HRSA Counties Indexed
4
with HPSA / MUA coverage
Medically underserved areas & HPSA profile
Medically Underserved Areas in Northern Mariana Islands
1 Medically Underserved Areas and 6 active HRSA Health Professional Shortage Area designations across Northern Mariana Islands.
- MUAs
- 1
- Total HPSAs
- 6
- Primary care
- 2
- Mental health
- 2
- Dental
- 2
Upper-middle density verdict
Within HRSA's current state and territory corpus, Northern Mariana Islands occupies the upper-middle density quarter. The Data Warehouse counts 6 active shortage designations across 4 counties; Saipan County has the largest county count at 6; about 100.0% of residents live in a geographic shortage county.
- 6
- Active HPSA designations
- 2
- Primary-care shortages
- 1
- Medically underserved areas
- 100.0%
- Residents in a shortage county
Key findings
What the HRSA Data Warehouse does not surface for Northern Mariana Islands 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.
-
Saipan County holds 100% of Northern Mariana Islands's 6 active designations (6 of 6).
4 of 4 counties in this profile carry at least one active record; the remainder are zero-active on this release.
-
33.3% of Northern Mariana Islands's active designations are primary care.
Discipline mix from state aggregates: 2 primary care, 2 mental health, 2 dental (denominator 6).
-
Closing Northern Mariana Islands's active designations would take about 14 additional clinician FTEs, led by dental.
HRSA providers_needed summed once per HPSA id across the state: 2.8 primary care, 2.7 mental health, 8.4 dental. Federal gap estimate, not a practising-clinician headcount.
HRSA state registry desk
Northern Mariana Islands designation file stamps
- HPSA-VOL
- 6
- MUA-COUNT
- 1
- PC/MH/DH
- 2/2/2
- RANK
- 18/56
- DENSITY
- MID-HIGH
- BOOK
- 4 counties
Lead discipline: primary-care. Photo-finish peer: American Samoa (6HPSAs).
Corpus placement
Where Northern Mariana Islands sits among all 56 states and territories
Northern Mariana Islands's 6 active HPSA designations across 47,329 residents work out to 12.7 per 100,000, good for rank 18 of 56, ahead of the 7.3 national median and 68% of the corpus.
3 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 Northern Mariana Islands changed from 6 to 6 (0).
- IDs added
- 0
- IDs absent now
- 0
- Newly designated
- 0
- No longer designated
- 0
Among IDs present in both snapshots, scores rose for 0 and fell for 0; recorded providers needed rose for 0 and fell for 0. 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
1
Residents in Geographic Shortage Areas
47,329
% Residents in Geographic Shortage
100.0%
Discipline Mix
2 / 2 / 2 PC/MH/D
Primary care · Mental health · Dental
% Residents in Geographic Shortage-Designated Counties 100.0%
Northern Mariana Islands Shortage Designations by Care Type
How Northern Mariana Islands's 6 active HRSA designations split across the three provider categories. According to KFF's May 2026 tracker, Northern Mariana Islands has not adopted ACA Medicaid expansion. That policy context does not measure provider supply, appointment availability, or care quality.
Northern Mariana Islands HPSA designations by type
Active Health Professional Shortage Area designations, by provider category.
- Primary care
Primary care
2 designations
- Mental health
Mental health
2 designations
- Dental
Dental
2 designations
Northern Mariana Islands 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 Northern Mariana Islands
4 counties with at least one active dental designation ; led by Saipan (2). Full list (designation count in parentheses): Saipan (2) , Northern Islands (1) , Rota (1) , Tinian (1) .
Primary-care HPSA counties in Northern Mariana Islands
4 counties with at least one active primary-care designation ; led by Saipan (2). Full list: Saipan (2) , Northern Islands (1) , Rota (1) , Tinian (1) .
Mental-health HPSA counties in Northern Mariana Islands
4 counties with at least one active mental-health designation ; led by Saipan (2). Full list: Saipan (2) , Northern Islands (1) , Rota (1) , Tinian (1) .
All counties in Northern Mariana Islands, by total shortage volume
All 4Northern Mariana Islands 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 | Saipan | 6 | MUA |
| 2 | Northern Islands | 3 | - |
| 3 | Rota | 3 | - |
| 4 | Tinian | 3 | - |
Medically Underserved Areas in Northern Mariana Islands
All 1 MUA designations in Northern Mariana Islands, lowest MUA Index first.
| Name | MUA Index |
|---|---|
| Cnmi | 46.7 |
Upper-middle density reading for Northern Mariana Islands
Northern Mariana Islands carries 6 active HPSA designations with 1 Medically Underserved Area, enough for a formal shortage footprint without landing in the densest US tier. Compare the three discipline counts (2/2/2) before assuming every care category is equally short.
Geographic shortage counties cover about 100.0% of residents. That coverage signal routes federal recruitment dollars; it is not a service-denial verdict for any one household.
Nationwide states with similar HRSA shortage footprints
Two peer sets for Northern Mariana Islands: total active HPSA designations and Medically Underserved Area counts, ranked against every other state and territory.
Similar designation volume
Nearest total HPSA count (6 active here).
Frequently Asked Questions
How many Medically Underserved Areas are in Northern Mariana Islands? ▼
Northern Mariana Islands has 1 Medically Underserved Areas (MUAs). About 47,329 residents (100.0% 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 Northern Mariana Islands have dental HPSA designations? ▼
4 Northern Mariana Islands counties carry at least one active dental Health Professional Shortage Area in the current HRSA release: Saipan (2), Northern Islands (1), Rota (1), Tinian (1). Counts are designated dental HPSA records per county, not a dentist headcount.
Are there doctor shortages in Northern Mariana Islands? ▼
Yes. Northern Mariana Islands has 6 Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs), including 2 in primary care, 2 in mental health, and 2 in dental care. About 100.0% of Northern Mariana Islands 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 Northern Mariana Islands, there are 6 designated HPSAs and 1 Medically Underserved Areas (MUAs).
Source: HRSA Data Warehouse Not affiliated with HRSA
Choose the next comparison
Use Northern Mariana Islands'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 Northern Mariana Islands's primary-care shortage record with every other state before drawing conclusions from a raw total; population and geography affect designation counts. Compare states
- Saipan 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 Northern Mariana Islands (MP) 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.