Medically Underserved Area Mono-discipline · primary care

PA · Healthcare shortage profile

Butler County, PA

Home to 193,763 residents, with 1 active HRSA shortage designation.

Active HPSAs
1
Population
193,763
Peak shortage score
16.0
MUA Index
60.3
PA state overview → About this data

Light-burden verdict

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

1
Active HPSA designations
1
Primary-care shortages
16
Peak severity score (of 26)
Top 98%
US counties by volume

Key findings

What the HRSA Data Warehouse does not surface for Butler County, PA 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. 100% of Butler County's 1 active designations are primary care.

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

  2. Closing Butler County's active designations would take about 1 additional clinician FTEs, with primary care the largest gap.

    HRSA providers_needed summed once per HPSA id (no double-count across status rows): 1 primary care. 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, Butler 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. Butler County falls in the lower half of PA counties by active-designation volume, at rank 53 of 67. 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: 42019. Population: 193,763.

Medically Underserved Area

MUA Designated
MUA Index: 60.3

Active HPSA scores

Primary Care 16.0

Current designated records only · primary care 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 Butler County, ranked by HRSA shortage score.

Name Type Score
LI-St. Petersburg primary_care 16.0

Light-burden reading for Butler County

Primary care is where Butler County is stretched thinnest: HRSA scores it 16.0 of 25, the county's highest severity reading and 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 60.3, and the lower the index, the greater the measured need.

Butler 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.

Butler County falls in the lower half of PA counties by active-designation volume, at rank 53 of 67. Read the active scores and the deepest-care guide link below before collapsing this county into a "no shortage" story.

Nationwide counties with similar HRSA profiles

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

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Butler County a Medically Underserved Area?

Yes, Butler County is designated as a Medically Underserved Area (MUA) by HRSA. The MUA Index for this county is 60.3. MUA designation qualifies the area for enhanced federal funding and provider incentive programs.

How many healthcare shortage areas does Butler County have?

Butler County, PA has 1 Health Professional Shortage Area designation: 1 in primary care, 0 in mental health, and 0 in dental care, according to HRSA data.

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

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

Source: HRSA Data Warehouse. FIPS: 42019. This county’s designations come from BCD_HPSA_FCT_DET_PC.csv (primary care) — download the normalized export on our open data page. PlainHealthAccess is not affiliated with HRSA or any government agency.