HRSA Counties Indexed
83
with HPSA / MUA coverage
Medically underserved areas & HPSA profile
Medically Underserved Areas in Michigan
116 Medically Underserved Areas and 793 active HRSA Health Professional Shortage Area designations across Michigan.
- MUAs
- 116
- Total HPSAs
- 793
- Primary care
- 274
- Mental health
- 257
- Dental
- 262
Upper-middle density verdict
Within HRSA's current state and territory corpus, Michigan occupies the upper-middle density quarter. The Data Warehouse counts 793 active shortage designations across 83 counties; Wayne County has the largest county count at 54; about 11.6% of residents live in a geographic shortage county.
- 793
- Active HPSA designations
- 274
- Primary-care shortages
- 116
- Medically underserved areas
- 11.6%
- Residents in a shortage county
Key findings
What the HRSA Data Warehouse does not surface for Michigan 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.
-
Wayne County holds 6.8% of Michigan's 793 active designations (54 of 793).
82 of 83 counties in this profile carry at least one active record; the remainder are zero-active on this release.
-
34.6% of Michigan's active designations are primary care.
Discipline mix from state aggregates: 274 primary care, 257 mental health, 262 dental (denominator 793).
-
Closing Michigan's active designations would take about 741 additional clinician FTEs, led by primary care.
HRSA providers_needed summed once per HPSA id across the state: 377 primary care, 115 mental health, 249 dental. Federal gap estimate, not a practising-clinician headcount.
Corpus placement
Where Michigan sits among all 56 states and territories
Michigan carries 793 active HPSA designations for a population of 10,077,331, which is 7.9 per 100,000 residents, ranking it 27 of 56 and above 52% of states and territories, against a median of 7.3.
33 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.
Snapshot comparison
Change since the previous HRSA snapshot
Between Jun 2, 2026 and Jul 25, 2026, the number of active stable HPSA IDs recorded for Michigan changed from 777 to 793 (+16).
- IDs added
- 22
- IDs absent now
- 0
- Newly designated
- 0
- No longer designated
- 6
Among IDs present in both snapshots, scores rose for 2 and fell for 1; recorded providers needed rose for 1 and fell for 0. These are changes in published designation records, not evidence of cause, care quality, or patient outcomes. See the national comparison and limitations.
Medically Underserved Areas
116
Residents in Geographic Shortage Areas
1,170,237
% Residents in Geographic Shortage
11.6%
Discipline Mix
274 / 257 / 262 PC/MH/D
Primary care · Mental health · Dental
% Residents in Geographic Shortage-Designated Counties 11.6%
Michigan Shortage Designations by Care Type
How Michigan's 793 active HRSA designations split across the three provider categories. According to KFF's May 2026 tracker, Michigan has adopted ACA Medicaid expansion. That policy context does not measure provider supply, appointment availability, or care quality.
Michigan HPSA designations by type
Active Health Professional Shortage Area designations, by provider category.
- Primary care
Primary care
274 designations
- Dental
Dental
262 designations
- Mental health
Mental health
257 designations
Michigan 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 Michigan
75 counties with at least one active dental designation ; led by Wayne (17). Full list (designation count in parentheses): Wayne (17) , Montcalm (10) , Isabella (9) , Tuscola (9) , Gratiot (8) , Huron (8) , Ionia (8) , Van Buren (8) , Clare (7) , Dickinson (7) , Mackinac (7) , Newaygo (7) , Chippewa (6) , Iosco (6) , Sanilac (6) , Berrien (5) , Mason (5) , Muskegon (5) , Arenac (4) , Baraga (4) ; plus 55 more in the table below.
Primary-care HPSA counties in Michigan
79 counties with at least one active primary-care designation ; led by Wayne (18). Full list: Wayne (18) , Ionia (11) , Montcalm (10) , Isabella (9) , Tuscola (9) , Dickinson (8) , Gratiot (8) , Huron (8) , Van Buren (8) , Clare (7) , Mackinac (7) , Newaygo (7) , Chippewa (6) , Iosco (6) , Muskegon (6) , Sanilac (6) , Berrien (5) , Jackson (5) , Mason (5) , Arenac (4) ; plus 59 more in the table below.
