MA · Healthcare shortage profile
Suffolk County, MA
Peak severity leads this reading: Suffolk County's highest active HPSA score is 25.0, clearing HRSA's 17-point high-priority line. Population 797,936.
- Active HPSAs
- 54
- Population
- 797,936
- Peak shortage score
- 25.0
- MUA Index
- 36.2
Heavy-burden verdict
According to current HRSA Data Warehouse records, Suffolk County ranks among the most underserved counties in the country - 54 active HPSA designations, more than 99% of the 3,289 real US counties, with dental the deepest gap.
- 54
- Active HPSA designations
- 20
- 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 Suffolk County, MA 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 Suffolk County's active designations would take about 29 additional clinician FTEs, with primary care the largest gap.
HRSA providers_needed summed once per HPSA id (no double-count across status rows): 13 primary care, 3 mental health, 13 dental. This is the federal gap estimate, not a headcount of practising clinicians.
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37% of Suffolk County's 54 active designations are dental.
Discipline mix from designated HPSA records only: 17 primary care, 17 mental health, 20 dental (denominator 54).
Dense ZCTA lattice over Suffolk County
Suffolk County intersects 39 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
27 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, Suffolk County carries 54 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. Suffolk County is tied for the highest active-designation count among 14 real counties in MA. 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: 25025. Population: 797,936.
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 54 active (designated) HPSAs in Suffolk County, ranked by HRSA shortage score.
| Name | Type | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Massachusetts League OF Community Health Centers Inc | dental | 25.0 |
| Mattapan Community Health Center Inc | dental | 25.0 |
| Boston Health Care For The Homeless Program | dental | 24.0 |
| Mattapan Community Health Center Inc | mental_health | 23.0 |
| Dimock Community Health Center | mental_health | 23.0 |
| Dimock Community Health Center | dental | 23.0 |
| Codman Square Health Center, Inc | dental | 22.0 |
| Codman Square Health Center, Inc | mental_health | 21.0 |
| Neighborhealth Corporation | mental_health | 21.0 |
| South Cove Community Health Center, Inc | dental | 21.0 |
| Fenway Community Health Center, Inc. | dental | 21.0 |
| Harbor Health Services, Inc. | dental | 21.0 |
| Whittier Street Health Center | dental | 21.0 |
| Uphams Corner Health Committee, Inc. | dental | 21.0 |
| Mattapan Community Health Center Inc | primary_care | 19.0 |
| Dimock Community Health Center | primary_care | 19.0 |
| Massachusetts League OF Community Health Centers Inc | primary_care | 19.0 |
| Whittier Street Health Center | mental_health | 19.0 |
| Neighborhealth Corporation | dental | 19.0 |
| North End Community Health Committee Inc | dental | 19.0 |
| Codman Square Health Center, Inc | primary_care | 18.0 |
| North End Community Health Committee Inc | mental_health | 18.0 |
| Uphams Corner Health Committee, Inc. | mental_health | 18.0 |
| LI - Chelsea/Everett/Revere | mental_health | 18.0 |
| Dothouse Health, Inc | primary_care | 17.0 |
| Neighborhealth Corporation | primary_care | 17.0 |
| Fenway Community Health Center, Inc. | primary_care | 17.0 |
| Chelsea/Everett/Revere | primary_care | 17.0 |
| Harbor Health Services, Inc. | mental_health | 17.0 |
| Dothouse Health, Inc | dental | 17.0 |
| South Boston Community Health Center, Inc. | dental | 17.0 |
| Dothouse Health, Inc | mental_health | 16.0 |
| Boston Health Care For The Homeless Program | primary_care | 15.0 |
| Harbor Health Services, Inc. | primary_care | 15.0 |
| Uphams Corner Health Committee, Inc. | primary_care | 15.0 |
| Massachusetts League OF Community Health Centers Inc | mental_health | 15.0 |
| Harvard Street Neighborhood Health Center Inc | mental_health | 15.0 |
| LI Dorchester/Mattapan | dental | 15.0 |
| LI-South End - Downtown | dental | 15.0 |
| South Boston Community Health Center, Inc. | primary_care | 14.0 |
Heavy-burden reading for Suffolk County
Peak severity leads this reading: Suffolk County's highest active HPSA score is 25.0, clearing HRSA's 17-point high-priority line. Dental care carries Suffolk 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 19.0 of 25; Mental health reads 23.0 of 25. The county also sits inside a Medically Underserved Area, indexed at 36.2, and the lower the index, the greater the measured need.
Volume places Suffolk County above 99% of real US counties (54 active designations: 17 primary care, 17 mental health, 20 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.
Suffolk County is tied for the highest active-designation count among 14 real counties in MA. 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.
Suffolk County designations by care type
Active Health Professional Shortage Area designations in the county, by provider category (high-priority disciplines emphasized).
- Dental
Dental
20 designations
- Primary care
Primary care
17 designations
- Mental health
Mental health
17 designations
Heavy-volume FTE gap in Suffolk County
HRSA providers_needed summed once per HPSA id for Suffolk County's active designations: about 29 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 Suffolk County, MA · 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
Suffolk County's shortage designations unlock specific federal programs and comparisons, here is how to act on them.
- Suffolk County's 54 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 MA before you draw conclusions from a single score. MA 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 Suffolk County's 25.0. This compares the designation score only, not local appointment availability or care quality. Start with Wayne County, MI and Travis County, TX.
Showing 6 of 2744 counties nationally with an active designation this severe.
Counties near Suffolk 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 “MASSACHUSETTS LEAGUE OF COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTERS INC”).
Wayne County, MI
25.0 dental score · 1,793,561 pop.
Travis County, TX
25.0 dental score · 1,290,188 pop.
Wake County, NC
25.0 dental score · 1,129,410 pop.
Capitol County, CT
25.0 dental score · 977,165 pop.
Macomb County, MI
25.0 dental score · 881,217 pop.
San Diego County, CA
25.0 dental score · 3,298,634 pop.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Does Suffolk County's MUA standing sit beside its HPSA records?
- Yes - Suffolk County carries an MUA designation (index 36.2; 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 Suffolk County's peak score of 25.0?
- "MASSACHUSETTS LEAGUE OF COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTERS INC" leads the active set (score 25.0; dental; 89,738 people in the service area; designated 09/04/2003). Clearing 17 opens NHSC high-priority placement for the matching provider type on the designated geography. Discipline mix across 54 active rows: 17 primary care, 17 mental health, 20 dental.
- Which other active designations sit under Suffolk County's severity reading?
- After "MASSACHUSETTS LEAGUE OF COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTERS INC", the next active names on this release are "MASSACHUSETTS LEAGUE OF COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTERS INC", "MATTAPAN COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTER INC", "BOSTON HEALTH CARE FOR THE HOMELESS PROGRAM" and "MATTAPAN COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTER INC". Provider need (id-de-duped) totals ~29 FTE across disciplines that still carry a gap.
- Which federal pathways follow Suffolk County's high-severity geography?
- Suffolk County's 54 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 "MASSACHUSETTS LEAGUE OF COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTERS INC".
- How does Suffolk County's peak severity sit inside MA?
- Suffolk County holds 54 active HPSA rows with peak 25.0. Suffolk County is tied for the highest active-designation count among 14 real counties in MA. Score-nearest national peers appear below when the peer module renders. Score-nearest counties on this release include Wayne County, MI and Travis County, TX.
Source: HRSA Data Warehouse. FIPS: 25025. 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 25025 (Suffolk County, MA), vintage 2026-08-15. Active designation count 54; peak score 25.0; signature peak score 25.0. This profile is reference material, not professional advice; see methodology.