HRSA Counties Indexed
254
with HPSA / MUA coverage
Medically underserved areas & HPSA profile
Medically Underserved Areas in Texas
212 Medically Underserved Areas and 1,119 active HRSA Health Professional Shortage Area designations across Texas.
- MUAs
- 212
- Total HPSAs
- 1,119
- Primary care
- 394
- Mental health
- 387
- Dental
- 338
Lowest-density verdict
Relative to other states and territories, Texas is in the lowest-density quarter for active designations per resident. Current HRSA Data Warehouse records show 1,119 designations across 254 counties; Harris County has the largest county count at 49; about 33.0% of residents live in a geographic shortage county.
- 1,119
- Active HPSA designations
- 394
- Primary-care shortages
- 212
- Medically underserved areas
- 33.0%
- Residents in a shortage county
Key findings
What the HRSA Data Warehouse does not surface for Texas 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.
-
Harris County holds 4.4% of Texas's 1,119 active designations (49 of 1,119).
250 of 254 counties in this profile carry at least one active record; the remainder are zero-active on this release.
-
35.2% of Texas's active designations are primary care.
Discipline mix from state aggregates: 394 primary care, 387 mental health, 338 dental (denominator 1,119).
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Closing Texas's active designations would take about 2291 additional clinician FTEs, led by primary care.
HRSA providers_needed summed once per HPSA id across the state: 1072 primary care, 600 mental health, 618 dental. Federal gap estimate, not a practising-clinician headcount.
Corpus placement
Where Texas sits among all 56 states and territories
Texas carries 1,119 active HPSA designations for a population of 29,145,505, which is 3.8 per 100,000 residents, ranking it 46 of 56 and above 18% of states and territories, against a median of 7.3.
369 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
212
Residents in Geographic Shortage Areas
9,612,468
% Residents in Geographic Shortage
33.0%
Discipline Mix
394 / 387 / 338 PC/MH/D
Primary care · Mental health · Dental
% Residents in Geographic Shortage-Designated Counties 33.0%
Texas 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 Texas
208 counties with at least one active dental designation ; led by Harris (17). Full list (designation count in parentheses): Harris (17) , El Paso (14) , Dallas (7) , Cameron (4) , DeWitt (4) , Gregg (4) , Howard (4) , Jefferson (4) , Limestone (4) , Pecos (4) , Wichita (4) , Zavala (4) , Brazos (3) , Coryell (3) , Frio (3) , Lubbock (3) , Maverick (3) , Nueces (3) , Tarrant (3) , Anderson (2) ; plus 188 more in the table below.
Primary-care HPSA counties in Texas
234 counties with at least one active primary-care designation ; led by Harris (15). Full list: Harris (15) , El Paso (14) , Bexar (9) , Cameron (7) , Dallas (7) , Hidalgo (7) , DeWitt (4) , Gregg (4) , Howard (4) , Jefferson (4) , Limestone (4) , Lubbock (4) , Pecos (4) , Tarrant (4) , Wichita (4) , Zavala (4) , Brazos (3) , Chambers (3) , Frio (3) , Maverick (3) ; plus 214 more in the table below.
Mental-health HPSA counties in Texas
248 counties with at least one active mental-health designation ; led by Harris (17). Full list: Harris (17) , Dallas (8) , El Paso (8) , Nueces (6) , Bexar (4) , Cameron (4) , DeWitt (4) , Gregg (4) , Howard (4) , Jefferson (4) , Limestone (4) , Pecos (4) , Tarrant (4) , Wichita (4) , Zavala (4) , Brazoria (3) , Brazos (3) , Chambers (3) , Coryell (3) , Frio (3) ; plus 228 more in the table below.
All counties in Texas, by total shortage volume
The 40 counties with the most active HPSA designations, of 254 in Texas. Columns split primary care, mental health, and dental.
