MN · Healthcare shortage profile
Stearns County, MN
The clinician FTE gap is the sharpest number here: closing Stearns County's active designations would take about 33 additional FTEs on HRSA's providers_needed estimate. Population 158,292.
- Active HPSAs
- 16
- Population
- 158,292
- Peak shortage score
- 19.0
- MUA Index
- 58.0
Heavy-burden verdict
According to current HRSA Data Warehouse records, Stearns County ranks among the most underserved counties in the country - 16 active HPSA designations, more than 92% of the 3,289 real US counties, with primary care the deepest gap.
- 16
- Active HPSA designations
- 5
- Mental-health shortages
- 19
- Peak severity score (of 26)
- Top 8%
- US counties by volume
Key findings
What the HRSA Data Warehouse does not surface for Stearns 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 19.0 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 Stearns County's active designations would take about 33 additional clinician FTEs, with primary care the largest gap.
HRSA providers_needed summed once per HPSA id (no double-count across status rows): 15 primary care, 13 mental health, 5.4 dental. This is the federal gap estimate, not a headcount of practising clinicians.
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37.5% of Stearns County's 16 active designations are primary care.
Discipline mix from designated HPSA records only: 6 primary care, 5 mental health, 5 dental (denominator 16).
Dense ZCTA lattice over Stearns County
Stearns County intersects 33 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
21 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.
Stearns County vs. every real US county
Total active HPSA designations, including counties with none
16 Top 8% higher than 92% of 3,289 real US counties
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more real US counties. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source HRSA Data Warehouse, designated HPSAs · 2026
State peer position. Stearns County falls in the upper quarter of MN counties by active-designation volume, at rank 7 of 85. Ties share a rank; the comparison uses the same current designated records as the national chart.
Healthcare shortage designations from HRSA. FIPS: 27145. Population: 158,292.
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 16 active (designated) HPSAs in Stearns County, ranked by HRSA shortage score.
| Name | Type | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Centracare Health - Melrose Clinic | mental_health | 19.0 |
| Centracare Health - Paynesville Richmond Clinic | mental_health | 17.0 |
| Centracare Clinic- Sauk Centre | mental_health | 17.0 |
| Centracare Health - Paynesville Clinic | mental_health | 17.0 |
| LI-St. Cloud/St. Joseph | dental | 17.0 |
| Central Region | mental_health | 16.0 |
| Centracare Health - Melrose Clinic | primary_care | 15.0 |
| Centracare Health - Paynesville Clinic | primary_care | 15.0 |
| Centracare Clinic- Sauk Centre | primary_care | 15.0 |
| Centracare Health - Melrose Clinic | dental | 15.0 |
| Centracare Health - Paynesville Richmond Clinic | dental | 15.0 |
| Centracare Clinic- Sauk Centre | dental | 15.0 |
| Centracare Health - Paynesville Clinic | dental | 15.0 |
| LI-St. Cloud/St. Joseph | primary_care | 14.0 |
| Centracare Health - Paynesville Richmond Clinic | primary_care | 13.0 |
| Rural Stearns County | primary_care | 12.0 |
Heavy-burden reading for Stearns County
The clinician FTE gap is the sharpest number here: closing Stearns County's active designations would take about 33 additional FTEs on HRSA's providers_needed estimate. Stearns County's severest measured gap is in mental health, scored 19.0 of 25, past the 17-point line HRSA uses to open National Health Service Corps placement and enhanced Medicare reimbursement. Primary care reads 15.0 of 25; Dental care reads 17.0 of 26. The county also sits inside a Medically Underserved Area, indexed at 58.0, and the lower the index, the greater the measured need.
Volume places Stearns County above 92% of real US counties (16 active designations: 6 primary care, 5 mental health, 5 dental). Peak severity on the current designated set is 19.0. 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.
Stearns County falls in the upper quarter of MN counties by active-designation volume, at rank 7 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.
Stearns County designations by care type
Active Health Professional Shortage Area designations in the county, by provider category (high-priority disciplines emphasized).
- Mental health
Mental health
5 designations
- Dental
Dental
5 designations
Heavy-volume FTE gap in Stearns County
Signature reading: HRSA providers_needed sums to about 33 FTE across Stearns 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 Stearns 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
Stearns County's shortage designations unlock specific federal programs and comparisons, here is how to act on them.
- Stearns County's 16 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 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 Mental Health Shortage Score
Other U.S. counties whose active HRSA mental-health HPSA score is closest to Stearns County's 19.0. This compares the designation score only, not local appointment availability or care quality. Start with Butte County, CA and Rankin County, MS.
Showing 6 of 3081 counties nationally with an active designation this severe.
Counties with a matching designation count to Stearns County's 16
One peer set for this FTE-led county: nearest active designation count to 16 - the inventory behind the ~33 FTE published need.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Does Stearns County's MUA standing sit beside its HPSA records?
- Yes - Stearns County carries an MUA designation (index 58.0; 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 Stearns County?
- Id-de-duped providers_needed across active HPSAs totals ~33 FTE, with primary care the largest slice (15). "CENTRACARE HEALTH - MELROSE CLINIC" is the highest-scored active row (score 19.0; mental health; 71,615 people in the service area; designated 08/18/2019). This is HRSA's published gap, not a headcount of practising clinicians.
- Which named designations drive Stearns County's FTE reading?
- Active names on this release include "CENTRACARE HEALTH - MELROSE CLINIC", "CENTRACARE HEALTH - PAYNESVILLE RICHMOND CLINIC", "CENTRACARE CLINIC- SAUK CENTRE" and "CENTRACARE HEALTH - PAYNESVILLE CLINIC". Discipline counts: 6 primary care, 5 mental health, 5 dental across 16 designated rows.
- Do Stearns 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 Stearns County's FTE burden compare inside MN?
- 16 active designations and ~33 FTE published need. Stearns County falls in the upper quarter of MN counties by active-designation volume, at rank 7 of 85. Score-nearest counties on this release include Butte County, CA and Rankin County, MS.
Source: HRSA Data Warehouse. FIPS: 27145. 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 27145 (Stearns County, MN), vintage 2026-08-15. Active designation count 16; peak score 19.0; signature 33 FTE gap. This profile is reference material, not professional advice; see methodology.