HRSA Counties Indexed
67
with HPSA / MUA coverage
State healthcare shortage profile
Alabama Healthcare Shortage Areas
252 active HRSA Health Professional Shortage Area designations and 99 Medically Underserved Areas across Alabama.
- Total HPSAs
- 252
- Primary care
- 109
- Mental health
- 56
- Dental
- 87
Lower-middle density verdict
Alabama sits in the lower-middle quarter by active designations per resident. According to current HRSA Data Warehouse records, its 67 counties carry 252 active shortage designations; Mobile County has the largest county count at 13, while about 24.4% of residents live in a geographic shortage county.
- 252
- Active HPSA designations
- 109
- Primary-care shortages
- 99
- Medically underserved areas
- 24.4%
- Residents in a shortage county
Corpus placement
Where Alabama sits among all 56 states and territories
Alabama carries 252 active HPSA designations for a population of 5,024,279, which is 5.0 per 100,000 residents, ranking it 41 of 56 and above 27% of states and territories, against a median of 7.3.
39 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
99
Residents in Geographic Shortage Areas
1,226,451
% Residents in Geographic Shortage
24.4%
Discipline Mix
109 / 56 / 87 PC/MH/D
Primary care · Mental health · Dental
% Residents in Geographic Shortage-Designated Counties 24.4%
Alabama Shortage Designations by Care Type
How Alabama's 252 active HRSA designations split across the three provider categories. According to KFF's May 2026 tracker, Alabama has not adopted ACA Medicaid expansion. That policy context does not measure provider supply, appointment availability, or care quality.
Alabama HPSA designations by type
Active Health Professional Shortage Area designations, by provider category.
- Primary care
Primary care
109 designations
- Dental
Dental
87 designations
- Mental health
Mental health
56 designations
Counties in Alabama, by shortage volume
The 40 counties with the most active HPSA designations, of 67 in Alabama. Counts are live designated-HPSA records by care type (primary care, mental health, dental).
| # | County | Designations | Primary Care | Mental Health | Dental | MUA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mobile | 13 | 5 | 4 | 4 | MUA |
| 2 | Elmore | 12 | 5 | 3 | 4 | MUA |
| 3 | Jefferson | 11 | 5 | 3 | 3 | MUA |
| 4 | Bullock | 10 | 4 | 3 | 3 | MUA |
| 5 | Butler | 9 | 3 | 3 | 3 | MUA |
| 6 | Hale | 9 | 3 | 3 | 3 | MUA |
| 7 | Madison | 9 | 3 | 3 | 3 | MUA |
| 8 | Talladega | 9 | 3 | 3 | 3 | MUA |
| 9 | Bibb | 8 | 3 | 2 | 3 | MUA |
| 10 | Cherokee | 7 | 2 | 2 | 3 | MUA |
| 11 | Escambia | 7 | 3 | 2 | 2 | MUA |
| 12 | Barbour | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | MUA |
| 13 | Chambers | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | MUA |
| 14 | Dallas | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | MUA |
| 15 | Macon | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | MUA |
| 16 | Pike | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | MUA |
| 17 | Sumter | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | MUA |
| 18 | Tallapoosa | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | MUA |
| 19 | Walker | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | MUA |
| 20 | Wilcox | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | MUA |
| 21 | Clarke | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | MUA |
| 22 | Jackson | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | MUA |
| 23 | Montgomery | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | MUA |
| 24 | Pickens | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | MUA |
| 25 | Tuscaloosa | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | MUA |
| 26 | Calhoun | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | MUA |
| 27 | DeKalb | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | MUA |
| 28 | Etowah | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | MUA |
| 29 | Choctaw | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | MUA |
| 30 | Clay | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | MUA |
| 31 | Coffee | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | MUA |
| 32 | Coosa | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | MUA |
| 33 | Covington | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | MUA |
| 34 | Crenshaw | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | MUA |
| 35 | Fayette | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | - |
| 36 | Franklin | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | MUA |
| 37 | Greene | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | MUA |
| 38 | Lamar | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | MUA |
| 39 | Marengo | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | MUA |
| 40 | Marion | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | MUA |
Medically Underserved Areas in Alabama
Showing 30 of 99 MUA designations (lowest MUA Index first, i.e. most underserved).
| Name | MUA Index |
|---|---|
| Macon County | 28.1 |
| Washington County | 32.3 |
| Russell County | 36.0 |
| Sumter County | 40.3 |
| Montgomery Service Area | 42.0 |
| Lawrence County | 44.0 |
| Talladega County | 45.2 |
| Montgomery Service Area | 46.0 |
| Limestone Service Area | 46.2 |
| Montgomery Service Area | 47.7 |
| Bibb County | 47.7 |
| Tuscaloosa Service Area | 47.8 |
| Elmore County | 48.1 |
| Limestone Service Area | 48.9 |
| Shelby County | 49.2 |
| Tuscaloosa Service Area | 49.4 |
| Florence Service Area | 50.7 |
| Dekalb County | 50.8 |
| Low Income - Dallas County | 50.8 |
| Etowah Service Area | 51.0 |
| Madison Service Area | 51.1 |
| Conecuh County | 51.2 |
| Low Inome - Wilcox County | 51.3 |
| Low-Income Central Jefferson County | 51.5 |
| Tuscaloosa Service Area | 51.6 |
| Montgomery Serice Area | 51.7 |
| Cullman County | 51.7 |
| MUA- St. Clair Northeast | 52.0 |
| Coosa County | 52.3 |
| Jefferson Service Area | 52.3 |
Lower-middle density reading for Alabama
Alabama sits below the national mid-pack by designations per resident with 252 active records across 67 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 24.4% 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
Are there doctor shortages in Alabama? ▼
Yes. Alabama has 252 Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs), including 109 in primary care, 56 in mental health, and 87 in dental care. About 24.4% of Alabama 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 Alabama, there are 252 designated HPSAs and 99 Medically Underserved Areas (MUAs).
How many Medically Underserved Areas are in Alabama? ▼
Alabama has 99 Medically Underserved Areas (MUAs). About 1,226,451 residents (24.4% 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.
Source: HRSA Data Warehouse HRSA Data Warehouse Not affiliated with HRSA
Choose the next comparison
Use Alabama'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 Alabama's primary-care shortage record with every other state before drawing conclusions from a raw total; population and geography affect designation counts. Compare states
- Mobile 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 Alabama (AL) 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.