Medically Underserved Area Primary · mental · dental footprint

NC · Healthcare shortage profile

Rockingham County, NC

Peak severity leads this reading: Rockingham County's highest active HPSA score is 18.0, clearing HRSA's 17-point high-priority line. Population 91,096.

Active HPSAs
3
Population
91,096
Peak shortage score
18.0
MUA Index
58.3
NC state overview → About this data

Light-burden verdict

According to current HRSA Data Warehouse records, Rockingham 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
18
Peak severity score (of 26)
Top 80%
US counties by volume

Key findings

What the HRSA Data Warehouse does not surface for Rockingham 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 Rockingham 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 Rockingham County's active designations would take about 9.6 additional clinician FTEs, with dental the largest gap.

    HRSA providers_needed summed once per HPSA id (no double-count across status rows): 1.6 primary care, 2 mental health, 6.1 dental. This is the federal gap estimate, not a headcount of practising clinicians.

  3. Peak HPSA score 18.0 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.

Corpus placement

Active-designation volume placement

According to current HRSA Data Warehouse records, Rockingham County carries 3 active designations, above 20% of real US counties. Use the state peer line below before treating the national percentile as a local access verdict.

State peer position. Rockingham 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: 37157. Population: 91,096.

Medically Underserved Area

MUA Designated
MUA Index: 58.3

Active HPSA scores

Primary Care 18.0
Mental Health 18.0
Dental 17.0

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 Rockingham County, ranked by HRSA shortage score.

Name Type Score
MI - Rockingham County primary_care 18.0
LI - Rockingham County mental_health 18.0
LI - Rockingham County dental 17.0

Light-burden reading for Rockingham County

Peak severity leads this reading: Rockingham County's highest active HPSA score is 18.0, clearing HRSA's 17-point high-priority line. Rockingham County's shortage runs equally deep in primary care and mental health: both scored 18.0 by HRSA, past the 17-point line HRSA uses to open National Health Service Corps placement and enhanced Medicare reimbursement. Dental care reads 17.0 of 26. The county also sits inside a Medically Underserved Area, indexed at 58.3, and the lower the index, the greater the measured need.

Rockingham 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.

Rockingham 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.

Light-volume FTE gap for Rockingham County

HRSA providers_needed summed once per HPSA id for Rockingham County's active designations: about 9.6 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 Rockingham County, NC · 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 Rockingham County's designations

Rockingham County's shortage designations unlock specific federal programs and comparisons, here is how to act on them.

  • Rockingham County's 3 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 NC before you draw conclusions from a single score. NC 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 near Rockingham County's peak severity

Two peer sets for this light-volume county (3 active): nearest designation count and nearest primary-care HPSA score across the national corpus.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Rockingham County a Medically Underserved Area?
Yes, Rockingham County is designated as a Medically Underserved Area (MUA) by HRSA. The MUA Index for this county is 58.3. MUA designation qualifies the area for enhanced federal funding and provider incentive programs.
How many healthcare shortage areas does Rockingham County have?
Rockingham 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 Rockingham County's HPSA score of 18.0 mean?
18.0 in primary care and mental health clears 17, HRSA's high-priority line, which is what makes providers here eligible for NHSC placement and enhanced reimbursement.

Source: HRSA Data Warehouse. FIPS: 37157. 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 37157 (Rockingham County, NC), vintage 2026-08-15. Active designation count 3; peak score 18.0; signature peak score 18.0. This profile is reference material, not professional advice; see methodology.