Medically Underserved Area Mono-discipline · mental health

ND · Healthcare shortage profile

Sargent County, ND

Peak severity leads this reading: Sargent County's highest active HPSA score is 13.0, still below HRSA's 17-point high-priority line. Population 3,862.

Active HPSAs
1
Population
3,862
Peak shortage score
13.0
MUA Index
61.9

Light-burden verdict

According to current HRSA Data Warehouse records, Sargent County carries a comparatively light shortage burden - 1 active HPSA designation, more than 2% of the 3,289 real US counties, with mental health the deepest gap.

1
Active HPSA designations
1
Mental-health shortages
13
Peak severity score (of 26)
Top 98%
US counties by volume

Key findings

What the HRSA Data Warehouse does not surface for Sargent County, ND 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. Closing Sargent County's active designations would take about 0.3 additional clinician FTEs, with mental health the largest gap.

    HRSA providers_needed summed once per HPSA id (no double-count across status rows): 0.3 mental health. This is the federal gap estimate, not a headcount of practising clinicians.

  2. 100% of Sargent County's 1 active designations are mental health.

    Discipline mix from designated HPSA records only: 0 primary care, 1 mental health, 0 dental (denominator 1).

  3. Peak HPSA score 13.0 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.

Sargent County's mid-pack ZIP footprint

12 Census ZCTAs intersect Sargent 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

4 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, Sargent County carries 1 active designation, above 2% 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. Sargent County falls in the lower half of ND counties by active-designation volume, at rank 46 of 53. 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: 38081. Population: 3,862.

Medically Underserved Area

MUA Designated
MUA Index: 61.9

Active HPSA scores

Mental Health 13.0

Current designated records only · mental health only on this FIPS. Scores range 0–25 (primary/mental health), 0–26 (dental). Higher = greater need. What counts as a high score?

Highest-severity HPSA designations

All 1 active (designated) HPSAs in Sargent County, ranked by HRSA shortage score.

Name Type Score
Sargent County mental_health 13.0

Light-burden reading for Sargent County

Peak severity leads this reading: Sargent County's highest active HPSA score is 13.0, still below HRSA's 17-point high-priority line. Sargent County's severest measured gap is in mental health, scored 13.0 of 25, still short of the 17-point priority line, though the designation itself is formal. The county also sits inside a Medically Underserved Area, indexed at 61.9, and the lower the index, the greater the measured need.

Sargent County carries 1 active designation and sits below the national mid-pack (above 2% 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.

Sargent County falls in the lower half of ND counties by active-designation volume, at rank 46 of 53. Read the active scores and the deepest-care guide link below before collapsing this county into a "no shortage" story.

Counties near Sargent County's mental score of 13.0

One peer set for this severity-led county: nearest active mental HPSA score to 13.0 (severity lead on this page is “Sargent County”).

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Sargent County's MUA standing sit beside its HPSA records?
Yes - Sargent County carries an MUA designation (index 61.9; 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 Sargent County's peak score of 13.0?
"Sargent County" leads the active set (score 13.0; mental health; 3,773 people in the service area; ~0.3 FTE still needed on the record; designated 12/23/2019). Below 17 the shortage is formal but outside HRSA's high-priority NHSC tier. Discipline mix across 1 active rows: 0 primary care, 1 mental health, 0 dental.
What provider types does Sargent County's severity cover?
Active rows break down 0 primary care / 1 mental health / 0 dental. Closing published gaps would take about 0.3 additional clinician FTEs on this release.

Source: HRSA Data Warehouse. FIPS: 38081. This county’s designations come from BCD_HPSA_FCT_DET_MH.csv (mental health) — 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 38081 (Sargent County, ND), vintage 2026-08-15. Active designation count 1; peak score 13.0; signature peak score 13.0. This profile is reference material, not professional advice; see methodology.