WI · Healthcare shortage profile
Portage County, WI
MUA standing opens this profile: Portage County sits inside a Medically Underserved Area indexed at 61.0 (lower index = greater measured need). Population 70,377.
- Active HPSAs
- 1
- Population
- 70,377
- Peak shortage score
- 9.0
- MUA Index
- 61.0
Light-burden verdict
According to current HRSA Data Warehouse records, Portage County carries a comparatively light shortage burden - 1 active HPSA designation, more than 2% of the 3,289 real US counties, with primary care the deepest gap.
- 1
- Active HPSA designations
- 1
- Primary-care shortages
- 9
- Peak severity score (of 26)
- Top 98%
- US counties by volume
Dense ZCTA lattice over Portage County
Portage County intersects 21 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
9 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 Portage 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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Closing Portage County's active designations would take about 1.2 additional clinician FTEs, with primary care the largest gap.
HRSA providers_needed summed once per HPSA id (no double-count across status rows): 1.2 primary care. This is the federal gap estimate, not a headcount of practising clinicians.
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100% of Portage County's 1 active designations are primary care.
Discipline mix from designated HPSA records only: 1 primary care, 0 mental health, 0 dental (denominator 1).
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Peak HPSA score 9.0 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, Portage 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. Portage County falls in the lower half of WI counties by active-designation volume, at rank 55 of 71. 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: 55097. Population: 70,377.
Medically Underserved Area
Active HPSA scores
Current designated records only · primary care 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 Portage County, ranked by HRSA shortage score.
| Name | Type | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Portage County | primary_care | 9.0 |
Light-burden reading for Portage County
MUA standing opens this profile: Portage County sits inside a Medically Underserved Area indexed at 61.0 (lower index = greater measured need). Primary care is where Portage County is stretched thinnest: HRSA scores it 9.0 of 25, the county's highest severity reading and 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 61.0, and the lower the index, the greater the measured need.
Portage 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.
Portage County falls in the lower half of WI counties by active-designation volume, at rank 55 of 71. Read the active scores and the deepest-care guide link below before collapsing this county into a "no shortage" story.
Score neighbours for Portage County's MUA-led profile
One peer set beside the MUA standing: nearest primary-care HPSA score (9.0 here).
Frequently Asked Questions
- Does Portage County's MUA standing sit beside its HPSA records?
- Yes - Portage County carries an MUA designation (index 61.0; lower = greater measured need) in addition to its HPSA rows. MUA and HPSA are separate HRSA tracks; both can open different federal pathways.
- How do Portage County's HPSA rows sit beside the MUA?
- 1 active HPSA designation (1 primary care / 0 mental health / 0 dental); highest-scored active name is "Portage County" (score 9.0; primary care; 63,350 people in the service area; ~1.2 FTE still needed on the record; designated 03/21/2023). MUA and HPSA are separate tracks, one does not substitute for the other.
- What does the 9.0 HPSA score mean next to the MUA?
- 9.0 sits below the 17-point high-priority HPSA line. MUA index 61.0 remains a separate need measure.
Source: HRSA Data Warehouse. FIPS: 55097. This county’s designations come from BCD_HPSA_FCT_DET_PC.csv (primary care) — 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 55097 (Portage County, WI), vintage 2026-08-15. Active designation count 1; peak score 9.0; signature MUA index 61.0. This profile is reference material, not professional advice; see methodology.