Medically underserved areas & HPSA profile

Medically Underserved Areas in Mississippi

91 Medically Underserved Areas and 388 active HRSA Health Professional Shortage Area designations across Mississippi.

MUAs
91
Total HPSAs
388
Primary care
153
Mental health
86
Dental
149

Upper-middle density verdict

Within HRSA's current state and territory corpus, Mississippi occupies the upper-middle density quarter. The Data Warehouse counts 388 active shortage designations across 82 counties; Neshoba County has the largest county count at 18; about 67.7% of residents live in a geographic shortage county.

388
Active HPSA designations
153
Primary-care shortages
91
Medically underserved areas
67.7%
Residents in a shortage county

Key findings

What the HRSA Data Warehouse does not surface for Mississippi 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.

  1. Neshoba County holds 4.6% of Mississippi's 388 active designations (18 of 388).

    81 of 82 counties in this profile carry at least one active record; the remainder are zero-active on this release.

  2. 39.4% of Mississippi's active designations are primary care.

    Discipline mix from state aggregates: 153 primary care, 86 mental health, 149 dental (denominator 388).

  3. Closing Mississippi's active designations would take about 590 additional clinician FTEs, led by primary care.

    HRSA providers_needed summed once per HPSA id across the state: 288 primary care, 99 mental health, 203 dental. Federal gap estimate, not a practising-clinician headcount.

Corpus placement

Where Mississippi sits among all 56 states and territories

Mississippi carries 388 active HPSA designations for a population of 2,961,279, which is 13.1 per 100,000 residents, ranking it 16 of 56 and above 71% of states and territories, against a median of 7.3.

62 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 Mississippi changed from 386 to 388 (+2).

IDs added
5
IDs absent now
0
Newly designated
0
No longer designated
3

Among IDs present in both snapshots, scores rose for 0 and fell for 3; 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
91
Residents in Geographic Shortage Areas
2,003,679
% Residents in Geographic Shortage
67.7%

HRSA Counties Indexed

82

with HPSA / MUA coverage

Discipline Mix

153 / 86 / 149 PC/MH/D

Primary care · Mental health · Dental

% Residents in Geographic Shortage-Designated Counties 67.7%

Mississippi Shortage Designations by Care Type

How Mississippi's 388 active HRSA designations split across the three provider categories. According to KFF's May 2026 tracker, Mississippi has not adopted ACA Medicaid expansion. That policy context does not measure provider supply, appointment availability, or care quality.

Mississippi HPSA designations by type

Active Health Professional Shortage Area designations, by provider category.

designations
Source HRSA Data Warehouse, designated HPSAs As of 2026

Mississippi 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 Mississippi

81 counties with at least one active dental designation ; led by Neshoba (6). Full list (designation count in parentheses): Neshoba (6) , Covington (5) , Amite (4) , Jones (4) , Noxubee (4) , Scott (4) , Simpson (4) , Bolivar (3) , Franklin (3) , Hinds (3) , Lauderdale (3) , Leake (3) , Panola (3) , Tallahatchie (3) , Wilkinson (3) , Yalobusha (3) , Benton (2) , Choctaw (2) , Claiborne (2) , Clarke (2) ; plus 61 more in the table below.

Primary-care HPSA counties in Mississippi

81 counties with at least one active primary-care designation ; led by Neshoba (6). Full list: Neshoba (6) , Covington (5) , Amite (4) , Jones (4) , Lauderdale (4) , Noxubee (4) , Scott (4) , Simpson (4) , Wilkinson (4) , Bolivar (3) , Franklin (3) , Hinds (3) , Leake (3) , Madison (3) , Marshall (3) , Panola (3) , Rankin (3) , Tallahatchie (3) , Yalobusha (3) , Benton (2) ; plus 61 more in the table below.

Mental-health HPSA counties in Mississippi

80 counties with at least one active mental-health designation ; led by Neshoba (6). Full list: Neshoba (6) , Covington (5) , Amite (4) , Jones (4) , Lauderdale (4) , Noxubee (4) , Scott (4) , Simpson (4) , Wilkinson (4) , Bolivar (3) , Franklin (3) , Hinds (3) , Leake (3) , Madison (3) , Marshall (3) , Panola (3) , Rankin (3) , Tallahatchie (3) , Yalobusha (3) , Benton (2) ; plus 60 more in the table below.

All counties in Mississippi, by total shortage volume

The 40 counties with the most active HPSA designations, of 82 in Mississippi. Columns split primary care, mental health, and dental.

