HRSA Counties Indexed
1
with HPSA / MUA coverage
State healthcare shortage profile
District of Columbia Healthcare Shortage Areas
31 active HRSA Health Professional Shortage Area designations and 8 Medically Underserved Areas across District of Columbia.
- Total HPSAs
- 31
- Primary care
- 12
- Mental health
- 10
- Dental
- 9
Lowest-density verdict
Relative to other states and territories, District of Columbia is in the lowest-density quarter for active designations per resident. Current HRSA Data Warehouse records show 31 designations across 1 counties; District of Columbia County has the largest county count at 31; about 0.0% of residents live in a geographic shortage county.
- 31
- Active HPSA designations
- 12
- Primary-care shortages
- 8
- Medically underserved areas
- 0.0%
- Residents in a shortage county
Corpus placement
Where District of Columbia sits among all 56 states and territories
District of Columbia carries 31 active HPSA designations for a population of 689,545, which is 4.5 per 100,000 residents, ranking it 43 of 56 and above 23% of states and territories, against a median of 7.3.
Every one of those designations is facility-, population- or clinic-based: District of Columbia has no county-wide geographic HPSA. That is why the "share of residents in a shortage county" figure on this page reads 0%: it counts only geographic designations, and a 0% there means the shortage here is designated by facility and population group rather than by whole county. It does not mean no shortage was found.
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
8
Residents in Geographic Shortage Areas
0
% Residents in Geographic Shortage
0.0%
Discipline Mix
12 / 10 / 9 PC/MH/D
Primary care · Mental health · Dental
% Residents in Geographic Shortage-Designated Counties 0.0%
Counties in District of Columbia, by shortage volume
All 1District of Columbia counties, ranked by active HPSA designations across primary care, mental health, and dental.
| # | County | Designations | Primary Care | Mental Health | Dental | MUA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | District of Columbia | 31 | 12 | 10 | 9 | MUA |
Lowest-density reading for District of Columbia
Relative to other states and territories, District of Columbia is in the lowest-density quarter (31 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 1 indexed counties on this page before treating today's low state rank as a settled access verdict. About 0.0% of residents live in a geographic shortage county.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are there doctor shortages in District of Columbia? ▼
Yes. District of Columbia has 31 Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs), including 12 in primary care, 10 in mental health, and 9 in dental care. About 0.0% of District of Columbia 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 District of Columbia, there are 31 designated HPSAs and 8 Medically Underserved Areas (MUAs).
Source: HRSA Data Warehouse HRSA Data Warehouse Not affiliated with HRSA
Choose the next comparison
Use District of Columbia'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 District of Columbia's primary-care shortage record with every other state before drawing conclusions from a raw total; population and geography affect designation counts. Compare states
- District of Columbia 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 the state. 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.