WI · Healthcare shortage profile
Milwaukee County, WI
Peak severity leads this reading: Milwaukee County's highest active HPSA score is 25.0, clearing HRSA's 17-point high-priority line. Population 939,489.
- Active HPSAs
- 32
- Population
- 939,489
- Peak shortage score
- 25.0
- MUA Index
- 47.3
Heavy-burden verdict
According to current HRSA Data Warehouse records, Milwaukee County ranks among the most underserved counties in the country - 32 active HPSA designations, more than 98% of the 3,289 real US counties, with mental health the deepest gap.
- 32
- Active HPSA designations
- 9
- Dental shortages
- 25
- Peak severity score (of 26)
- Top 2%
- US counties by volume
Key findings
What the HRSA Data Warehouse does not surface for Milwaukee County, WI 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 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.
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Closing Milwaukee County's active designations would take about 82 additional clinician FTEs, with dental the largest gap.
HRSA providers_needed summed once per HPSA id (no double-count across status rows): 25 primary care, 11 mental health, 46 dental. This is the federal gap estimate, not a headcount of practising clinicians.
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37.5% of Milwaukee County's 32 active designations are mental health.
Discipline mix from designated HPSA records only: 11 primary care, 12 mental health, 9 dental (denominator 32).
Dense ZCTA lattice over Milwaukee County
Milwaukee County intersects 37 Census ZCTAs, above the 15-ZIP dense-tercile cut. Shortage designations still attach at the county (or smaller HPSA) grain; the ZIP list is geography, not a second severity score.
Largest land-share ZCTAs in this county
25 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, Milwaukee County carries 32 active designations, above 98% of real US counties. Use the state peer line below before treating the national percentile as a local access verdict.
State peer position. Milwaukee County is tied for the highest active-designation count among 71 real counties in WI. 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: 55079. Population: 939,489.
Medically Underserved Area
Peak severity 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 32 active (designated) HPSAs in Milwaukee County, ranked by HRSA shortage score.
| Name | Type | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Milwaukee Health Services, Inc. | dental | 25.0 |
| Outreach Community Health Centers, Incorporated | dental | 25.0 |
| Progressive Community Health Centers, Inc | dental | 25.0 |
| Outreach Community Health Centers, Incorporated | mental_health | 24.0 |
| Sixteenth Street Community Health Center | mental_health | 23.0 |
| Milwaukee Health Services, Inc. | mental_health | 23.0 |
| Sixteenth Street Community Health Center | dental | 23.0 |
| Gerald L Ignace Indian Health Center Inc | dental | 23.0 |
| Gerald L Ignace Indian Health Center Inc | mental_health | 22.0 |
| Progressive Community Health Centers, Inc | mental_health | 22.0 |
| Sixteenth Street Community Health Center | primary_care | 21.0 |
| Milwaukee Health Services, Inc. | primary_care | 21.0 |
| Outreach Community Health Centers, Incorporated | primary_care | 21.0 |
| Progressive Community Health Centers, Inc | primary_care | 21.0 |
| Gerald L Ignace Indian Health Center Inc | primary_care | 21.0 |
| Muslim Community And Health Center OF Wisconsin Inc. | dental | 21.0 |
| Gerald L. Ignace Indian Health Center, Inc. | primary_care | 20.0 |
| Gerald L. Ignace Indian Health Center, Inc. | dental | 20.0 |
| LI-North Milwaukee SA | dental | 19.0 |
| Gerald L. Ignace Indian Health Center, Inc. | mental_health | 18.0 |
| Muslim Community And Health Center OF Wisconsin Inc. | primary_care | 17.0 |
| LI-Eastside Milwaukee | primary_care | 17.0 |
| Muslim Community And Health Center OF Wisconsin Inc. | mental_health | 17.0 |
| LI - South Milwaukee | primary_care | 16.0 |
| LI - South Central Milwaukee | mental_health | 16.0 |
| Whole Hlth Clinical Group/Milwaukee Ctr for Independence | mental_health | 15.0 |
| Access Clinic - Milwaukee County Behavioral Health Division | mental_health | 15.0 |
| LI South Milwaukee SA | dental | 13.0 |
| North Milwaukee | mental_health | 12.0 |
| CF-Milwaukee Secure Detention Facility | mental_health | 12.0 |
| North Milwaukee | primary_care | 11.0 |
| CF-Milwaukee Secure Detention Facility | primary_care | 3.0 |
Heavy-burden reading for Milwaukee County
Peak severity leads this reading: Milwaukee County's highest active HPSA score is 25.0, clearing HRSA's 17-point high-priority line. Dental care carries Milwaukee 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 21.0 of 25; Mental health reads 24.0 of 25. The county also sits inside a Medically Underserved Area, indexed at 47.3, and the lower the index, the greater the measured need.
