Medically Underserved Area Primary · mental · dental footprint

VA · Healthcare shortage profile

Roanoke City County, VA

Peak severity leads this reading: Roanoke City County's highest active HPSA score is 25.0, clearing HRSA's 17-point high-priority line. Population 100,011.

Active HPSAs
6
Population
100,011
Peak shortage score
25.0
MUA Index
59.0

Mid-burden verdict

According to current HRSA Data Warehouse records, Roanoke City County holds a moderate federal shortage burden - 6 active HPSA designations, more than 54% of the 3,289 real US counties, with primary care the deepest gap.

6
Active HPSA designations
2
Dental shortages
25
Peak severity score (of 26)
Top 46%
US counties by volume

Key findings

What the HRSA Data Warehouse does not surface for Roanoke City 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. Peak HPSA score 25.0 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.

  2. Closing Roanoke City County's active designations would take about 20 additional clinician FTEs, with dental the largest gap.

    HRSA providers_needed summed once per HPSA id (no double-count across status rows): 1.8 primary care, 4 mental health, 14 dental. This is the federal gap estimate, not a headcount of practising clinicians.

  3. 33.3% of Roanoke City County's 6 active designations are primary care.

    Discipline mix from designated HPSA records only: 2 primary care, 2 mental health, 2 dental (denominator 6).

Roanoke City County's mid-pack ZIP footprint

11 Census ZCTAs intersect Roanoke City 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

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.

Corpus placement

Active-designation volume placement

According to current HRSA Data Warehouse records, Roanoke City County carries 6 active designations, above 54% of real US counties. Use the state peer line below before treating the national percentile as a local access verdict.

State peer position. Roanoke City County falls in the upper quarter of VA counties by active-designation volume, at rank 21 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: 51770. Population: 100,011.

2
Dental HPSAs
2
Primary Care HPSAs
2
Mental Health HPSAs

Medically Underserved Area

MUA Designated
MUA Index: 59.0

Active HPSA scores

Primary Care 17.0
Mental Health 22.0
Dental 25.0

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 6 active (designated) HPSAs in Roanoke City County, ranked by HRSA shortage score.

Name Type Score
Kuumba Community Health & Wellness Center, Inc. dental 25.0
Kuumba Community Health & Wellness Center, Inc. mental_health 22.0
Kuumba Community Health & Wellness Center, Inc. primary_care 17.0
LI - Blueridge Mhca mental_health 16.0
LI - Roanoke County/Roanoke City/Salem City dental 16.0
LI-Roanoke City primary_care 13.0

Moderate-burden reading for Roanoke City County

Peak severity leads this reading: Roanoke City County's highest active HPSA score is 25.0, clearing HRSA's 17-point high-priority line. Dental care carries Roanoke City County's deepest shortage reading, 25.0 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 17.0 of 25; Mental health reads 22.0 of 25. The county also sits inside a Medically Underserved Area, indexed at 59.0, and the lower the index, the greater the measured need.

Roanoke City County sits in the middle of the national designation-volume distribution (above 54% of counties) with 6 active records. That is enough for a formal shortage footprint without landing in the heaviest US tier. Compare the three discipline counts (2/2/2) before assuming every care category is equally short.

Roanoke City County falls in the upper quarter of VA counties by active-designation volume, at rank 21 of 133. For moderate counties, the useful move is usually a state peer check plus the score cards above, not a national superlative claim.

Roanoke City County designations by care type

Active Health Professional Shortage Area designations in the county, by provider category (high-priority disciplines emphasized).

designations
Source HRSA Data Warehouse, designated HPSAs As of 2026

Mid-pack clinician FTE gap for Roanoke City County

HRSA providers_needed summed once per HPSA id for Roanoke City County's active designations: about 20 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 Roanoke City County, VA · 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 Roanoke City County's designations

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

  • Roanoke City County's 6 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 VA before you draw conclusions from a single score. VA 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.

Nearby dental score peers

Closest U.S. counties on active dental HPSA score to Roanoke City County's 25.0. Open Cook County, IL or Riverside County, CA next.

Showing 3 of 2744 counties nationally with an active designation this severe.

Counties near Roanoke City County's dental score of 25.0

One peer set for this severity-led county: nearest active dental HPSA score to 25.0 (severity lead on this page is “Kuumba Community Health & Wellness Center, Inc.”).

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Roanoke City County's MUA standing sit beside its HPSA records?
Yes - Roanoke City County carries an MUA designation (index 59.0; 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 Roanoke City County's peak score of 25.0?
"Kuumba Community Health & Wellness Center, Inc." leads the active set (score 25.0; dental; 50,639 people in the service area; designated 10/26/2002). Clearing 17 opens NHSC high-priority placement for the matching provider type on the designated geography. Discipline mix across 6 active rows: 2 primary care, 2 mental health, 2 dental.
Which other active designations sit under Roanoke City County's severity reading?
After "Kuumba Community Health & Wellness Center, Inc.", the next active names on this release are "Kuumba Community Health & Wellness Center, Inc.", "Kuumba Community Health & Wellness Center, Inc.", "Kuumba Community Health & Wellness Center, Inc." and "LI - Blueridge MHCA". Provider need (id-de-duped) totals ~20 FTE across disciplines that still carry a gap.
Which federal pathways follow Roanoke City County's high-severity geography?
Roanoke City County's 6 active designations can open NHSC placement, CHC grants, Medicare bonus and J-1 waivers, eligibility follows the designated area and provider type, not merely the county line around "Kuumba Community Health & Wellness Center, Inc.".

Source: HRSA Data Warehouse. FIPS: 51770. 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 51770 (Roanoke City County, VA), vintage 2026-08-15. Active designation count 6; peak score 25.0; signature peak score 25.0. This profile is reference material, not professional advice; see methodology.