HRSA Counties Indexed
64
with HPSA / MUA coverage
Medically underserved areas & HPSA profile
Medically Underserved Areas in Colorado
75 Medically Underserved Areas and 309 active HRSA Health Professional Shortage Area designations across Colorado.
- MUAs
- 75
- Total HPSAs
- 309
- Primary care
- 120
- Mental health
- 81
- Dental
- 108
Lower-middle density verdict
Colorado sits in the lower-middle quarter by active designations per resident. According to current HRSA Data Warehouse records, its 64 counties carry 309 active shortage designations; Denver County has the largest county count at 35, while about 64.3% of residents live in a geographic shortage county.
- 309
- Active HPSA designations
- 120
- Primary-care shortages
- 75
- Medically underserved areas
- 64.3%
- Residents in a shortage county
Key findings
What the HRSA Data Warehouse does not surface for Colorado on its own pages , computed from the retained designation mirror as of 2026-08-03. Each line carries its own denominator so it can be quoted as it stands.
-
Denver County holds 11.3% of Colorado's 309 active designations (35 of 309).
64 of 64 counties in this profile carry at least one active record; the remainder are zero-active on this release.
-
38.8% of Colorado's active designations are primary care.
Discipline mix from state aggregates: 120 primary care, 81 mental health, 108 dental (denominator 309).
-
Closing Colorado's active designations would take about 302 additional clinician FTEs, led by primary care.
HRSA providers_needed summed once per HPSA id across the state: 131 primary care, 94 mental health, 77 dental. Federal gap estimate, not a practising-clinician headcount.
Corpus placement
Where Colorado sits among all 56 states and territories
Colorado carries 309 active HPSA designations for a population of 5,773,714, which is 5.4 per 100,000 residents, ranking it 38 of 56 and above 32% of states and territories, against a median of 7.3.
49 of those are county-wide geographic designations; the remainder are facility-, population- or clinic-based, which is why the county map and the designation count answer different questions.
Designation density tracks rural geography as much as unmet need: AK records 134.7 designations per 100,000 residents and NJ 1.5, because a sparsely-settled state accumulates more separate designations to cover the same population. Designations also overlap, so this counts designations, not people. Counted as distinct HRSA designation IDs, the same unit as the totals above. Computed from the designation records and county populations behind this page; states without county population data are given no placement rather than an estimated one.
Medically Underserved Areas
75
Residents in Geographic Shortage Areas
3,712,434
% Residents in Geographic Shortage
64.3%
Discipline Mix
120 / 81 / 108 PC/MH/D
Primary care · Mental health · Dental
% Residents in Geographic Shortage-Designated Counties 64.3%
Colorado Shortage Designations by Care Type
How Colorado's 309 active HRSA designations split across the three provider categories. According to KFF's May 2026 tracker, Colorado has adopted ACA Medicaid expansion. That policy context does not measure provider supply, appointment availability, or care quality.
Colorado HPSA designations by type
Active Health Professional Shortage Area designations, by provider category.
- Primary care
Primary care
120 designations
- Dental
Dental
108 designations
- Mental health
Mental health
81 designations
Colorado HPSA Counties by Care Type
County lists for the three HRSA shortage disciplines searchers ask for by name (dental, primary care, mental health). Counts are live designated-HPSA records in this release, not provider headcounts.
Dental HPSA counties in Colorado
56 counties with at least one active dental designation ; led by Denver (10). Full list (designation count in parentheses): Denver (10) , Fremont (6) , Grand (5) , Montezuma (5) , Adams (3) , Chaffee (3) , Cheyenne (3) , Montrose (3) , Morgan (3) , Pueblo (3) , Rio Grande (3) , Weld (3) , Alamosa (2) , Archuleta (2) , Conejos (2) , Crowley (2) , Garfield (2) , Gunnison (2) , Hinsdale (2) , Jefferson (2) ; plus 36 more in the table below.
