HRSA Counties Indexed
17
with HPSA / MUA coverage
Medically underserved areas & HPSA profile
Medically Underserved Areas in Nevada
25 Medically Underserved Areas and 173 active HRSA Health Professional Shortage Area designations across Nevada.
- MUAs
- 25
- Total HPSAs
- 173
- Primary care
- 65
- Mental health
- 53
- Dental
- 55
Lower-middle density verdict
Nevada sits in the lower-middle quarter by active designations per resident. According to current HRSA Data Warehouse records, its 17 counties carry 173 active shortage designations; Clark County has the largest county count at 41, while about 100.0% of residents live in a geographic shortage county.
- 173
- Active HPSA designations
- 65
- Primary-care shortages
- 25
- Medically underserved areas
- 100.0%
- Residents in a shortage county
Key findings
What the HRSA Data Warehouse does not surface for Nevada 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.
-
Clark County holds 23.7% of Nevada's 173 active designations (41 of 173).
17 of 17 counties in this profile carry at least one active record; the remainder are zero-active on this release.
-
37.6% of Nevada's active designations are primary care.
Discipline mix from state aggregates: 65 primary care, 53 mental health, 55 dental (denominator 173).
-
Closing Nevada's active designations would take about 224 additional clinician FTEs, led by primary care.
HRSA providers_needed summed once per HPSA id across the state: 124 primary care, 42 mental health, 58 dental. Federal gap estimate, not a practising-clinician headcount.
Corpus placement
Where Nevada sits among all 56 states and territories
Nevada carries 173 active HPSA designations for a population of 3,104,614, which is 5.6 per 100,000 residents, ranking it 34 of 56 and above 39% of states and territories, against a median of 7.3.
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
25
Residents in Geographic Shortage Areas
3,104,614
% Residents in Geographic Shortage
100.0%
Discipline Mix
65 / 53 / 55 PC/MH/D
Primary care · Mental health · Dental
% Residents in Geographic Shortage-Designated Counties 100.0%
Nevada Shortage Designations by Care Type
How Nevada's 173 active HRSA designations split across the three provider categories. According to KFF's May 2026 tracker, Nevada has adopted ACA Medicaid expansion. That policy context does not measure provider supply, appointment availability, or care quality.
Nevada HPSA designations by type
Active Health Professional Shortage Area designations, by provider category.
- Primary care
Primary care
65 designations
- Dental
Dental
55 designations
- Mental health
Mental health
53 designations
Nevada 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 Nevada
17 counties with at least one active dental designation ; led by Clark (12). Full list (designation count in parentheses): Clark (12) , Lyon (6) , Washoe (5) , Douglas (4) , White Pine (4) , Carson City (3) , Elko (3) , Lander (3) , Pershing (3) , Churchill (2) , Mineral (2) , Nye (2) , Esmeralda (1) , Eureka (1) , Humboldt (1) , Lincoln (1) , Storey (1) .
Primary-care HPSA counties in Nevada
17 counties with at least one active primary-care designation ; led by Clark (15). Full list: Clark (15) , Washoe (7) , Lyon (6) , Douglas (5) , White Pine (5) , Churchill (3) , Elko (3) , Lander (3) , Nye (3) , Pershing (3) , Carson City (2) , Eureka (2) , Humboldt (2) , Lincoln (2) , Mineral (2) , Esmeralda (1) , Storey (1) .
Mental-health HPSA counties in Nevada
17 counties with at least one active mental-health designation ; led by Clark (14). Full list: Clark (14) , Lyon (6) , Washoe (6) , Douglas (5) , White Pine (5) , Carson City (4) , Churchill (3) , Elko (3) , Lander (3) , Nye (3) , Pershing (3) , Eureka (2) , Humboldt (2) , Lincoln (2) , Mineral (2) , Esmeralda (1) , Storey (1) .
