IA · Healthcare shortage profile
Howard County, IA
Peak severity leads this reading: Howard County's highest active HPSA score is 16.0, still below HRSA's 17-point high-priority line. Population 9,469.
- Active HPSAs
- 1
- Population
- 9,469
- Peak shortage score
- 16.0
- MUA Index
- 57.5
Light-burden verdict
According to current HRSA Data Warehouse records, Howard 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
- 16
- Peak severity score (of 26)
- Top 98%
- US counties by volume
Few Census ZCTAs touch Howard County
The Census ZCTA-county crosswalk lists only 9 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas intersecting Howard County, a sparse footprint relative to most US counties in this mirror (at or below the 9-ZIP tercile cut).
Intersecting ZCTA
4 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 Howard County, IA 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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Closing Howard County's active designations would take about 3.3 additional clinician FTEs, with mental health the largest gap.
HRSA providers_needed summed once per HPSA id (no double-count across status rows): 3.3 mental health. This is the federal gap estimate, not a headcount of practising clinicians.
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100% of Howard 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).
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Peak HPSA score 16.0 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, Howard 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. Howard County falls in the lower half of IA counties by active-designation volume, at rank 80 of 99. 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: 19089. Population: 9,469.
Medically Underserved Area
Active HPSA scores
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 Howard County, ranked by HRSA shortage score.
| Name | Type | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Northeast Iowa Area | mental_health | 16.0 |
Light-burden reading for Howard County
Peak severity leads this reading: Howard County's highest active HPSA score is 16.0, still below HRSA's 17-point high-priority line. Howard County's severest measured gap is in mental health, scored 16.0 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 57.5, and the lower the index, the greater the measured need.
Howard 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.
Howard County falls in the lower half of IA counties by active-designation volume, at rank 80 of 99. Read the active scores and the deepest-care guide link below before collapsing this county into a "no shortage" story.
Counties near Howard County's mental score of 16.0
One peer set for this severity-led county: nearest active mental HPSA score to 16.0 (severity lead on this page is “Northeast Iowa Area”).
Randolph County, NC
16.0 mental score · 144,171 pop.
Wayne County, OH
16.0 mental score · 116,894 pop.
Laramie County, WY
16.0 mental score · 100,512 pop.
Cullman County, AL
16.0 mental score · 87,866 pop.
St. Lucie County, FL
16.0 mental score · 329,226 pop.
Deschutes County, OR
16.0 mental score · 198,253 pop.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Does Howard County's MUA standing sit beside its HPSA records?
- Yes - Howard County carries an MUA designation (index 57.5; 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 Howard County's peak score of 16.0?
- "Northeast Iowa Area" leads the active set (score 16.0; mental health; 68,250 people in the service area; ~3.3 FTE still needed on the record; designated 11/13/2024). Below 17 the shortage is formal but outside HRSA's high-priority NHSC tier. Discipline mix across 1 active rows: 0 primary care, 1 mental health, 0 dental.
- What provider types does Howard County's severity cover?
- Active rows break down 0 primary care / 1 mental health / 0 dental. Closing published gaps would take about 3.3 additional clinician FTEs on this release.
Source: HRSA Data Warehouse. FIPS: 19089. 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.
HRSA Data Warehouse HPSA + MUA/P records for FIPS 19089 (Howard County, IA), vintage 2026-08-15. Active designation count 1; peak score 16.0; signature peak score 16.0. This profile is reference material, not professional advice; see methodology.