HRSA Counties Indexed
31
with HPSA / MUA coverage
Medically underserved areas & HPSA profile
Medically Underserved Areas in Alaska
30 Medically Underserved Areas and 988 active HRSA Health Professional Shortage Area designations across Alaska.
- MUAs
- 30
- Total HPSAs
- 988
- Primary care
- 330
- Mental health
- 330
- Dental
- 328
Highest-density verdict
Current HRSA Data Warehouse records put Alaska in the highest-density quarter of states and territories. It carries 988 active shortage designations across 31 counties; Bethel County has the largest county count at 131. About 60.3% of residents live in a geographic shortage county.
- 988
- Active HPSA designations
- 330
- Primary-care shortages
- 30
- Medically underserved areas
- 60.3%
- Residents in a shortage county
Key findings
What the HRSA Data Warehouse does not surface for Alaska 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.
-
33.4% of Alaska's active designations are primary care.
Discipline mix from state aggregates: 330 primary care, 330 mental health, 328 dental (denominator 988).
-
Bethel County holds 13.3% of Alaska's 988 active designations (131 of 988).
31 of 31 counties in this profile carry at least one active record; the remainder are zero-active on this release.
-
Closing Alaska's active designations would take about 125 additional clinician FTEs, led by primary care.
HRSA providers_needed summed once per HPSA id across the state: 52 primary care, 25 mental health, 48 dental. Federal gap estimate, not a practising-clinician headcount.
HRSA state registry desk
Alaska designation file stamps
- HPSA-VOL
- 988
- MUA-COUNT
- 30
- PC/MH/DH
- 330/330/328
- RANK
- 1/56
- DENSITY
- DENSE
- BOOK
- 31 counties
Lead discipline: primary-care. Photo-finish peer: Missouri (925HPSAs).
Corpus placement
Where Alaska sits among all 56 states and territories
Ranked 1 of 56, Alaska sits above 98% of states and territories on this measure, a rate of 134.7 designations per 100,000 residents, well past the 7.3 median. That rate comes from 988 active HPSA designations against a population of 733,391.
35 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 Alaska changed from 975 to 988 (+13).
- IDs added
- 25
- IDs absent now
- 0
- Newly designated
- 2
- No longer designated
- 14
Among IDs present in both snapshots, scores rose for 19 and fell for 6; recorded providers needed rose for 1 and fell for 3. 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
30
Residents in Geographic Shortage Areas
442,144
% Residents in Geographic Shortage
60.3%
Discipline Mix
330 / 330 / 328 PC/MH/D
Primary care · Mental health · Dental
% Residents in Geographic Shortage-Designated Counties 60.3%
Alaska Shortage Designations by Care Type
How Alaska's 988 active HRSA designations split across the three provider categories. According to KFF's May 2026 tracker, Alaska has adopted ACA Medicaid expansion. That policy context does not measure provider supply, appointment availability, or care quality.
Alaska HPSA designations by type
Active Health Professional Shortage Area designations, by provider category.
- Primary care
Primary care
330 designations
- Mental health
Mental health
330 designations
- Dental
Dental
328 designations
Alaska 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 Alaska
31 counties with at least one active dental designation ; led by Bethel (43). Full list (designation count in parentheses): Bethel (43) , Yukon-Koyukuk (36) , Anchorage (19) , Nome (18) , Dillingham (17) , Kenai Peninsula (16) , Kusilvak (16) , Lake and Peninsula (15) , Northwest Arctic (15) , Prince of Wales-Hyder (15) , Copper River (11) , Kodiak Island (10) , Matanuska-Susitna (10) , Juneau (9) , Aleutians West (8) , North Slope (8) , Southeast Fairbanks (8) , Aleutians East (7) , Fairbanks North Star (7) , Hoonah-Angoon (7) ; plus 11 more in the table below.
