Medically Underserved Area Designated · below priority line

NC · Healthcare shortage profile

Davidson County, NC

Home to 168,930 residents, with 3 active HRSA shortage designations.

Active HPSAs
3
Population
168,930
Peak shortage score
16.0
MUA Index
44.8
NC state overview → About this data

Light-burden verdict

According to current HRSA Data Warehouse records, Davidson County carries a comparatively light shortage burden - 3 active HPSA designations, more than 20% of the 3,289 real US counties, with primary care the deepest gap.

3
Active HPSA designations
1
Primary-care shortages
16
Peak severity score (of 26)
Top 80%
US counties by volume

Key findings

What the HRSA Data Warehouse does not surface for Davidson County, NC 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.

  1. 33.3% of Davidson County's 3 active designations are primary care.

    Discipline mix from designated HPSA records only: 1 primary care, 1 mental health, 1 dental (denominator 3).

  2. Closing Davidson County's active designations would take about 26 additional clinician FTEs, with dental the largest gap.

    HRSA providers_needed summed once per HPSA id (no double-count across status rows): 10 primary care, 3.7 mental health, 12 dental. This is the federal gap estimate, not a headcount of practising clinicians.

  3. 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, Davidson County carries 3 active designations, above 20% 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. Davidson County falls in the lower half of NC counties by active-designation volume, at rank 67 of 100. 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: 37057. Population: 168,930.

Medically Underserved Area

MUA Designated
MUA Index: 44.8

Active HPSA scores

Primary Care 16.0
Mental Health 16.0
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 3 active (designated) HPSAs in Davidson County, ranked by HRSA shortage score.

Name Type Score
LI - Davidson County primary_care 16.0
LI - Davidson County mental_health 16.0
LI - Davidson County dental 15.0

Light-burden reading for Davidson County

Davidson County's shortage runs equally deep in primary care and mental health: both scored 16.0 by HRSA, still short of the 17-point priority line, though the designation itself is formal. Dental care reads 15.0 of 26. The county also sits inside a Medically Underserved Area, indexed at 44.8, and the lower the index, the greater the measured need.

Davidson County carries 3 active designations and sits below the national mid-pack (above 20% 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.

Davidson County falls in the lower half of NC counties by active-designation volume, at rank 67 of 100. Read the active scores and the deepest-care guide link below before collapsing this county into a "no shortage" story.

Clinician FTE gap by care type

HRSA providers_needed summed once per HPSA id for Davidson County's active designations: a federal gap estimate, not a headcount of practising clinicians.

Nationwide counties with similar HRSA profiles

Two peer sets for Davidson County: active designation volume and primary-care HPSA score, ranked across the national county corpus.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Davidson County a Medically Underserved Area?

Yes, Davidson County is designated as a Medically Underserved Area (MUA) by HRSA. The MUA Index for this county is 44.8. MUA designation qualifies the area for enhanced federal funding and provider incentive programs.

How many healthcare shortage areas does Davidson County have?

Davidson County, NC has 3 Health Professional Shortage Area designations: 1 in primary care, 1 in mental health, and 1 in dental care, according to HRSA data.

What does Davidson County's HPSA score of 16.0 mean?

16.0 in primary care and mental health falls under 17, so the shortage is formally designated but outside HRSA's high-priority tier.

Source: HRSA Data Warehouse. FIPS: 37057. 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.