity HPSA designations

All 1 active (designated) HPSAs in Walton County, ranked by HRSA shortage score.

Name Type Score
Mhca 10-Advantage Behavioral Health Systems mental_health 8.0

Light-burden reading for Walton County

Walton County's severest measured gap is in mental health, scored 8.0 of 25, still short of the 17-point priority line, though the designation itself is formal. The county also sits inside a Medically Underserved Area, indexed at 55.1, and the lower the index, the greater the measured need.

Walton County carries 1 active designation and sits below the national mid-pack (above 2% of counties). A light footprint still matters: a single high-score dental or mental-health record can open program geography even when the county total looks small next to heavy peers.

Walton County falls in the lower half of GA counties by active-designation volume, at rank 102 of 159. Read the active scores and the deepest-care guide link below before collapsing this county into a "no shortage" story.

Nationwide counties with similar HRSA profiles

Two peer sets for Walton County: active designation volume and primary-care HPSA score, ranked across the national county corpus.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Walton County a Medically Underserved Area?

Yes, Walton County is designated as a Medically Underserved Area (MUA) by HRSA. The MUA Index for this county is 55.1. MUA designation qualifies the area for enhanced federal funding and provider incentive programs.

How many healthcare shortage areas does Walton County have?

Walton County, GA has 1 Health Professional Shortage Area designation: 0 in primary care, 1 in mental health, and 0 in dental care, according to HRSA data.

What does Walton County's HPSA score of 8.0 mean?

8.0 in mental health falls under 17, so the shortage is formally designated but outside HRSA's high-priority tier.

Source: HRSA Data Warehouse. FIPS: 13297. This county’s designations come from BCD_HPSA_FCT_DET_MH.csv (mental health) — download the normalized export on our open data page. PlainHealthAccess is not affiliated with HRSA or any government agency.