# County DesignationsPrimary CareMental HealthDentalMUA
1 Neshoba 18 6 6 6 MUA
2 Covington 15 5 5 5 MUA
3 Amite 12 4 4 4 MUA
4 Jones 12 4 4 4 MUA
5 Noxubee 12 4 4 4 MUA
6 Scott 12 4 4 4 MUA
7 Simpson 12 4 4 4 MUA
8 Lauderdale 11 4 4 3 MUA
9 Wilkinson 11 4 4 3 MUA
10 Bolivar 9 3 3 3 MUA
11 Franklin 9 3 3 3 MUA
12 Hinds 9 3 3 3 MUA
13 Leake 9 3 3 3 MUA
14 Panola 9 3 3 3 MUA
15 Tallahatchie 9 3 3 3 MUA
16 Yalobusha 9 3 3 3 MUA
17 Madison 8 3 3 2 MUA
18 Marshall 8 3 3 2 MUA
19 Rankin 8 3 3 2 MUA
20 Benton 6 2 2 2 MUA
21 Choctaw 6 2 2 2 MUA
22 Claiborne 6 2 2 2 MUA
23 Clarke 6 2 2 2 MUA
24 Coahoma 6 2 2 2 MUA
25 Forrest 6 2 2 2 MUA
26 Greene 6 2 2 2 MUA
27 Harrison 6 2 2 2 MUA
28 Holmes 6 2 2 2 MUA
29 Itawamba 6 2 2 2 MUA
30 Jefferson 6 2 2 2 MUA
31 Jefferson Davis 6 2 2 2 MUA
32 Lamar 6 2 2 2 MUA
33 Marion 6 2 2 2 MUA
34 Monroe 6 2 2 2 MUA
35 Newton 6 2 2 2 MUA
36 Pearl River 6 2 2 2 MUA
37 Quitman 6 2 2 2 MUA
38 Smith 6 2 2 2 MUA
39 Sunflower 6 2 2 2 MUA
40 Tunica 6 2 2 2 MUA

Medically Underserved Areas in Mississippi

Showing 30 of 91 MUA designations (lowest MUA Index first, i.e. most underserved).

Name MUA Index
Issaquena Service Area 19.7
Kemper Service Area 22.0
Benton Service Area 23.5
Yalobusha Service Area 25.8
Noxubee Service Area 26.5
Jefferson Davis Service Area 26.5
Marshall Service Area 26.7
Claiborne Service Area 26.9
Montgomery Service Area 27.8
Leflore Service Area 29.6
Amite Service Area 29.6
Coahoma Service Area 29.9
Tallahatchie Service Area 30.1
Sharkey Service Area 30.6
Tunica Service Area 30.7
Walthall Service Area 30.8
Panola Service Area 31.0
Chickasaw Service Area 31.2
Holmes Service Area 31.9
Yazoo Service Area 32.1
Webster Service Area 32.1
Sunflower Service Area 32.1
Quitman Service Area 32.2
Humphreys Service Area 32.3
Winston Service Area 32.4
Wilkinson Service Area 32.4
Newton Service Area 32.4
Bolivar Service Area 34.0
Tate Service Area 35.5
Wayne Service Area 35.7

Upper-middle density reading for Mississippi

Mississippi carries 388 active HPSA designations with 91 Medically Underserved Areas, enough for a formal shortage footprint without landing in the densest US tier. Compare the three discipline counts (153/86/149) before assuming every care category is equally short.

Geographic shortage counties cover about 67.7% 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

What counts as a high HPSA score

National score distribution by discipline: where a bare score sits among primary-care, dental, and mental-health designations.

Reading Healthcare Shortage Designations

How to compare HRSA shortage records by state without treating them as personal care outcomes.

Explore more Mississippi shortage data

Dig deeper into the federal shortage designations behind Mississippi's numbers.

Primary-care shortages

Where the provider gap is deepest nationwide

Mental-health shortages

Counties and states with the widest mental-health gaps

National rankings

See where Mississippi ranks among all states

Coverage tools

Estimate HPSA scores and provider gaps

Frequently Asked Questions

How many Medically Underserved Areas are in Mississippi? ▼
Mississippi has 91 Medically Underserved Areas (MUAs). About 2,003,679 residents (67.7% 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 Mississippi have dental HPSA designations? ▼
81 Mississippi counties carry at least one active dental Health Professional Shortage Area in the current HRSA release: Neshoba (6), Covington (5), Amite (4), Jones (4), Noxubee (4), Scott (4), Simpson (4), Bolivar (3), Franklin (3), Hinds (3), Lauderdale (3), Leake (3), Panola (3), Tallahatchie (3), Wilkinson (3), Yalobusha (3), Benton (2), Choctaw (2), Claiborne (2), Clarke (2); plus 61 more on the table below. Counts are designated dental HPSA records per county, not a dentist headcount.
Are there doctor shortages in Mississippi? ▼
Yes. Mississippi has 388 Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs), including 153 in primary care, 86 in mental health, and 149 in dental care. About 67.7% of Mississippi 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 Mississippi, there are 388 designated HPSAs and 91 Medically Underserved Areas (MUAs).

Source: HRSA Data Warehouse Not affiliated with HRSA

Choose the next comparison

Use Mississippi'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 Mississippi's primary-care shortage record with every other state before drawing conclusions from a raw total; population and geography affect designation counts. Compare states
  • Neshoba 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 →

Verify with CMS →

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 Mississippi (MS) 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.