HRSA Counties Indexed
23
with HPSA / MUA coverage
Medically underserved areas & HPSA profile
Medically Underserved Areas in Maryland
54 Medically Underserved Areas and 133 active HRSA Health Professional Shortage Area designations across Maryland.
- MUAs
- 54
- Total HPSAs
- 133
- Primary care
- 56
- Mental health
- 47
- Dental
- 30
Lowest-density verdict
Relative to other states and territories, Maryland is in the lowest-density quarter for active designations per resident. Current HRSA Data Warehouse records show 133 designations across 23 counties; Baltimore City County has the largest county count at 38; about 44.5% of residents live in a geographic shortage county.
- 133
- Active HPSA designations
- 56
- Primary-care shortages
- 54
- Medically underserved areas
- 44.5%
- Residents in a shortage county
Key findings
What the HRSA Data Warehouse does not surface for Maryland 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.
-
Closing Maryland's active designations would take about 454 additional clinician FTEs, led by primary care.
HRSA providers_needed summed once per HPSA id across the state: 294 primary care, 90 mental health, 70 dental. Federal gap estimate, not a practising-clinician headcount.
-
42.1% of Maryland's active designations are primary care.
Discipline mix from state aggregates: 56 primary care, 47 mental health, 30 dental (denominator 133).
-
Baltimore City County holds 28.6% of Maryland's 133 active designations (38 of 133).
23 of 23 counties in this profile carry at least one active record; the remainder are zero-active on this release.
HRSA state registry desk
Maryland designation file stamps
- HPSA-VOL
- 133
- MUA-COUNT
- 54
- PC/MH/DH
- 56/47/30
- RANK
- 55/56
- DENSITY
- LIGHT
- BOOK
- 23 counties
Lead discipline: primary-care. Photo-finish peer: New Jersey (127HPSAs).
Corpus placement
Where Maryland sits among all 56 states and territories
Rank 55 of 56 puts Maryland in the corpus's lighter tier: 2% of states and territories designate more per capita. The underlying count is 133 active HPSA designations for 5,844,907 residents, or 2.3 per 100,000 against a 7.3 median.
23 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
54
Residents in Geographic Shortage Areas
2,603,856
% Residents in Geographic Shortage
44.5%
Discipline Mix
56 / 47 / 30 PC/MH/D
Primary care · Mental health · Dental
% Residents in Geographic Shortage-Designated Counties 44.5%
Maryland 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 Maryland
17 counties with at least one active dental designation ; led by Baltimore City (8). Full list (designation count in parentheses): Baltimore City (8) , Montgomery (3) , Allegany (2) , Garrett (2) , Washington (2) , Wicomico (2) , Anne Arundel (1) , Baltimore (1) , Caroline (1) , Cecil (1) , Dorchester (1) , Frederick (1) , Harford (1) , Prince George's (1) , Somerset (1) , Talbot (1) , Worcester (1) .
Primary-care HPSA counties in Maryland
22 counties with at least one active primary-care designation ; led by Baltimore City (19). Full list: Baltimore City (19) , Montgomery (5) , Prince George's (4) , Baltimore (3) , Washington (3) , Allegany (2) , Caroline (2) , Cecil (2) , Frederick (2) , Garrett (2) , Wicomico (2) , Anne Arundel (1) , Calvert (1) , Carroll (1) , Charles (1) , Dorchester (1) , Harford (1) , Kent (1) , Queen Anne's (1) , Somerset (1) ; plus 2 more in the table below.
Mental-health HPSA counties in Maryland
22 counties with at least one active mental-health designation ; led by Baltimore City (11). Full list: Baltimore City (11) , Washington (5) , Allegany (3) , Prince George's (3) , Anne Arundel (2) , Baltimore (2) , Caroline (2) , Cecil (2) , Frederick (2) , Garrett (2) , Montgomery (2) , Wicomico (2) , Calvert (1) , Carroll (1) , Charles (1) , Dorchester (1) , Harford (1) , Kent (1) , Queen Anne's (1) , Somerset (1) ; plus 2 more in the table below.
All counties in Maryland, by total shortage volume
All 23Maryland 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 | Baltimore City | 38 | MUA |
| 2 | Montgomery | 10 | MUA |
| 3 | Washington | 10 | MUA |
| 4 | Prince George's | 8 | MUA |
| 5 | Allegany | 7 | MUA |
| 6 | Baltimore | 6 | MUA |
| 7 | Garrett | 6 | MUA |
| 8 | Wicomico | 6 | MUA |
| 9 | Caroline | 5 | MUA |
| 10 | Cecil | 5 | MUA |
| 11 | Frederick | 5 | MUA |
| 12 | Anne Arundel | 4 | MUA |
| 13 | Dorchester | 3 | MUA |
| 14 | Harford | 3 | MUA |
| 15 | Somerset | 3 | MUA |
| 16 | Worcester | 3 | MUA |
| 17 | Calvert | 2 | MUA |
| 18 | Carroll | 2 | MUA |
| 19 | Charles | 2 | MUA |
| 20 | Kent | 2 | MUA |
| 21 | Queen Anne's | 2 | MUA |
| 22 | St. Mary's | 2 | MUA |
| 23 | Talbot | 1 | MUA |
Medically Underserved Areas in Maryland
Maryland carries 54 medically underserved designations covering 23 of the 23 Maryland counties on record here: 42 designated as an underserved area and 12 as an underserved population within an otherwise adequately served area. A lower Index of Medical Underservice (IMU) means greater measured need.
- 1 Low Inc - Takoma/ Langley 0.0
- 2 Low Inc - Brandywine Service Area 0.0
- 3 Baltimore City Service Area 38.6
- 4 Garrett Service Area 42.4
- 5 Chaptico/ Milestown Service Area 45.1
- 6 Northwest Baltimore City 48.8
- 7 Baltimore City Service Area 48.9
- 8 Baltimore Service Area 49.2
- 9 Baltimore City Service Area 51.3
- 10 Irvington Service Area 51.6
The 10 lowest-IMU designations on record for Maryland, from the HRSA shortage-designation file. IMU scores the service area, not any individual practice or hospital.
Lowest-density reading for Maryland
Relative to other states and territories, Maryland is in the lowest-density quarter (133 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 23 indexed counties on this page before treating today's low state rank as a settled access verdict. About 44.5% of residents live in a geographic shortage county.
Nationwide states with similar HRSA shortage footprints
Two peer sets for Maryland: total active HPSA designations and Medically Underserved Area counts, ranked against every other state and territory.
Similar designation volume
Nearest total HPSA count (133 active here).
Similar MUA inventory
Nearest MUA count (54 here).
Frequently Asked Questions
How many Medically Underserved Areas are in Maryland? ▼
Maryland has 54 Medically Underserved Areas (MUAs). About 2,603,856 residents (44.5% 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 Maryland have dental HPSA designations? ▼
17 Maryland counties carry at least one active dental Health Professional Shortage Area in the current HRSA release: Baltimore City (8), Montgomery (3), Allegany (2), Garrett (2), Washington (2), Wicomico (2), Anne Arundel (1), Baltimore (1), Caroline (1), Cecil (1), Dorchester (1), Frederick (1), Harford (1), Prince George's (1), Somerset (1), Talbot (1), Worcester (1). 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 Maryland'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 Maryland's primary-care shortage record with every other state before drawing conclusions from a raw total; population and geography affect designation counts. Compare states
- Baltimore City 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 Maryland (MD) 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.