Primary-care HPSA counties in Alaska
31 counties with at least one active primary-care designation ; led by Bethel (44). Full list: Bethel (44) , Yukon-Koyukuk (35) , Anchorage (20) , Nome (18) , Kenai Peninsula (17) , Dillingham (16) , Kusilvak (16) , Northwest Arctic (15) , Prince of Wales-Hyder (15) , Lake and Peninsula (14) , Copper River (11) , Matanuska-Susitna (10) , Juneau (9) , Kodiak Island (9) , North Slope (9) , Aleutians West (8) , Southeast Fairbanks (8) , Aleutians East (7) , Fairbanks North Star (7) , Hoonah-Angoon (7) ; plus 11 more in the table below.
Mental-health HPSA counties in Alaska
31 counties with at least one active mental-health designation ; led by Bethel (44). Full list: Bethel (44) , Yukon-Koyukuk (36) , Anchorage (20) , Nome (19) , Dillingham (17) , Kenai Peninsula (17) , Kusilvak (16) , Northwest Arctic (16) , Lake and Peninsula (15) , Prince of Wales-Hyder (15) , Copper River (11) , Kodiak Island (10) , Matanuska-Susitna (10) , Juneau (9) , North Slope (9) , Aleutians West (8) , Southeast Fairbanks (8) , Aleutians East (7) , Fairbanks North Star (7) , Hoonah-Angoon (7) ; plus 11 more in the table below.
All counties in Alaska, by total shortage volume
All 31Alaska counties, ranked by active HPSA designations across primary care, mental health, and dental. On a narrow screen, this list keeps each county’s total and MUA status visible; the care-type split is available on wider screens.
| # | County | Designations | MUA |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bethel | 131 | MUA |
| 2 | Yukon-Koyukuk | 107 | MUA |
| 3 | Anchorage | 59 | MUA |
| 4 | Nome | 55 | MUA |
| 5 | Dillingham | 50 | MUA |
| 6 | Kenai Peninsula | 50 | MUA |
| 7 | Kusilvak | 48 | - |
| 8 | Northwest Arctic | 46 | MUA |
| 9 | Prince of Wales-Hyder | 45 | - |
| 10 | Lake and Peninsula | 44 | MUA |
| 11 | Copper River | 33 | - |
| 12 | Matanuska-Susitna | 30 | MUA |
| 13 | Kodiak Island | 29 | MUA |
| 14 | Juneau | 27 | MUA |
| 15 | North Slope | 26 | MUA |
| 16 | Aleutians West | 24 | MUA |
| 17 | Southeast Fairbanks | 24 | MUA |
| 18 | Aleutians East | 21 | MUA |
| 19 | Fairbanks North Star | 21 | MUA |
| 20 | Hoonah-Angoon | 21 | MUA |
| 21 | Bristol Bay | 18 | MUA |
| 22 | Chugach | 18 | - |
| 23 | Haines | 15 | MUA |
| 24 | Ketchikan Gateway | 12 | MUA |
| 25 | Sitka | 12 | - |
| 26 | Wrangell City and Borough | 12 | MUA |
| 27 | Denali | 9 | MUA |
| 28 | Petersburg | 9 | - |
| 29 | Yakutat | 9 | MUA |
| 30 | Skagway | 6 | - |
| 31 | Valdez-Cordova | 3 | - |
Medically Underserved Areas in Alaska
All 30 MUA designations in Alaska, lowest MUA Index first.
