Medically Underserved Area Mono-discipline · mental health

VA · Healthcare shortage profile

Clarke County, VA

Peak severity leads this reading: Clarke County's highest active HPSA score is 14.0, still below HRSA's 17-point high-priority line. Population 14,783.

Active HPSAs
1
Population
14,783
Peak shortage score
14.0
MUA Index
58.0

Light-burden verdict

According to current HRSA Data Warehouse records, Clarke 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
14
Peak severity score (of 26)
Top 98%
US counties by volume

Few Census ZCTAs touch Clarke County

The Census ZCTA-county crosswalk lists only 7 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas intersecting Clarke County, a sparse footprint relative to most US counties in this mirror (at or below the 9-ZIP tercile cut).

Intersecting ZCTA

2 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 Clarke County, VA 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 Clarke County's active designations would take about 4.3 additional clinician FTEs, with mental health the largest gap.

    HRSA providers_needed summed once per HPSA id (no double-count across status rows): 4.3 mental health. This is the federal gap estimate, not a headcount of practising clinicians.

  2. 100% of Clarke 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 14.0 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, Clarke 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. Clarke County falls in the lower half of VA counties by active-designation volume, at rank 120 of 133. 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: 51043. Population: 14,783.

Medically Underserved Area

MUA Designated
MUA Index: 58.0

Active HPSA scores

Mental Health 14.0

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 Clarke County, ranked by HRSA shortage score.

Name Type Score
LI - Northwestern Mhca mental_health 14.0

Light-burden reading for Clarke County

Peak severity leads this reading: Clarke County's highest active HPSA score is 14.0, still below HRSA's 17-point high-priority line. Clarke County's severest measured gap is in mental health, scored 14.0 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 58.0, and the lower the index, the greater the measured need.

Clarke 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.

Clarke County falls in the lower half of VA counties by active-designation volume, at rank 120 of 133. Read the active scores and the deepest-care guide link below before collapsing this county into a "no shortage" story.

Counties near Clarke County's mental score of 14.0

One peer set for this severity-led county: nearest active mental HPSA score to 14.0 (severity lead on this page is “LI - Northwestern MHCA”).

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Clarke County's MUA standing sit beside its HPSA records?
Yes - Clarke County carries an MUA designation (index 58.0; 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 Clarke County's peak score of 14.0?
"LI - Northwestern MHCA" leads the active set (score 14.0; mental health; 64,163 people in the service area; ~4.3 FTE still needed on the record; designated 09/08/2021). 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 Clarke County's severity cover?
Active rows break down 0 primary care / 1 mental health / 0 dental. Closing published gaps would take about 4.3 additional clinician FTEs on this release.

Source: HRSA Data Warehouse. FIPS: 51043. 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 51043 (Clarke County, VA), vintage 2026-08-15. Active designation count 1; peak score 14.0; signature peak score 14.0. This profile is reference material, not professional advice; see methodology.