Mental-health HPSA counties in Michigan
79 counties with at least one active mental-health designation ; led by Wayne (19). Full list: Wayne (19) , Ionia (10) , Montcalm (10) , Isabella (9) , Tuscola (9) , Dickinson (8) , Gratiot (8) , Huron (8) , Clare (7) , Mackinac (7) , Newaygo (7) , Van Buren (7) , Chippewa (6) , Iosco (6) , Muskegon (6) , Sanilac (6) , Berrien (5) , Mason (5) , Arenac (4) , Baraga (4) ; plus 59 more in the table below.
All counties in Michigan, by total shortage volume
The 40 counties with the most active HPSA designations, of 83 in Michigan. Columns split primary care, mental health, and dental.
| # | County | Designations | Primary Care | Mental Health | Dental | MUA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wayne | 54 | 18 | 19 | 17 | MUA |
| 2 | Montcalm | 30 | 10 | 10 | 10 | MUA |
| 3 | Ionia | 29 | 11 | 10 | 8 | - |
| 4 | Isabella | 27 | 9 | 9 | 9 | MUA |
| 5 | Tuscola | 27 | 9 | 9 | 9 | - |
| 6 | Gratiot | 24 | 8 | 8 | 8 | MUA |
| 7 | Huron | 24 | 8 | 8 | 8 | MUA |
| 8 | Dickinson | 23 | 8 | 8 | 7 | MUA |
| 9 | Van Buren | 23 | 8 | 7 | 8 | MUA |
| 10 | Clare | 21 | 7 | 7 | 7 | MUA |
| 11 | Mackinac | 21 | 7 | 7 | 7 | MUA |
| 12 | Newaygo | 21 | 7 | 7 | 7 | MUA |
| 13 | Chippewa | 18 | 6 | 6 | 6 | MUA |
| 14 | Iosco | 18 | 6 | 6 | 6 | MUA |
| 15 | Sanilac | 18 | 6 | 6 | 6 | MUA |
| 16 | Muskegon | 17 | 6 | 6 | 5 | MUA |
| 17 | Berrien | 15 | 5 | 5 | 5 | MUA |
| 18 | Mason | 15 | 5 | 5 | 5 | - |
| 19 | Arenac | 12 | 4 | 4 | 4 | MUA |
| 20 | Baraga | 12 | 4 | 4 | 4 | MUA |
| 21 | Barry | 12 | 4 | 4 | 4 | - |
| 22 | Cass | 12 | 4 | 4 | 4 | MUA |
| 23 | Delta | 12 | 4 | 4 | 4 | MUA |
| 24 | Houghton | 12 | 4 | 4 | 4 | MUA |
| 25 | Mecosta | 12 | 4 | 4 | 4 | MUA |
| 26 | Oceana | 12 | 4 | 4 | 4 | MUA |
| 27 | Jackson | 11 | 5 | 4 | 2 | MUA |
| 28 | Kent | 11 | 4 | 4 | 3 | MUA |
| 29 | Emmet | 10 | 3 | 4 | 3 | MUA |
| 30 | Calhoun | 9 | 3 | 3 | 3 | MUA |
| 31 | Genesee | 9 | 3 | 3 | 3 | MUA |
| 32 | Gogebic | 9 | 3 | 3 | 3 | MUA |
| 33 | Luce | 9 | 3 | 3 | 3 | - |
| 34 | Menominee | 9 | 3 | 3 | 3 | MUA |
| 35 | Osceola | 9 | 3 | 3 | 3 | MUA |
| 36 | Saginaw | 9 | 3 | 3 | 3 | MUA |
| 37 | Schoolcraft | 9 | 3 | 3 | 3 | MUA |
| 38 | Alger | 8 | 2 | 3 | 3 | MUA |
| 39 | Alpena | 8 | 3 | 2 | 3 | MUA |
| 40 | Marquette | 8 | 3 | 2 | 3 | MUA |
Medically Underserved Areas in Michigan
Showing 30 of 116 MUA designations (lowest MUA Index first, i.e. most underserved).