| # | County | Designations | Primary Care | Mental Health | Dental | MUA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Harris | 49 | 15 | 17 | 17 | MUA |
| 2 | El Paso | 36 | 14 | 8 | 14 | MUA |
| 3 | Dallas | 22 | 7 | 8 | 7 | MUA |
| 4 | Bexar | 15 | 9 | 4 | 2 | MUA |
| 5 | Cameron | 15 | 7 | 4 | 4 | MUA |
| 6 | DeWitt | 12 | 4 | 4 | 4 | - |
| 7 | Gregg | 12 | 4 | 4 | 4 | MUA |
| 8 | Howard | 12 | 4 | 4 | 4 | - |
| 9 | Jefferson | 12 | 4 | 4 | 4 | MUA |
| 10 | Limestone | 12 | 4 | 4 | 4 | MUA |
| 11 | Nueces | 12 | 3 | 6 | 3 | MUA |
| 12 | Pecos | 12 | 4 | 4 | 4 | MUA |
| 13 | Wichita | 12 | 4 | 4 | 4 | MUA |
| 14 | Zavala | 12 | 4 | 4 | 4 | MUA |
| 15 | Tarrant | 11 | 4 | 4 | 3 | MUA |
| 16 | Hidalgo | 10 | 7 | 2 | 1 | MUA |
| 17 | Lubbock | 10 | 4 | 3 | 3 | MUA |
| 18 | Brazos | 9 | 3 | 3 | 3 | MUA |
| 19 | Frio | 9 | 3 | 3 | 3 | MUA |
| 20 | Maverick | 9 | 3 | 3 | 3 | MUA |
| 21 | Chambers | 8 | 3 | 3 | 2 | MUA |
| 22 | Coryell | 7 | 1 | 3 | 3 | - |
| 23 | Montgomery | 7 | 2 | 3 | 2 | MUA |
| 24 | Travis | 7 | 2 | 3 | 2 | MUA |
| 25 | Webb | 7 | 3 | 2 | 2 | MUA |
| 26 | Anderson | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | - |
| 27 | Andrews | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | - |
| 28 | Atascosa | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | MUA |
| 29 | Bowie | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | MUA |
| 30 | Brazoria | 6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | MUA |
| 31 | Brewster | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | - |
| 32 | Collingsworth | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | - |
| 33 | Cooke | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | - |
| 34 | Deaf Smith | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | - |
| 35 | Dickens | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | MUA |
| 36 | Dimmit | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | MUA |
| 37 | Donley | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | MUA |
| 38 | Falls | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | MUA |
| 39 | Franklin | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | MUA |
| 40 | Freestone | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | MUA |
Medically Underserved Areas in Texas
Texas carries 212 medically underserved designations covering 168 of the 254 Texas counties on record here: 189 designated as an underserved area and 23 as an underserved population within an otherwise adequately served area. A lower Index of Medical Underservice (IMU) means greater measured need.
- 1 Poverty Population 0.0
- 2 Pov - West Kilgore Service Area 0.0
- 3 Pov - Gladewater Service Area 0.0
- 4 Pov - Southeast Longview Service Area 0.0
- 5 Pov/Span-Speak/Immig Pop. - SW Houston 0.0
- 6 Nacogdoches Service Area 0.0
- 7 Real County 37.0
- 8 Gonzales Service Area 37.7
- 9 Brooks County 41.0
- 10 Concho County 42.0
The 10 lowest-IMU designations on record for Texas, from the HRSA shortage-designation file. IMU scores the service area, not any individual practice or hospital.
Lowest-density reading for Texas
Relative to other states and territories, Texas is in the lowest-density quarter (1,119 active designations). A low state total is not evidence that local access is adequate everywhere: facility and population-group designations can still open NHSC or FQHC geography inside individual counties.
Inspect the 254 indexed counties on this page before treating today's low state rank as a settled access verdict. About 33.0% of residents live in a geographic shortage county.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many Medically Underserved Areas are in Texas? ▼
Texas has 212 Medically Underserved Areas (MUAs). About 9,612,468 residents (33.0% 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 Texas have dental HPSA designations? ▼
208 Texas counties carry at least one active dental Health Professional Shortage Area in the current HRSA release: Harris (17), El Paso (14), Dallas (7), Cameron (4), DeWitt (4), Gregg (4), Howard (4), Jefferson (4), Limestone (4), Pecos (4), Wichita (4), Zavala (4), Brazos (3), Coryell (3), Frio (3), Lubbock (3), Maverick (3), Nueces (3), Tarrant (3), Anderson (2); plus 188 more on the table below. Counts are designated dental HPSA records per county, not a dentist headcount.
Source: HRSA Data Warehouse Not affiliated with HRSA
Choose the next comparison
Use Texas'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 Texas's primary-care shortage record with every other state before drawing conclusions from a raw total; population and geography affect designation counts. Compare states
- Harris 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 Texas (TX) 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.