Volume places Milwaukee County above 98% of real US counties (32 active designations: 11 primary care, 12 mental health, 9 dental). Peak severity on the current designated set is 25.0. The table on this page lists the highest-severity records first so a reader can see which named facilities, geographies, or population groups drive that burden without treating the county total as a personal appointment forecast.
Milwaukee County is tied for the highest active-designation count among 71 real counties in WI. Heavy-burden counties are where NHSC placement, Community Health Center grant geography, and related federal instruments concentrate; eligibility still follows the designated area and provider type, not the county boundary alone.
Milwaukee County designations by care type
Active Health Professional Shortage Area designations in the county, by provider category (high-priority disciplines emphasized).
- Mental health
Mental health
12 designations
- Primary care
Primary care
11 designations
- Dental
Dental
9 designations
Heavy-volume FTE gap in Milwaukee County
HRSA providers_needed summed once per HPSA id for Milwaukee County's active designations: about 82 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 Milwaukee County, WI · 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 a heavy-burden county
Milwaukee County's shortage designations unlock specific federal programs and comparisons, here is how to act on them.
- Milwaukee County's 32 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 mental health burden compares with the rest of WI before you draw conclusions from a single score. WI 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.
Counties With a Similar Dental Shortage Score
Other U.S. counties whose active HRSA dental HPSA score is closest to Milwaukee County's 25.0. This compares the designation score only, not local appointment availability or care quality. Start with Cook County, IL and Riverside County, CA.
Showing 6 of 2744 counties nationally with an active designation this severe.
Counties near Milwaukee 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 “MILWAUKEE HEALTH SERVICES, INC.”).
Cook County, IL
25.0 dental score · 5,275,541 pop.
Riverside County, CA
25.0 dental score · 2,418,185 pop.
Broward County, FL
25.0 dental score · 1,944,375 pop.
Bronx County, NY
25.0 dental score · 1,472,654 pop.
Salt Lake County, UT
25.0 dental score · 1,185,238 pop.
Fresno County, CA
25.0 dental score · 1,008,654 pop.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Does Milwaukee County's MUA standing sit beside its HPSA records?
- Yes - Milwaukee County carries an MUA designation (index 47.3; 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 Milwaukee County's peak score of 25.0?
- "MILWAUKEE HEALTH SERVICES, INC." leads the active set (score 25.0; dental; 127,059 people in the service area; designated 01/20/2004). Clearing 17 opens NHSC high-priority placement for the matching provider type on the designated geography. Discipline mix across 32 active rows: 11 primary care, 12 mental health, 9 dental.
- Which other active designations sit under Milwaukee County's severity reading?
- After "MILWAUKEE HEALTH SERVICES, INC.", the next active names on this release are "MILWAUKEE HEALTH SERVICES, INC.", "OUTREACH COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTERS, INCORPORATED", "PROGRESSIVE COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTERS, INC" and "OUTREACH COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTERS, INCORPORATED". Provider need (id-de-duped) totals ~82 FTE across disciplines that still carry a gap.
- Which federal pathways follow Milwaukee County's high-severity geography?
- Milwaukee County's 32 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 "MILWAUKEE HEALTH SERVICES, INC.".
- How does Milwaukee County's peak severity sit inside WI?
- Milwaukee County holds 32 active HPSA rows with peak 25.0. Milwaukee County is tied for the highest active-designation count among 71 real counties in WI. Score-nearest national peers appear below when the peer module renders. Score-nearest counties on this release include Cook County, IL and Riverside County, CA.
Source: HRSA Data Warehouse. FIPS: 55079. 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 55079 (Milwaukee County, WI), vintage 2026-08-15. Active designation count 32; peak score 25.0; signature peak score 25.0. This profile is reference material, not professional advice; see methodology.