| Name | MUA Index |
|---|---|
| Macomb Governor Service Area | 0.0 |
| Low Inc - Wexford County | 0.0 |
| Low Inc - Montcalm County | 0.0 |
| Low Inc - Barry/ Eaton Service Area | 0.0 |
| Low Inc - Muskegon Service Area | 0.0 |
| Low Inc - Morenci City Service Area | 0.0 |
| Lake Service Area | 21.4 |
| Chene Service Area | 32.5 |
| Tireman/Chadsey Service Area | 33.0 |
| Eastside Service Area | 33.6 |
| Mackenzie/ Brooks Service Area | 37.5 |
| Genesee Service Area | 41.2 |
| Southwest Detroit Service Area | 42.4 |
| Airport/Conner Service Area | 42.4 |
| Pershing/Nolan/State Fair/Davison Service Area | 44.2 |
| Iron Service Area | 45.1 |
| Low Inc - Kalamazoo Service Area | 46.1 |
| Low Inc - Brightmoor / Cody | 46.1 |
| Oceana Service Area | 46.5 |
| Harmony Village/Grandmont/Cerveny Service Area | 47.0 |
| Missaukee Service Area | 49.6 |
| Hillsdale Service Area | 49.8 |
| Genesee Service Area | 49.9 |
| Branch Service Area | 49.9 |
| Keweenaw Service Area | 50.4 |
| Baldwin/ Garden Service Area | 50.6 |
| Center Line Service Area | 50.6 |
| Low Income - Traverse City Service Area | 50.7 |
| Oscoda Service Area | 50.7 |
| Dafter Service Area | 51.7 |
Upper-middle density reading for Michigan
Michigan carries 793 active HPSA designations with 116 Medically Underserved Areas, enough for a formal shortage footprint without landing in the densest US tier. Compare the three discipline counts (274/257/262) before assuming every care category is equally short.
Geographic shortage counties cover about 11.6% of residents. That coverage signal routes federal recruitment dollars; it is not a service-denial verdict for any one household.
Learn More About Healthcare Shortages
Explore more Michigan shortage data
Dig deeper into the federal shortage designations behind Michigan's numbers.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many Medically Underserved Areas are in Michigan? ▼
Michigan has 116 Medically Underserved Areas (MUAs). About 1,170,237 residents (11.6% 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 Michigan have dental HPSA designations? ▼
75 Michigan counties carry at least one active dental Health Professional Shortage Area in the current HRSA release: Wayne (17), Montcalm (10), Isabella (9), Tuscola (9), Gratiot (8), Huron (8), Ionia (8), Van Buren (8), Clare (7), Dickinson (7), Mackinac (7), Newaygo (7), Chippewa (6), Iosco (6), Sanilac (6), Berrien (5), Mason (5), Muskegon (5), Arenac (4), Baraga (4); plus 55 more on the table below. Counts are designated dental HPSA records per county, not a dentist headcount.
Are there doctor shortages in Michigan? ▼
Yes. Michigan has 793 Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs), including 274 in primary care, 257 in mental health, and 262 in dental care. About 11.6% of Michigan 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.
What are HPSAs? ▼
Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs) are federal designations by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) identifying communities with insufficient healthcare providers. HPSAs are categorized into three types: primary care, mental health, and dental. In Michigan, there are 793 designated HPSAs and 116 Medically Underserved Areas (MUAs).
Source: HRSA Data Warehouse Not affiliated with HRSA
Choose the next comparison
Use Michigan'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 Michigan's primary-care shortage record with every other state before drawing conclusions from a raw total; population and geography affect designation counts. Compare states
- Wayne 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 Michigan (MI) 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.