IN · Healthcare shortage profile
Marion County, IN
Peak severity leads this reading: Marion County's highest active HPSA score is 26.0, clearing HRSA's 17-point high-priority line. Population 977,203.
- Active HPSAs
- 37
- Population
- 977,203
- Peak shortage score
- 26.0
- MUA Index
- 51.8
Heavy-burden verdict
According to current HRSA Data Warehouse records, Marion County ranks among the most underserved counties in the country - 37 active HPSA designations, more than 98% of the 3,289 real US counties, with primary care the deepest gap.
- 37
- Active HPSA designations
- 10
- Dental shortages
- 26
- Peak severity score (of 26)
- Top 2%
- US counties by volume
Key findings
What the HRSA Data Warehouse does not surface for Marion County, IN 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 26.0 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 Marion County's active designations would take about 86 additional clinician FTEs, with primary care the largest gap.
HRSA providers_needed summed once per HPSA id (no double-count across status rows): 67 primary care, 18 mental health, 0.4 dental. This is the federal gap estimate, not a headcount of practising clinicians.
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43.2% of Marion County's 37 active designations are primary care.
Discipline mix from designated HPSA records only: 16 primary care, 11 mental health, 10 dental (denominator 37).
Dense ZCTA lattice over Marion County
Marion County intersects 41 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
29 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, Marion County carries 37 active designations, above 98% of real US counties. Use the state peer line below before treating the national percentile as a local access verdict.
State peer position. Marion County is tied for the highest active-designation count among 92 real counties in IN. 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: 18097. Population: 977,203.
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
All 37 active (designated) HPSAs in Marion County, ranked by HRSA shortage score.
| Name | Type | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Indiana Health Centers Incorporated | dental | 26.0 |
| Jane Pauley Community Health Center, Inc. | dental | 25.0 |
| Health Net, Inc. | dental | 25.0 |
| Shalom Health Care Center Inc | dental | 25.0 |
| The Health & Hospital Corporation OF Marion County | dental | 25.0 |
| Adult & Child Mental Health Center Inc | dental | 25.0 |
| Shalom Health Care Center Inc | primary_care | 23.0 |
| Raphael Health Center, Inc. | dental | 23.0 |
| The Health & Hospital Corporation OF Marion County | primary_care | 22.0 |
| Health Net, Inc. | primary_care | 22.0 |
| Adult & Child Mental Health Center Inc | primary_care | 22.0 |
| Jane Pauley Community Health Center, Inc. | primary_care | 22.0 |
| Shalom Health Care Center Inc | mental_health | 22.0 |
| The Health & Hospital Corporation OF Marion County | mental_health | 22.0 |
| Indiana Health Centers Incorporated | mental_health | 22.0 |
| Health Net, Inc. | mental_health | 20.0 |
| Raphael Health Center, Inc. | primary_care | 19.0 |
| Indiana Health Centers Incorporated | primary_care | 19.0 |
| LI-Wayne Township | primary_care | 19.0 |
| LI-Warren Township | primary_care | 19.0 |
| LI-Pike Township | primary_care | 18.0 |
| LI-Decatur/Perry Townships | primary_care | 18.0 |
| LI-Lawrence Township | primary_care | 18.0 |
| Jane Pauley Community Health Center, Inc. | mental_health | 18.0 |
| Adult & Child Mental Health Center Inc | mental_health | 17.0 |
| The Damien Center Inc | primary_care | 16.0 |
| LI - Marion County / Center Township Indianapolis | primary_care | 16.0 |
| The Damien Center Inc | mental_health | 16.0 |
| Raphael Health Center, Inc. | mental_health | 16.0 |
| Damar Services Inc | primary_care | 15.0 |
| Damar Services Inc | mental_health | 15.0 |
| Damar Services Inc | dental | 15.0 |
| The Damien Center Inc | dental | 15.0 |
| LI - Central Indiana MHCAs | mental_health | 14.0 |
| Indiana Women's Prison | mental_health | 12.0 |
| Indiana Women's Prison | dental | 12.0 |
| Indiana Women's Prison | primary_care | 6.0 |
Heavy-burden reading for Marion County
Peak severity leads this reading: Marion County's highest active HPSA score is 26.0, clearing HRSA's 17-point high-priority line. Dental care carries Marion County's deepest shortage reading, 26.0 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 23.0 of 25; Mental health reads 22.0 of 25. The county also sits inside a Medically Underserved Area, indexed at 51.8, and the lower the index, the greater the measured need.
Volume places Marion County above 98% of real US counties (37 active designations: 16 primary care, 11 mental health, 10 dental). Peak severity on the current designated set is 26.0. 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.
Marion County is tied for the highest active-designation count among 92 real counties in IN. 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.
Marion 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
16 designations
- Mental health
Mental health
11 designations
- Dental
Dental
10 designations
Heavy-volume FTE gap in Marion County
HRSA providers_needed summed once per HPSA id for Marion County's active designations: about 86 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 Marion County, IN · 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
Marion County's shortage designations unlock specific federal programs and comparisons, here is how to act on them.
- Marion County's 37 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 IN before you draw conclusions from a single score. IN 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 Marion County's 26.0. This compares the designation score only, not local appointment availability or care quality. Start with Guam County, GU and Van Buren County, MI.
Showing 6 of 2744 counties nationally with an active designation this severe.
Counties near Marion County's dental score of 26.0
One peer set for this severity-led county: nearest active dental HPSA score to 26.0 (severity lead on this page is “INDIANA HEALTH CENTERS INCORPORATED”).
Guam County, GU
26.0 dental score · 153,836 pop.
Van Buren County, MI
26.0 dental score · 75,587 pop.
Hancock County, ME
26.0 dental score · 55,478 pop.
Multnomah County, OR
26.0 dental score · 815,428 pop.
Passaic County, NJ
26.0 dental score · 524,118 pop.
Rockland County, NY
26.0 dental score · 338,329 pop.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Does Marion County's MUA standing sit beside its HPSA records?
- Yes - Marion County carries an MUA designation (index 51.8; 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 Marion County's peak score of 26.0?
- "INDIANA HEALTH CENTERS INCORPORATED" leads the active set (score 26.0; dental; 112,510 people in the service area; designated 10/26/2002). Clearing 17 opens NHSC high-priority placement for the matching provider type on the designated geography. Discipline mix across 37 active rows: 16 primary care, 11 mental health, 10 dental.
- Which other active designations sit under Marion County's severity reading?
- After "INDIANA HEALTH CENTERS INCORPORATED", the next active names on this release are "INDIANA HEALTH CENTERS INCORPORATED", "Jane Pauley Community Health Center, Inc.", "Health Net, Inc." and "SHALOM HEALTH CARE CENTER INC". Provider need (id-de-duped) totals ~86 FTE across disciplines that still carry a gap.
- Which federal pathways follow Marion County's high-severity geography?
- Marion County's 37 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 "INDIANA HEALTH CENTERS INCORPORATED".
- How does Marion County's peak severity sit inside IN?
- Marion County holds 37 active HPSA rows with peak 26.0. Marion County is tied for the highest active-designation count among 92 real counties in IN. Score-nearest national peers appear below when the peer module renders. Score-nearest counties on this release include Guam County, GU and Van Buren County, MI.
Source: HRSA Data Warehouse. FIPS: 18097. 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 18097 (Marion County, IN), vintage 2026-08-15. Active designation count 37; peak score 26.0; signature peak score 26.0. This profile is reference material, not professional advice; see methodology.