TN · Healthcare shortage profile
Carter County, TN
The clinician FTE gap is the sharpest number here: closing Carter County's active designations would take about 18 additional FTEs on HRSA's providers_needed estimate. Population 56,356.
- Active HPSAs
- 2
- Population
- 56,356
- Peak shortage score
- 17.0
- MUA Index
- 59.6
Light-burden verdict
According to current HRSA Data Warehouse records, Carter County carries a comparatively light shortage burden - 2 active HPSA designations, more than 10% of the 3,289 real US counties, with primary care the deepest gap.
- 2
- Active HPSA designations
- 1
- Dental shortages
- 17
- Peak severity score (of 26)
- Top 90%
- US counties by volume
Few Census ZCTAs touch Carter County
The Census ZCTA-county crosswalk lists only 8 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas intersecting Carter County, a sparse footprint relative to most US counties in this mirror (at or below the 9-ZIP tercile cut).
Intersecting ZCTA
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.
Key findings
What the HRSA Data Warehouse does not surface for Carter County, TN 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.
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Peak HPSA score 17.0 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.
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Closing Carter County's active designations would take about 18 additional clinician FTEs, with primary care the largest gap.
HRSA providers_needed summed once per HPSA id (no double-count across status rows): 15 primary care, 3.5 dental. This is the federal gap estimate, not a headcount of practising clinicians.
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50% of Carter County's 2 active designations are primary care.
Discipline mix from designated HPSA records only: 1 primary care, 0 mental health, 1 dental (denominator 2).
Carter County vs. every real US county
Total active HPSA designations, including counties with none
2 Top 90% higher than 10% of 3,289 real US counties
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more real US counties. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source HRSA Data Warehouse, designated HPSAs · 2026
State peer position. Carter County falls in the lower half of TN counties by active-designation volume, at rank 73 of 95. Ties share a rank; the comparison uses the same current designated records as the national chart.
Healthcare shortage designations from HRSA. FIPS: 47019. Population: 56,356.
Medically Underserved Area
Active HPSA scores
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 2 active (designated) HPSAs in Carter County, ranked by HRSA shortage score.
| Name | Type | Score |
|---|---|---|
| LI-Carter County | dental | 17.0 |
| LI - Washington/Carter/Unicoi Counties | primary_care | 15.0 |
Light-burden reading for Carter County
The clinician FTE gap is the sharpest number here: closing Carter County's active designations would take about 18 additional FTEs on HRSA's providers_needed estimate. Dental care carries Carter County's deepest shortage reading, 17.0 on HRSA's 0–26 dental scale, past the 17-point line HRSA uses to open National Health Service Corps placement and enhanced Medicare reimbursement. Primary care reads 15.0 of 25. The county also sits inside a Medically Underserved Area, indexed at 59.6, and the lower the index, the greater the measured need.
Carter County carries 2 active designations and sits below the national mid-pack (above 10% 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.
Carter County falls in the lower half of TN counties by active-designation volume, at rank 73 of 95. 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 Carter County
Signature reading: HRSA providers_needed sums to about 18 FTE across Carter County's active designations (once per HPSA id), a federal gap estimate, not practising headcount.
Acting on Carter County's high-priority dental care
Carter County's shortage designations unlock specific federal programs and comparisons, here is how to act on them.
- Carter County's high-priority dental care designations are where NHSC placement geography concentrates, estimate the award and service terms. NHSC estimator
- See how the county's dental care burden compares with the rest of TN before drawing conclusions from a single score. TN overview
- Check the provider-to-population ratio behind an HPSA score against HRSA's designation thresholds. 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 with a matching designation count to Carter County's 2
One peer set for this FTE-led county: nearest active designation count to 2 - the inventory behind the ~18 FTE published need.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Does Carter County's MUA standing sit beside its HPSA records?
- Yes - Carter County carries an MUA designation (index 59.6; lower = greater measured need) in addition to its HPSA rows. MUA and HPSA are separate HRSA tracks; both can open different federal pathways.
- Where is the largest clinician FTE gap inside Carter County?
- Id-de-duped providers_needed across active HPSAs totals ~18 FTE, with primary care the largest slice (15). "LI-Carter County" is the highest-scored active row (score 17.0; dental; 8,880 people in the service area; ~3.5 FTE still needed on the record; designated 03/31/1998). This is HRSA's published gap, not a headcount of practising clinicians.
- Which named designations drive Carter County's FTE reading?
- Active names on this release include "LI-Carter County" and "LI - Washington/Carter/Unicoi Counties". Discipline counts: 1 primary care, 0 mental health, 1 dental across 2 designated rows.
Source: HRSA Data Warehouse. FIPS: 47019. This county’s designations come from BCD_HPSA_FCT_DET_PC.csv (primary care) 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 47019 (Carter County, TN), vintage 2026-08-15. Active designation count 2; peak score 17.0; signature 18 FTE gap. This profile is reference material, not professional advice; see methodology.