| Name | MUA Index |
|---|---|
| Low Inc - Wrangell | 0.0 |
| Low Inc - Cordova Service Area | 0.0 |
| Low Inc - Denali Borough | 0.0 |
| Low Inc - Kodiak Island Borough | 0.0 |
| Low Inc - Copper River Census Sub Area | 0.0 |
| Low Inc - Southeast Fairbanks Census | 0.0 |
| Low Inc - Dillingham Census Area | 0.0 |
| Fairbanks North Star Borough | 0.0 |
| Mantanuska-sustina | 0.0 |
| Haines | 0.0 |
| Exceptional Needs - Kenai Peninsula Service Area | 0.0 |
| Wade Hampton Census Area | 32.5 |
| Northwest Arctic | 37.2 |
| Nome Census Area | 37.2 |
| Mcgrath-holy Cross Service Area | 47.7 |
| Lower Kukokwim | 47.7 |
| Bethel Census Area | 47.7 |
| City Of Whittier | 50.0 |
| Yukon Flats Service Area | 57.0 |
| Prudhoe Bay-kaktovik Service Area | 57.0 |
| Lake And Peninsula Borough Service Area | 58.0 |
| Koyukuk-middle Yokon | 59.9 |
| Skagway-Hoonah-Angoon Service Area | 59.9 |
| Bristol Bay | 60.3 |
| Prince of Wales-Outer Ketchikan Area | 60.4 |
| Yakutat | 60.8 |
| Aleutians East | 61.1 |
| Aleutians West Service Area | 61.7 |
| Anchorage | 61.7 |
| Homeless - Juneau | 63.0 |
High-density reading for Alaska
At 988 active designations (330 primary care / 330 mental health / 328 dental), Alaska sits in the top quarter of the state and territory corpus by designations per resident. That volume is where NHSC placements, FQHC operating geography, and related federal instruments concentrate; eligibility still follows the designated area and provider type, not the state boundary alone.
Bethel County leads the in-state table with 131 active records; open that county profile before treating the state total as evenly spread. About 60.3% of residents live in a geographic shortage county; facility and population-group designations cover additional residents counted separately.
Nationwide states with similar HRSA shortage footprints
Two peer sets for Alaska: total active HPSA designations and Medically Underserved Area counts, ranked against every other state and territory.
Similar designation volume
Nearest total HPSA count (988 active here).
Similar MUA inventory
Nearest MUA count (30 here).
Frequently Asked Questions
How many Medically Underserved Areas are in Alaska? ▼
Alaska has 30 Medically Underserved Areas (MUAs). About 442,144 residents (60.3% 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 Alaska have dental HPSA designations? ▼
31 Alaska counties carry at least one active dental Health Professional Shortage Area in the current HRSA release: Bethel (43), Yukon-Koyukuk (36), Anchorage (19), Nome (18), Dillingham (17), Kenai Peninsula (16), Kusilvak (16), Lake and Peninsula (15), Northwest Arctic (15), Prince of Wales-Hyder (15), Copper River (11), Kodiak Island (10), Matanuska-Susitna (10), Juneau (9), Aleutians West (8), North Slope (8), Southeast Fairbanks (8), Aleutians East (7), Fairbanks North Star (7), Hoonah-Angoon (7); plus 11 more on the table below. Counts are designated dental HPSA records per county, not a dentist headcount.
Are there doctor shortages in Alaska? ▼
Yes. Alaska has 988 Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs), including 330 in primary care, 330 in mental health, and 328 in dental care. About 60.3% of Alaska 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 Alaska, there are 988 designated HPSAs and 30 Medically Underserved Areas (MUAs).
What federal programs address healthcare shortages in Alaska? ▼
HRSA shortage designations in Alaska unlock eligibility for over 30 federal programs, including National Health Service Corps (NHSC) loan repayment and scholarships, Community Health Center (FQHC) funding, Medicare bonus payments (10% for physicians in HPSAs), J-1 visa waiver programs for international medical graduates, and Rural Health Clinic certification. These programs direct billions of dollars annually toward underserved communities.
How does Alaska compare to other states in HRSA shortage designations? ▼
Alaska has 988 total HPSA designations and 30 Medically Underserved Areas. With 60.3% of residents in counties carrying a geographic shortage designation, you can compare the recorded HRSA designations and scores with other states on our national rankings pages for primary care, mental health, and dental care.
How often is Alaska HPSA data updated? ▼
HRSA publishes HPSA designation changes through the Data Warehouse on a rolling basis. This page reports the portal's stated HRSA source vintage after a verified refresh; use HRSA's official tools when a current designation status matters.
Source: HRSA Data Warehouse Not affiliated with HRSA
Choose the next comparison
Use Alaska'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 Alaska's primary-care shortage record with every other state before drawing conclusions from a raw total; population and geography affect designation counts. Compare states
- Bethel 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 Alaska (AK) 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.