WA · Healthcare shortage profile
Walla Walla County, WA
The clinician FTE gap is the sharpest number here: closing Walla Walla County's active designations would take about 17 additional FTEs on HRSA's providers_needed estimate. Population 62,584.
- Active HPSAs
- 6
- Population
- 62,584
- Peak shortage score
- 16.0
- MUA Index
- -
Mid-burden verdict
According to current HRSA Data Warehouse records, Walla Walla 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
- Mental-health shortages
- 16
- Peak severity score (of 26)
- Top 46%
- US counties by volume
Few Census ZCTAs touch Walla Walla County
The Census ZCTA-county crosswalk lists only 8 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas intersecting Walla Walla 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 Walla Walla County, WA 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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Closing Walla Walla County's active designations would take about 17 additional clinician FTEs, with primary care the largest gap.
HRSA providers_needed summed once per HPSA id (no double-count across status rows): 11 primary care, 3 mental health, 2.8 dental. This is the federal gap estimate, not a headcount of practising clinicians.
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33.3% of Walla Walla 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).
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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, Walla Walla County carries 6 active designations, above 54% 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. Walla Walla County falls in the lower half of WA counties by active-designation volume, at rank 28 of 39. 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: 53071. Population: 62,584.
Below high-priority line
Walla Walla County is designated, but no active score clears 17
6 active designations sit on this FIPS (2 primary care, 2 mental health, 2 dental), and the peak severity is 16.0. That is a formal shortage footprint without HRSA's high-priority (≥17) tier, so NHSC placement geography is usually weaker here than on counties whose lead score clears the line.
Active HPSA scores
Current designated records only. No Medically Underserved Area designation covers Walla Walla County in the current HRSA release, federal support here runs through the HPSA route alone. 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 Walla Walla County, ranked by HRSA shortage score.
| Name | Type | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Walla Walla County | mental_health | 16.0 |
| CF-Washington State Penitentiary | primary_care | 15.0 |
| Columbia-Walla Walla Counties | primary_care | 14.0 |
| CF-Washington State Penitentiary | mental_health | 12.0 |
| HN - Walla Walla County | dental | 8.0 |
| Washington State Penitentiary | dental | 3.0 |
Moderate-burden reading for Walla Walla County
The clinician FTE gap is the sharpest number here: closing Walla Walla County's active designations would take about 17 additional FTEs on HRSA's providers_needed estimate. Walla Walla County's severest measured gap is in mental health, scored 16.0 of 25, still short of the 17-point priority line, though the designation itself is formal. Primary care reads 15.0 of 25; Dental care reads 8.0 of 26. No Medically Underserved Area designation covers Walla Walla County, so federal support here runs through the HPSA route alone.
Walla Walla 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.
Walla Walla County falls in the lower half of WA counties by active-designation volume, at rank 28 of 39. For moderate counties, the useful move is usually a state peer check plus the score cards above, not a national superlative claim.
Mid-pack clinician FTE gap for Walla Walla County
Signature reading: HRSA providers_needed sums to about 17 FTE across Walla Walla County's active designations (once per HPSA id), a federal gap estimate, not practising headcount.
Counties with a matching designation count to Walla Walla County's 6
One peer set for this FTE-led county: nearest active designation count to 6 - the inventory behind the ~17 FTE published need.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Where is the largest clinician FTE gap inside Walla Walla County?
- Id-de-duped providers_needed across active HPSAs totals ~17 FTE, with primary care the largest slice (11). "Walla Walla County" is the highest-scored active row (score 16.0; mental health; 57,506 people in the service area; ~2.9 FTE still needed on the record; designated 08/02/2017). This is HRSA's published gap, not a headcount of practising clinicians.
- Why is Walla Walla County not listed as a Medically Underserved Area?
- Walla Walla County has no MUA designation on this release. Federal shortage support here runs through the active HPSA record set alone.
- Which named designations drive Walla Walla County's FTE reading?
- Active names on this release include "Walla Walla County", "CF-Washington State Penitentiary", "Columbia-Walla Walla Counties" and "CF-Washington State Penitentiary". Discipline counts: 2 primary care, 2 mental health, 2 dental across 6 designated rows.
- Do Walla Walla County's FTE gaps unlock federal programs?
- Yes where an ACTIVE designation exists, NHSC, CHC grants, Medicare bonus and J-1 waivers follow the designated geography and provider type. A published FTE gap without an active row does not, by itself, open those pathways.
Source: HRSA Data Warehouse. FIPS: 53071. 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 53071 (Walla Walla County, WA), vintage 2026-08-15. Active designation count 6; peak score 16.0; signature 17 FTE gap. This profile is reference material, not professional advice; see methodology.