HRSA Counties Indexed
5
with HPSA / MUA coverage
Medically underserved areas & HPSA profile
Medically Underserved Areas in Rhode Island
12 Medically Underserved Areas and 42 active HRSA Health Professional Shortage Area designations across Rhode Island.
- MUAs
- 12
- Total HPSAs
- 42
- Primary care
- 14
- Mental health
- 14
- Dental
- 14
Lowest-density verdict
Relative to other states and territories, Rhode Island is in the lowest-density quarter for active designations per resident. Current HRSA Data Warehouse records show 42 designations across 5 counties; Providence County has the largest county count at 23; about 79.8% of residents live in a geographic shortage county.
- 42
- Active HPSA designations
- 14
- Primary-care shortages
- 12
- Medically underserved areas
- 79.8%
- Residents in a shortage county
Key findings
What the HRSA Data Warehouse does not surface for Rhode Island 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.
-
Providence County holds 54.8% of Rhode Island's 42 active designations (23 of 42).
4 of 5 counties in this profile carry at least one active record; the remainder are zero-active on this release.
-
33.3% of Rhode Island's active designations are primary care.
Discipline mix from state aggregates: 14 primary care, 14 mental health, 14 dental (denominator 42).
-
Closing Rhode Island's active designations would take about 46 additional clinician FTEs, led by dental.
HRSA providers_needed summed once per HPSA id across the state: 10 primary care, 15 mental health, 21 dental. Federal gap estimate, not a practising-clinician headcount.
Corpus placement
Where Rhode Island sits among all 56 states and territories
Rhode Island carries 42 active HPSA designations for a population of 1,097,379, which is 3.8 per 100,000 residents, ranking it 47 of 56 and above 16% of states and territories, against a median of 7.3.
4 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
12
Residents in Geographic Shortage Areas
876,223
% Residents in Geographic Shortage
79.8%
Discipline Mix
14 / 14 / 14 PC/MH/D
Primary care · Mental health · Dental
% Residents in Geographic Shortage-Designated Counties 79.8%
Rhode Island 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 Rhode Island
4 counties with at least one active dental designation ; led by Providence (8). Full list (designation count in parentheses): Providence (8) , Washington (3) , Newport (2) , Kent (1) .
Primary-care HPSA counties in Rhode Island
4 counties with at least one active primary-care designation ; led by Providence (8). Full list: Providence (8) , Washington (4) , Kent (1) , Newport (1) .
Mental-health HPSA counties in Rhode Island
4 counties with at least one active mental-health designation ; led by Providence (7). Full list: Providence (7) , Washington (4) , Newport (2) , Kent (1) .
All counties in Rhode Island, by total shortage volume
All 5Rhode Island counties, ranked by active HPSA designations across primary care, mental health, and dental.
| # | County | Designations | Primary Care | Mental Health | Dental | MUA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Providence | 23 | 8 | 7 | 8 | MUA |
| 2 | Washington | 11 | 4 | 4 | 3 | MUA |
| 3 | Newport | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | MUA |
| 4 | Kent | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | MUA |
| 5 | Bristol | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | MUA |
Medically Underserved Areas in Rhode Island
Rhode Island carries 12 medically underserved designations covering 5 of the 5 Rhode Island counties on record here: 10 designated as an underserved area and 2 as an underserved population within an otherwise adequately served area. A lower Index of Medical Underservice (IMU) means greater measured need.
- 1 Low Inc - Washington Service Area 0.0
- 2 Low Inc - Glocester/Foster/Burrillville 0.0
- 3 Low Inc - Johnston/Smithfield/North S 0.0
- 4 Low Inc - Warren/Bristol Service Area 0.0
- 5 Low Inc - Narrangansett Service Area 0.0
- 6 Providence Service Area 54.2
- 7 Northeastern Cranston Service Area 54.3
- 8 West Warwick Service Area 58.3
- 9 Central Falls/Pawtucket Service Area 60.4
- 10 West Side Newport Service Area 60.4
The 10 lowest-IMU designations on record for Rhode Island, from the HRSA shortage-designation file. IMU scores the service area, not any individual practice or hospital.
Lowest-density reading for Rhode Island
Relative to other states and territories, Rhode Island is in the lowest-density quarter (42 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 5 indexed counties on this page before treating today's low state rank as a settled access verdict. About 79.8% of residents live in a geographic shortage county.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many Medically Underserved Areas are in Rhode Island? ▼
Rhode Island has 12 Medically Underserved Areas (MUAs). About 876,223 residents (79.8% 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 Rhode Island have dental HPSA designations? ▼
4 Rhode Island counties carry at least one active dental Health Professional Shortage Area in the current HRSA release: Providence (8), Washington (3), Newport (2), Kent (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 Rhode Island'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 Rhode Island's primary-care shortage record with every other state before drawing conclusions from a raw total; population and geography affect designation counts. Compare states
- Providence 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 Rhode Island (RI) 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.