HRSA Counties Indexed
100
with HPSA / MUA coverage
State healthcare shortage profile
North Carolina Healthcare Shortage Areas
615 active HRSA Health Professional Shortage Area designations and 113 Medically Underserved Areas across North Carolina.
- Total HPSAs
- 615
- Primary care
- 208
- Mental health
- 207
- Dental
- 200
Lower-middle density verdict
North Carolina sits in the lower-middle quarter by active designations per resident. According to current HRSA Data Warehouse records, its 100 counties carry 615 active shortage designations; Mecklenburg County has the largest county count at 21, while about 9.2% of residents live in a geographic shortage county.
- 615
- Active HPSA designations
- 208
- Primary-care shortages
- 113
- Medically underserved areas
- 9.2%
- Residents in a shortage county
Corpus placement
Where North Carolina sits among all 56 states and territories
North Carolina carries 615 active HPSA designations for a population of 10,439,388, which is 5.9 per 100,000 residents, ranking it 32 of 56 and above 43% of states and territories, against a median of 7.3.
31 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
113
Residents in Geographic Shortage Areas
960,106
% Residents in Geographic Shortage
9.2%
Discipline Mix
208 / 207 / 200 PC/MH/D
Primary care · Mental health · Dental
% Residents in Geographic Shortage-Designated Counties 9.2%
North Carolina Shortage Designations by Care Type
How North Carolina's 615 active HRSA designations split across the three provider categories. According to KFF's May 2026 tracker, North Carolina has adopted ACA Medicaid expansion. That policy context does not measure provider supply, appointment availability, or care quality.
North Carolina HPSA designations by type
Active Health Professional Shortage Area designations, by provider category.
- Primary care
Primary care
208 designations
- Mental health
Mental health
207 designations
- Dental
Dental
200 designations
Counties in North Carolina, by shortage volume
The 40 counties with the most active HPSA designations, of 100 in North Carolina. Counts are live designated-HPSA records by care type (primary care, mental health, dental).
| # | County | Designations | Primary Care | Mental Health | Dental | MUA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mecklenburg | 21 | 7 | 7 | 7 | MUA |
| 2 | Wake | 18 | 6 | 5 | 7 | MUA |
| 3 | McDowell | 17 | 6 | 6 | 5 | MUA |
| 4 | Scotland | 17 | 6 | 6 | 5 | MUA |
| 5 | Swain | 15 | 5 | 5 | 5 | MUA |
| 6 | Pender | 14 | 3 | 6 | 5 | MUA |
| 7 | Buncombe | 13 | 4 | 5 | 4 | MUA |
| 8 | Cherokee | 12 | 4 | 4 | 4 | MUA |
| 9 | Greene | 12 | 4 | 4 | 4 | MUA |
| 10 | Columbus | 11 | 4 | 4 | 3 | MUA |
| 11 | Granville | 11 | 4 | 4 | 3 | MUA |
| 12 | Robeson | 11 | 4 | 4 | 3 | MUA |
| 13 | Anson | 9 | 3 | 3 | 3 | MUA |
| 14 | Bertie | 9 | 3 | 3 | 3 | MUA |
| 15 | Craven | 9 | 3 | 3 | 3 | MUA |
| 16 | Cumberland | 9 | 5 | 2 | 2 | MUA |
| 17 | Edgecombe | 9 | 3 | 3 | 3 | MUA |
| 18 | Graham | 9 | 3 | 3 | 3 | MUA |
| 19 | Guilford | 9 | 3 | 3 | 3 | MUA |
| 20 | Halifax | 9 | 3 | 3 | 3 | MUA |
| 21 | Jackson | 9 | 3 | 3 | 3 | MUA |
| 22 | Johnston | 9 | 3 | 3 | 3 | MUA |
| 23 | Mitchell | 9 | 3 | 3 | 3 | MUA |
| 24 | New Hanover | 9 | 3 | 3 | 3 | MUA |
| 25 | Avery | 8 | 3 | 3 | 2 | MUA |
| 26 | Caswell | 8 | 2 | 3 | 3 | MUA |
| 27 | Harnett | 8 | 3 | 3 | 2 | MUA |
| 28 | Alexander | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | MUA |
| 29 | Alleghany | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | MUA |
| 30 | Beaufort | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | MUA |
| 31 | Bladen | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | MUA |
| 32 | Burke | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | - |
| 33 | Cabarrus | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | MUA |
| 34 | Clay | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | MUA |
| 35 | Duplin | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | MUA |
| 36 | Durham | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | MUA |
| 37 | Forsyth | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | MUA |
| 38 | Gaston | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | MUA |
| 39 | Haywood | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | MUA |
| 40 | Hertford | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | MUA |
Medically Underserved Areas in North Carolina
Showing 30 of 113 MUA designations (lowest MUA Index first, i.e. most underserved).
| Name | MUA Index |
|---|---|
| Watauga Service Area | 0.0 |
| Stony Fork Service Area | 0.0 |
| Township 10 Little River - County | 0.0 |
| Gloucester Service Area | 0.0 |
| Low Inc & Mfw Population | 0.0 |
| Hyde Service Area | 24.2 |
| Greene Service Area | 24.4 |
| Warren Service Area | 30.4 |
| Clay Service Area | 30.9 |
| Tyrrell Service Area | 31.4 |
| Halifax Service Area | 34.5 |
| Gates Service Area | 35.0 |
| Bertie Service Area | 36.3 |
| Washington Service Area | 37.2 |
| Northampton Service Area | 37.3 |
| Bladen Service Area | 37.7 |
| Jones Service Area | 38.6 |
| Madison Service Area | 39.7 |
| Perquimans Service Area | 40.5 |
| Franklin Service Area | 41.0 |
| Mitchell Service Area | 41.2 |
| Granville Service Area | 41.5 |
| Columbus Service Area | 41.8 |
| Nash Service Area | 42.4 |
| Hoke Service Area | 42.9 |
| Caswell Service Area | 43.1 |
| Robeson Service Area | 43.7 |
| Davidson Service Area | 44.8 |
| Camden Service Area | 45.4 |
| Duplin Service Area | 45.9 |
Lower-middle density reading for North Carolina
North Carolina sits below the national mid-pack by designations per resident with 615 active records across 100 counties. A moderate footprint still matters: a single high-score dental or mental-health record can open program geography even when the state total looks small next to denser peers.
About 9.2% of residents live in a geographic shortage county. Use the county ranking below to see which localities drive that share.
Learn More About Healthcare Shortages
Frequently Asked Questions
Are there doctor shortages in North Carolina? ▼
Yes. North Carolina has 615 Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs), including 208 in primary care, 207 in mental health, and 200 in dental care. About 9.2% of North Carolina 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 North Carolina, there are 615 designated HPSAs and 113 Medically Underserved Areas (MUAs).
How many Medically Underserved Areas are in North Carolina? ▼
North Carolina has 113 Medically Underserved Areas (MUAs). About 960,106 residents (9.2% 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.
Source: HRSA Data Warehouse HRSA Data Warehouse Not affiliated with HRSA
Choose the next comparison
Use North Carolina'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 North Carolina's primary-care shortage record with every other state before drawing conclusions from a raw total; population and geography affect designation counts. Compare states
- Mecklenburg 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.