Does Howard County's MUA standing sit beside its HPSA records?

Yes - Howard County carries an MUA designation (index 60.1; 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 15.0?

"HOWARD COUNTY MEDICAL CLINIC" leads the active set (score 15.0; dental; 32,678 people in the service area; designated 08/18/2019). Below 17 the shortage is formal but outside HRSA's high-priority NHSC tier. Discipline mix across 4 active rows: 1 primary care, 2 mental health, 1 dental.

Which other active designations sit under Howard County's severity reading?

After "HOWARD COUNTY MEDICAL CLINIC", the next active names on this release are "HOWARD COUNTY MEDICAL CLINIC", "HOWARD COUNTY MEDICAL CLINIC", "HOWARD COUNTY MEDICAL CLINIC" and "Mental Health Catchment Area 3". Provider need (id-de-duped) totals ~5.1 FTE across disciplines that still carry a gap.

Which federal pathways follow Howard County's high-severity geography?

Howard County's 4 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 "HOWARD COUNTY MEDICAL CLINIC".

Medically Underserved Area Designated · below priority line

NE · Healthcare shortage profile

Howard County, NE

Peak severity leads this reading: Howard County's highest active HPSA score is 15.0, still below HRSA's 17-point high-priority line. Population 6,475.

Active HPSAs: 4
Population: 6,475
Peak shortage score: 15.0
MUA Index: 60.1

NE state overview → About this data

Mid-burden verdict

According to current HRSA Data Warehouse records, Howard County holds a moderate federal shortage burden - 4 active HPSA designations, more than 44% of the 3,289 real US counties, with mental health the deepest gap.

4
Active HPSA designations: 1
Dental shortages: 15
Peak severity score (of 26): Top 56%
US counties by volume

Key findings

What the HRSA Data Warehouse does not surface for Howard County, NE 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.

Closing Howard County's active designations would take about 5.1 additional clinician FTEs, with mental health the largest gap.

HRSA providers_needed summed once per HPSA id (no double-count across status rows): 5.1 mental health. This is the federal gap estimate, not a headcount of practising clinicians.
50% of Howard County's 4 active designations are mental health.

Discipline mix from designated HPSA records only: 1 primary care, 2 mental health, 1 dental (denominator 4).
Peak HPSA score 15.0 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.

Howard County's mid-pack ZIP footprint

11 Census ZCTAs intersect Howard County, between the 9 and 15 ZIP cuts across published counties: neither a postage-stamp footprint nor a metro-scale lattice.

Largest land-share ZCTAs

3 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

Designated volume without a high-priority score

According to current HRSA Data Warehouse records, Howard County carries 4 active designations, above 44% 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 upper half of NE counties by active-designation volume, at rank 41 of 92. 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: 31093. Population: 6,475.

Below high-priority line

Howard County is designated, but no active score clears 17

4 active designations sit on this FIPS (1 primary care, 2 mental health, 1 dental), and the peak severity is 15.0. That is a formal shortage footprint without HRSA's high-priority (≥17) tier, so NHSC placement geography is usually weaker here than on counties whose lead score clears the line.

Medically Underserved Area

MUA Designated

MUA Index: 60.1

Active HPSA scores

Primary Care 14.0

Mental Health 14.0

Dental 15.0

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 4 active (designated) HPSAs in Howard County, ranked by HRSA shortage score.

Name	Type	Score	Status	Pop. Served
Howard County Medical Clinic	dental	15.0	designated	32,678
Howard County Medical Clinic	primary_care	14.0	designated	26,748
Howard County Medical Clinic	mental_health	14.0	designated	32,678
Mental Health Catchment Area 3	mental_health	12.0	designated	184,500

Moderate-burden reading for Howard County

Peak severity leads this reading: Howard County's highest active HPSA score is 15.0, still below HRSA's 17-point high-priority line. Dental care carries Howard County's deepest shortage reading, 15.0 on HRSA's 0–26 dental scale, still short of the 17-point priority line, though the designation itself is formal. Primary care reads 14.0 of 25; Mental health reads 14.0 of 25. The county also sits inside a Medically Underserved Area, indexed at 60.1, and the lower the index, the greater the measured need.

Howard County sits in the middle of the national designation-volume distribution (above 44% of counties) with 4 active records. That is enough for a formal shortage footprint without landing in the heaviest US tier. Compare the three discipline counts (1/2/1) before assuming every care category is equally short.

Howard County falls in the upper half of NE counties by active-designation volume, at rank 41 of 92. For moderate counties, the useful move is usually a state peer check plus the score cards above, not a national superlative claim.

Counties near Howard County's dental score of 15.0

One peer set for this severity-led county: nearest active dental HPSA score to 15.0 (severity lead on this page is “HOWARD COUNTY MEDICAL CLINIC”).

Stanislaus County, CA

15.0 dental score · 552,878 pop.

Whatcom County, WA

15.0 dental score · 226,847 pop.

Chittenden County, VT

15.0 dental score · 168,323 pop.

Linn County, OR

15.0 dental score · 128,610 pop.

Franklin County, MO

15.0 dental score · 104,682 pop.

Jefferson County, WI

15.0 dental score · 84,900 pop.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Howard County's MUA standing sit beside its HPSA records?: Yes - Howard County carries an MUA designation (index 60.1; 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 15.0?: "HOWARD COUNTY MEDICAL CLINIC" leads the active set (score 15.0; dental; 32,678 people in the service area; designated 08/18/2019). Below 17 the shortage is formal but outside HRSA's high-priority NHSC tier. Discipline mix across 4 active rows: 1 primary care, 2 mental health, 1 dental.
Which other active designations sit under Howard County's severity reading?: After "HOWARD COUNTY MEDICAL CLINIC", the next active names on this release are "HOWARD COUNTY MEDICAL CLINIC", "HOWARD COUNTY MEDICAL CLINIC", "HOWARD COUNTY MEDICAL CLINIC" and "Mental Health Catchment Area 3". Provider need (id-de-duped) totals ~5.1 FTE across disciplines that still carry a gap.
Which federal pathways follow Howard County's high-severity geography?: Howard County's 4 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 "HOWARD COUNTY MEDICAL CLINIC".

Source: HRSA Data Warehouse. FIPS: 31093. 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 31093 (Howard County, NE), vintage 2026-08-15. Active designation count 4; peak score 15.0; signature peak score 15.0. This profile is reference material, not professional advice; see methodology.