HRSA Counties Indexed
64
with HPSA / MUA coverage
Medically underserved areas & HPSA profile
Medically Underserved Areas in Louisiana
73 Medically Underserved Areas and 523 active HRSA Health Professional Shortage Area designations across Louisiana.
- MUAs
- 73
- Total HPSAs
- 523
- Primary care
- 178
- Mental health
- 173
- Dental
- 172
Upper-middle density verdict
Within HRSA's current state and territory corpus, Louisiana occupies the upper-middle density quarter. The Data Warehouse counts 523 active shortage designations across 64 counties; Avoyelles County has the largest county count at 33; about 53.1% of residents live in a geographic shortage county.
- 523
- Active HPSA designations
- 178
- Primary-care shortages
- 73
- Medically underserved areas
- 53.1%
- Residents in a shortage county
Key findings
What the HRSA Data Warehouse does not surface for Louisiana 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.
-
Avoyelles County holds 6.3% of Louisiana's 523 active designations (33 of 523).
61 of 64 counties in this profile carry at least one active record; the remainder are zero-active on this release.
-
34% of Louisiana's active designations are primary care.
Discipline mix from state aggregates: 178 primary care, 173 mental health, 172 dental (denominator 523).
-
Closing Louisiana's active designations would take about 538 additional clinician FTEs, led by dental.
HRSA providers_needed summed once per HPSA id across the state: 165 primary care, 122 mental health, 251 dental. Federal gap estimate, not a practising-clinician headcount.
Corpus placement
Where Louisiana sits among all 56 states and territories
Louisiana carries 523 active HPSA designations for a population of 4,657,757, which is 11.2 per 100,000 residents, ranking it 21 of 56 and above 63% of states and territories, against a median of 7.3.
92 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 Louisiana changed from 507 to 523 (+16).
- IDs added
- 19
- IDs absent now
- 0
- Newly designated
- 0
- No longer designated
- 3
Among IDs present in both snapshots, scores rose for 2 and fell for 3; recorded providers needed rose for 2 and fell for 7. 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
73
Residents in Geographic Shortage Areas
2,472,942
% Residents in Geographic Shortage
53.1%
Discipline Mix
178 / 173 / 172 PC/MH/D
Primary care · Mental health · Dental
% Residents in Geographic Shortage-Designated Counties 53.1%
Louisiana Shortage Designations by Care Type
How Louisiana's 523 active HRSA designations split across the three provider categories. According to KFF's May 2026 tracker, Louisiana has adopted ACA Medicaid expansion. That policy context does not measure provider supply, appointment availability, or care quality.
Louisiana HPSA designations by type
Active Health Professional Shortage Area designations, by provider category.
- Primary care
Primary care
178 designations
- Mental health
Mental health
173 designations
- Dental
Dental
172 designations
Louisiana 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 Louisiana
60 counties with at least one active dental designation ; led by Avoyelles (11). Full list (designation count in parentheses): Avoyelles (11) , Allen (10) , Orleans (8) , St. Landry (8) , Jefferson (6) , Vermilion (6) , East Baton Rouge (5) , Evangeline (5) , Iberville (5) , Tangipahoa (5) , Beauregard (4) , Caddo (4) , Calcasieu (4) , Franklin (4) , Morehouse (4) , Tensas (4) , Assumption (3) , De Soto (3) , East Feliciana (3) , LaSalle (3) ; plus 40 more in the table below.
Primary-care HPSA counties in Louisiana
59 counties with at least one active primary-care designation ; led by Avoyelles (11). Full list: Avoyelles (11) , Allen (10) , Jefferson (9) , Orleans (8) , St. Landry (8) , Calcasieu (6) , Vermilion (6) , Evangeline (5) , Iberville (5) , Tangipahoa (5) , Beauregard (4) , Caddo (4) , East Baton Rouge (4) , East Feliciana (4) , Franklin (4) , Morehouse (4) , Tensas (4) , Assumption (3) , De Soto (3) , LaSalle (3) ; plus 39 more in the table below.
Mental-health HPSA counties in Louisiana
61 counties with at least one active mental-health designation ; led by Avoyelles (11). Full list: Avoyelles (11) , Allen (10) , St. Landry (8) , Orleans (7) , Jefferson (6) , Vermilion (6) , East Baton Rouge (5) , Evangeline (5) , Iberville (5) , Tangipahoa (5) , Beauregard (4) , Caddo (4) , Calcasieu (4) , East Feliciana (4) , Franklin (4) , Morehouse (4) , Tensas (4) , Assumption (3) , De Soto (3) , LaSalle (3) ; plus 41 more in the table below.
