MN · Healthcare shortage profile
Ramsey County, MN
The clinician FTE gap is the sharpest number here: closing Ramsey County's active designations would take about 41 additional FTEs on HRSA's providers_needed estimate. Population 552,352.
- Active HPSAs
- 18
- Population
- 552,352
- Peak shortage score
- 21.0
- MUA Index
- 46.5
Heavy-burden verdict
According to current HRSA Data Warehouse records, Ramsey County ranks among the most underserved counties in the country - 18 active HPSA designations, more than 94% of the 3,289 real US counties, with dental the deepest gap.
- 18
- Active HPSA designations
- 8
- Dental shortages
- 21
- Peak severity score (of 26)
- Top 6%
- US counties by volume
Key findings
What the HRSA Data Warehouse does not surface for Ramsey County, MN 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 21.0 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 Ramsey County's active designations would take about 41 additional clinician FTEs, with primary care the largest gap.
HRSA providers_needed summed once per HPSA id (no double-count across status rows): 18 primary care, 6.9 mental health, 16 dental. This is the federal gap estimate, not a headcount of practising clinicians.
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44.4% of Ramsey County's 18 active designations are dental.
Discipline mix from designated HPSA records only: 5 primary care, 5 mental health, 8 dental (denominator 18).
Dense ZCTA lattice over Ramsey County
Ramsey County intersects 27 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
15 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, Ramsey County carries 18 active designations, above 94% of real US counties. Use the state peer line below before treating the national percentile as a local access verdict.
State peer position. Ramsey County falls in the upper quarter of MN counties by active-designation volume, at rank 5 of 85. 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: 27123. Population: 552,352.
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 18 active (designated) HPSAs in Ramsey County, ranked by HRSA shortage score.
| Name | Type | Score |
|---|---|---|
| United Family Practice Health Center | mental_health | 21.0 |
| West Side Community Health Services, Inc. | mental_health | 21.0 |
| United Family Practice Health Center | dental | 21.0 |
| West Side Community Health Services, Inc. | dental | 21.0 |
| Open Cities Health Center, Inc. | dental | 21.0 |
| Open Cities Health Center, Inc. | mental_health | 20.0 |
| United Family Practice Health Center | primary_care | 19.0 |
| LI-Riverview/Greater East Side St. Paul/Central Maplewood | mental_health | 19.0 |
| Apple Tree Dental - Mounds View | dental | 19.0 |
| Community Dental Care - Maplewood | dental | 19.0 |
| West Side Community Health Services, Inc. | primary_care | 17.0 |
| Open Cities Health Center, Inc. | primary_care | 17.0 |
| LI - Central St. Paul/Falcon Heights/Roseville | mental_health | 17.0 |
| LI-Riverview/Greater East Side St. Paul/Central Maplewood | dental | 17.0 |
| Community Dental Care St Paul Ofac | dental | 17.0 |
| LI-Riverview/Greater East Side St. Paul/Central Maplewood | primary_care | 14.0 |
| LI - Central St. Paul/Falcon Heights | primary_care | 14.0 |
| LI - Central St. Paul/Falcon Heights/Roseville | dental | 11.0 |
Heavy-burden reading for Ramsey County
The clinician FTE gap is the sharpest number here: closing Ramsey County's active designations would take about 41 additional FTEs on HRSA's providers_needed estimate. Ramsey County's shortage runs equally deep in mental health and dental care: both scored 21.0 by HRSA, 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. The county also sits inside a Medically Underserved Area, indexed at 46.5, and the lower the index, the greater the measured need.
Volume places Ramsey County above 94% of real US counties (18 active designations: 5 primary care, 5 mental health, 8 dental). Peak severity on the current designated set is 21.0. 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.
Ramsey County falls in the upper quarter of MN counties by active-designation volume, at rank 5 of 85. 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.
Ramsey County designations by care type
Active Health Professional Shortage Area designations in the county, by provider category (high-priority disciplines emphasized).
- Dental
Dental
8 designations
- Primary care
Primary care
5 designations
- Mental health
Mental health
5 designations
Heavy-volume FTE gap in Ramsey County
Signature reading: HRSA providers_needed sums to about 41 FTE across Ramsey County's active designations (once per HPSA id), a federal gap estimate, not practising headcount.
Source: HRSA Data Warehouse, Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSA) + Medically Underserved Areas/Populations (MUA/P) HPSA primary-care, mental-health, and dental designations for Ramsey County, MN · 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
Ramsey County's shortage designations unlock specific federal programs and comparisons, here is how to act on them.
- Ramsey County's 18 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 MN before you draw conclusions from a single score. MN 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 Ramsey County's 21.0. This compares the designation score only, not local appointment availability or care quality. Start with Forrest County, MS and Bonner County, ID.
Showing 6 of 2744 counties nationally with an active designation this severe.
Counties with a matching designation count to Ramsey County's 18
One peer set for this FTE-led county: nearest active designation count to 18 - the inventory behind the ~41 FTE published need.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Does Ramsey County's MUA standing sit beside its HPSA records?
- Yes - Ramsey County carries an MUA designation (index 46.5; lower = greater measured need) in addition to its HPSA rows. MUA and HPSA are separate HRSA tracks; both can open different federal pathways.
- Where is the largest clinician FTE gap inside Ramsey County?
- Id-de-duped providers_needed across active HPSAs totals ~41 FTE, with primary care the largest slice (18). "UNITED FAMILY PRACTICE HEALTH CENTER" is the highest-scored active row (score 21.0; mental health; 134,059 people in the service area; designated 09/30/2005). This is HRSA's published gap, not a headcount of practising clinicians.
- Which named designations drive Ramsey County's FTE reading?
- Active names on this release include "UNITED FAMILY PRACTICE HEALTH CENTER", "WEST SIDE COMMUNITY HEALTH SERVICES, INC.", "UNITED FAMILY PRACTICE HEALTH CENTER" and "WEST SIDE COMMUNITY HEALTH SERVICES, INC.". Discipline counts: 5 primary care, 5 mental health, 8 dental across 18 designated rows.
- Do Ramsey County's FTE gaps unlock federal programs?
- Yes where an ACTIVE designation exists, NHSC, CHC grants, Medicare bonus and J-1 waivers follow the designated geography and provider type. A published FTE gap without an active row does not, by itself, open those pathways.
- How does Ramsey County's FTE burden compare inside MN?
- 18 active designations and ~41 FTE published need. Ramsey County falls in the upper quarter of MN counties by active-designation volume, at rank 5 of 85. Score-nearest counties on this release include Forrest County, MS and Bonner County, ID.
Source: HRSA Data Warehouse. FIPS: 27123. 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 27123 (Ramsey County, MN), vintage 2026-08-15. Active designation count 18; peak score 21.0; signature 41 FTE gap. This profile is reference material, not professional advice; see methodology.