Primary-care HPSA counties in Colorado
59 counties with at least one active primary-care designation ; led by Denver (15). Full list: Denver (15) , Fremont (6) , Adams (5) , Montezuma (5) , Grand (4) , Arapahoe (3) , Cheyenne (3) , Jefferson (3) , Montrose (3) , Morgan (3) , Rio Grande (3) , Weld (3) , Archuleta (2) , Baca (2) , Boulder (2) , Chaffee (2) , Conejos (2) , Crowley (2) , Elbert (2) , Garfield (2) ; plus 39 more in the table below.
Mental-health HPSA counties in Colorado
63 counties with at least one active mental-health designation ; led by Denver (10). Full list: Denver (10) , Fremont (8) , Grand (5) , Montezuma (5) , Chaffee (4) , Pueblo (4) , Cheyenne (3) , Jefferson (3) , La Plata (3) , Morgan (3) , Rio Grande (3) , Weld (3) , Adams (2) , Alamosa (2) , Archuleta (2) , Baca (2) , Boulder (2) , Conejos (2) , Crowley (2) , El Paso (2) ; plus 43 more in the table below.
All counties in Colorado, by total shortage volume
The 40 counties with the most active HPSA designations, of 64 in Colorado. Columns split primary care, mental health, and dental.
| # | County | Designations | Primary Care | Mental Health | Dental | MUA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Denver | 35 | 15 | 10 | 10 | MUA |
| 2 | Fremont | 20 | 6 | 8 | 6 | MUA |
| 3 | Montezuma | 15 | 5 | 5 | 5 | MUA |
| 4 | Grand | 14 | 4 | 5 | 5 | MUA |
| 5 | Adams | 10 | 5 | 2 | 3 | MUA |
| 6 | Chaffee | 9 | 2 | 4 | 3 | - |
| 7 | Cheyenne | 9 | 3 | 3 | 3 | MUA |
| 8 | Morgan | 9 | 3 | 3 | 3 | MUA |
| 9 | Pueblo | 9 | 2 | 4 | 3 | MUA |
| 10 | Rio Grande | 9 | 3 | 3 | 3 | MUA |
| 11 | Weld | 9 | 3 | 3 | 3 | MUA |
| 12 | Jefferson | 8 | 3 | 3 | 2 | MUA |
| 13 | Montrose | 8 | 3 | 2 | 3 | MUA |
| 14 | La Plata | 7 | 2 | 3 | 2 | MUA |
| 15 | Archuleta | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | MUA |
| 16 | Conejos | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | MUA |
| 17 | Crowley | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | MUA |
| 18 | Garfield | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | MUA |
| 19 | Gunnison | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | - |
| 20 | Kiowa | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | - |
| 21 | Lake | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | - |
| 22 | Las Animas | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | MUA |
| 23 | Logan | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | MUA |
| 24 | Mesa | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | MUA |
| 25 | Otero | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | MUA |
| 26 | Prowers | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | MUA |
| 27 | San Miguel | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | MUA |
| 28 | Alamosa | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | MUA |
| 29 | Arapahoe | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | MUA |
| 30 | Baca | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | - |
| 31 | Boulder | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | MUA |
| 32 | Hinsdale | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | MUA |
| 33 | Lincoln | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | - |
| 34 | Moffat | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | MUA |
| 35 | Routt | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | MUA |
| 36 | Sedgwick | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | MUA |
| 37 | El Paso | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | MUA |
| 38 | Summit | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | MUA |
| 39 | Bent | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | MUA |
| 40 | Costilla | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | MUA |
Medically Underserved Areas in Colorado
Showing 30 of 75 MUA designations (lowest MUA Index first, i.e. most underserved).