All counties in Louisiana, by total shortage volume
The 40 counties with the most active HPSA designations, of 64 in Louisiana. Columns split primary care, mental health, and dental.
| # | County | Designations | Primary Care | Mental Health | Dental | MUA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Avoyelles | 33 | 11 | 11 | 11 | MUA |
| 2 | Allen | 30 | 10 | 10 | 10 | MUA |
| 3 | St. Landry | 24 | 8 | 8 | 8 | MUA |
| 4 | Orleans | 23 | 8 | 7 | 8 | MUA |
| 5 | Jefferson | 21 | 9 | 6 | 6 | MUA |
| 6 | Vermilion | 18 | 6 | 6 | 6 | MUA |
| 7 | Evangeline | 15 | 5 | 5 | 5 | MUA |
| 8 | Iberville | 15 | 5 | 5 | 5 | MUA |
| 9 | Tangipahoa | 15 | 5 | 5 | 5 | MUA |
| 10 | Calcasieu | 14 | 6 | 4 | 4 | MUA |
| 11 | East Baton Rouge | 14 | 4 | 5 | 5 | MUA |
| 12 | Beauregard | 12 | 4 | 4 | 4 | MUA |
| 13 | Caddo | 12 | 4 | 4 | 4 | MUA |
| 14 | Franklin | 12 | 4 | 4 | 4 | MUA |
| 15 | Morehouse | 12 | 4 | 4 | 4 | MUA |
| 16 | Tensas | 12 | 4 | 4 | 4 | MUA |
| 17 | East Feliciana | 11 | 4 | 4 | 3 | MUA |
| 18 | Assumption | 9 | 3 | 3 | 3 | MUA |
| 19 | De Soto | 9 | 3 | 3 | 3 | MUA |
| 20 | LaSalle | 9 | 3 | 3 | 3 | MUA |
| 21 | Ouachita | 9 | 3 | 3 | 3 | MUA |
| 22 | Rapides | 9 | 3 | 3 | 3 | MUA |
| 23 | Richland | 9 | 3 | 3 | 3 | MUA |
| 24 | St. Mary | 9 | 3 | 3 | 3 | MUA |
| 25 | Washington | 9 | 3 | 3 | 3 | MUA |
| 26 | West Feliciana | 7 | 3 | 2 | 2 | MUA |
| 27 | Catahoula | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | MUA |
| 28 | Claiborne | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | MUA |
| 29 | East Carroll | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | MUA |
| 30 | Grant | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | MUA |
| 31 | Iberia | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | MUA |
| 32 | Jackson | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | MUA |
| 33 | Jefferson Davis | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | MUA |
| 34 | Lafayette | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | MUA |
| 35 | Lafourche | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | MUA |
| 36 | Natchitoches | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | MUA |
| 37 | Pointe Coupee | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | MUA |
| 38 | Sabine | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | MUA |
| 39 | Webster | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | MUA |
| 40 | Winn | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | MUA |
Medically Underserved Areas in Louisiana
Showing 30 of 73 MUA designations (lowest MUA Index first, i.e. most underserved).
| Name | MUA Index |
|---|---|
| Evangeline Service Area | 34.1 |
| Vernon Service Area | 37.7 |
| St. Landry Service Area | 40.9 |
| Tensas Parish | 41.4 |
| Madision Parish | 42.7 |
| Red River Service Area | 45.8 |
| Claiborne Parish | 46.2 |
| Plaquemines Service Area | 49.0 |
| Franklin Parish | 49.2 |
| Beauregard Service Area | 49.3 |
| Concordia Parish | 50.8 |
| Bienville Parish | 51.2 |
| Cameron Service Area | 51.2 |
| Union Parish | 51.3 |
| Jefferson Service Area | 51.6 |
| Bossier Service Area | 51.7 |
| Jackson Parish | 52.2 |
| Old Kenner River Service Area | 52.4 |
| St. Helena Parish | 52.5 |
| St. Bernard Service Area | 52.7 |
| St. Bernard Service Area | 52.7 |
| Quachita Service Area | 52.8 |
| Caddo Service Area | 53.0 |
| Bridge City/Waggaman/Avondale Service Area | 53.3 |
| Vermilion Service Area | 53.4 |
| Livingston Service Area | 53.4 |
| Caddo Service Area | 53.8 |
| Orleans Service Area | 53.8 |
| Fayette Service Area | 53.9 |
| Calcasieu Service Area | 54.2 |
Upper-middle density reading for Louisiana
Louisiana carries 523 active HPSA designations with 73 Medically Underserved Areas, enough for a formal shortage footprint without landing in the densest US tier. Compare the three discipline counts (178/173/172) before assuming every care category is equally short.
Geographic shortage counties cover about 53.1% 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 Louisiana shortage data
Dig deeper into the federal shortage designations behind Louisiana's numbers.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many Medically Underserved Areas are in Louisiana? ▼
Louisiana has 73 Medically Underserved Areas (MUAs). About 2,472,942 residents (53.1% 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 Louisiana have dental HPSA designations? ▼
60 Louisiana counties carry at least one active dental Health Professional Shortage Area in the current HRSA release: Avoyelles (11), Allen (10), Orleans (8), St. Landry (8), Jefferson (6), Vermilion (6), East Baton Rouge (5), Evangeline (5), Iberville (5), Tangipahoa (5), Beauregard (4), Caddo (4), Calcasieu (4), Franklin (4), Morehouse (4), Tensas (4), Assumption (3), De Soto (3), East Feliciana (3), LaSalle (3); plus 40 more on the table below. Counts are designated dental HPSA records per county, not a dentist headcount.
Are there doctor shortages in Louisiana? ▼
Yes. Louisiana has 523 Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs), including 178 in primary care, 173 in mental health, and 172 in dental care. About 53.1% of Louisiana 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 Louisiana, there are 523 designated HPSAs and 73 Medically Underserved Areas (MUAs).
Source: HRSA Data Warehouse Not affiliated with HRSA
Choose the next comparison
Use Louisiana'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 Louisiana's primary-care shortage record with every other state before drawing conclusions from a raw total; population and geography affect designation counts. Compare states
- Avoyelles 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 Louisiana (LA) 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.