All counties in Nevada, by total shortage volume
All 17Nevada counties, ranked by active HPSA designations across primary care, mental health, and dental.
| # | County | Designations | Primary Care | Mental Health | Dental | MUA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Clark | 41 | 15 | 14 | 12 | MUA |
| 2 | Lyon | 18 | 6 | 6 | 6 | MUA |
| 3 | Washoe | 18 | 7 | 6 | 5 | MUA |
| 4 | Douglas | 14 | 5 | 5 | 4 | MUA |
| 5 | White Pine | 14 | 5 | 5 | 4 | - |
| 6 | Carson City | 9 | 2 | 4 | 3 | MUA |
| 7 | Elko | 9 | 3 | 3 | 3 | MUA |
| 8 | Lander | 9 | 3 | 3 | 3 | MUA |
| 9 | Pershing | 9 | 3 | 3 | 3 | MUA |
| 10 | Churchill | 8 | 3 | 3 | 2 | - |
| 11 | Nye | 8 | 3 | 3 | 2 | MUA |
| 12 | Mineral | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | MUA |
| 13 | Eureka | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | MUA |
| 14 | Humboldt | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | - |
| 15 | Lincoln | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | MUA |
| 16 | Esmeralda | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | MUA |
| 17 | Storey | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | MUA |
Medically Underserved Areas in Nevada
All 25 MUA designations in Nevada, lowest MUA Index first.
| Name | MUA Index |
|---|---|
| Low Inc - Eastern Carson City Service Area | 0.0 |
| Low Inc - Elko Service Area | 0.0 |
| Esmeralda Service Area | 40.5 |
| Lake Tahoe | 46.0 |
| Jackpot Service Area | 47.1 |
| Storey Service Area | 47.4 |
| Med Ind - Reno/Sparks Service Area | 48.6 |
| Lander Service Area | 50.9 |
| Lincoln Service Area | 51.9 |
| Lyon Service Area | 52.8 |
| Eureka Service Area | 54.5 |
| Low Income - Mineral County | 55.7 |
| Boulder City | 56.2 |
| Low Inc - Las Vegas Metro | 56.3 |
| Low Income - Mesquite/Logandale/Overton | 56.4 |
| Low-Income Pop of North Las Vegas | 57.3 |
| Laughlin/Searchlight | 58.3 |
| Pershing County | 58.7 |
| West Wendover Service Area | 59.8 |
| Sunrise Manor Service Area | 60.2 |
| Southern Nye County | 61.4 |
| Low Income - Paradise Service Area | 61.7 |
| Low Income - Henderson | 61.8 |
| Nevada Governor's MUP-Washoe Tribal | 67.2 |
| Northwest Las Vegas | 68.7 |
Lower-middle density reading for Nevada
Nevada sits below the national mid-pack by designations per resident with 173 active records across 17 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 100.0% 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
How many Medically Underserved Areas are in Nevada? ▼
Nevada has 25 Medically Underserved Areas (MUAs). About 3,104,614 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 Nevada have dental HPSA designations? ▼
17 Nevada counties carry at least one active dental Health Professional Shortage Area in the current HRSA release: Clark (12), Lyon (6), Washoe (5), Douglas (4), White Pine (4), Carson City (3), Elko (3), Lander (3), Pershing (3), Churchill (2), Mineral (2), Nye (2), Esmeralda (1), Eureka (1), Humboldt (1), Lincoln (1), Storey (1). Counts are designated dental HPSA records per county, not a dentist headcount.
Are there doctor shortages in Nevada? ▼
Yes. Nevada has 173 Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs), including 65 in primary care, 53 in mental health, and 55 in dental care. About 100.0% of Nevada 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.
Source: HRSA Data Warehouse Not affiliated with HRSA
Choose the next comparison
Use Nevada'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 Nevada's primary-care shortage record with every other state before drawing conclusions from a raw total; population and geography affect designation counts. Compare states
- Clark 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 Nevada (NV) 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.