| Name | MUA Index |
|---|---|
| Low Inc - Summitt County | 0.0 |
| Low Inc - Longmont | 0.0 |
| Jefferson Governor Service Area | 0.0 |
| Arapahoe Governor Service Area | 0.0 |
| Arapahoe Service Area | 0.0 |
| Adams Governor Service Area | 0.0 |
| Adams Governor Service Area | 0.0 |
| Adams Governor Service Area | 0.0 |
| Park Governor | 0.0 |
| Low Income Population | 0.0 |
| Hinsdale Governor | 0.0 |
| Mesa Governor Service Area | 0.0 |
| Mesa Governor Service Area | 0.0 |
| Larimer Governor | 0.0 |
| Alamosa Governor | 0.0 |
| Exceptional Needs - Low Income | 0.0 |
| Costilla County | 23.8 |
| Conejos County | 38.0 |
| Saguache County | 41.3 |
| Clear Creek County | 47.1 |
| Cripple Creek Service Area | 47.6 |
| Las Animas County | 48.2 |
| Globeville Service Area | 49.5 |
| Rio Grande County | 49.9 |
| Archuleta County | 50.1 |
| Pueblo Service Area | 50.9 |
| Poverty - Inner Boulder City Service Area | 51.5 |
| San Juan County | 52.0 |
| Ouray Service Area | 52.2 |
| Low Inc/ M F W - Montrose Service Area | 52.2 |
Lower-middle density reading for Colorado
Colorado sits below the national mid-pack by designations per resident with 309 active records across 64 counties. A moderate footprint still matters: a single high-score dental or mental-health record can open program geography even when the state total looks small next to denser peers.
About 64.3% of residents live in a geographic shortage county. Use the county ranking below to see which localities drive that share.
Learn More About Healthcare Shortages
Frequently Asked Questions
How many Medically Underserved Areas are in Colorado? ▼
Colorado has 75 Medically Underserved Areas (MUAs). About 3,712,434 residents (64.3% of the state) live in a county with a geographic HRSA shortage designation. MUA-designated areas qualify for enhanced federal funding and Community Health Center grants.
Which counties in Colorado have dental HPSA designations? ▼
56 Colorado counties carry at least one active dental Health Professional Shortage Area in the current HRSA release: Denver (10), Fremont (6), Grand (5), Montezuma (5), Adams (3), Chaffee (3), Cheyenne (3), Montrose (3), Morgan (3), Pueblo (3), Rio Grande (3), Weld (3), Alamosa (2), Archuleta (2), Conejos (2), Crowley (2), Garfield (2), Gunnison (2), Hinsdale (2), Jefferson (2); plus 36 more on the table below. Counts are designated dental HPSA records per county, not a dentist headcount.
Are there doctor shortages in Colorado? ▼
Yes. Colorado has 309 Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs), including 120 in primary care, 81 in mental health, and 108 in dental care. About 64.3% of Colorado residents live in a county that HRSA has designated as a geographic (whole-community) shortage area; additional residents are covered by population-group and facility designations counted separately.
Source: HRSA Data Warehouse Not affiliated with HRSA
Choose the next comparison
Use Colorado's designation totals as a starting point, then move to the comparison that answers the next decision without treating a shortage designation as a personal care outcome.
- Compare Colorado's primary-care shortage record with every other state before drawing conclusions from a raw total; population and geography affect designation counts. Compare states
- Denver County has the most active HPSA designations in this state profile. Open its county record to inspect the local primary-care, mental-health, and dental breakdown. Open county profile
- Use the national statistics reference for the source vintage, aggregate context, and methodology behind these state-level figures. Read national context
HRSA designations describe structural provider-shortage criteria and federal-program eligibility. They do not measure appointment availability, insurance coverage, care quality, or an individual patient’s access to care.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.
Verify with U.S. Census Bureau →
Every figure on PlainHealthAccess is rendered directly from HRSA source data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page aggregates every county-level HPSA and MUA designation on record for Colorado (CO) and ranks the state's per-capita designation density among all states and territories. Designations describe federal shortage criteria, not appointment availability or care quality for any person. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, review the public data changelog, or report a data issue for this page. Data current as of 2026.