HRSA Counties Indexed
133
with HPSA / MUA coverage
Medically underserved areas & HPSA profile
Medically Underserved Areas in Virginia
108 Medically Underserved Areas and 440 active HRSA Health Professional Shortage Area designations across Virginia.
- MUAs
- 108
- Total HPSAs
- 440
- Primary care
- 160
- Mental health
- 123
- Dental
- 157
Lower-middle density verdict
Virginia sits in the lower-middle quarter by active designations per resident. According to current HRSA Data Warehouse records, its 133 counties carry 440 active shortage designations; King William County has the largest county count at 14, while about 27.0% of residents live in a geographic shortage county.
- 440
- Active HPSA designations
- 160
- Primary-care shortages
- 108
- Medically underserved areas
- 27.0%
- Residents in a shortage county
Key findings
What the HRSA Data Warehouse does not surface for Virginia 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.
-
King William County holds 3.2% of Virginia's 440 active designations (14 of 440).
133 of 133 counties in this profile carry at least one active record; the remainder are zero-active on this release.
-
36.4% of Virginia's active designations are primary care.
Discipline mix from state aggregates: 160 primary care, 123 mental health, 157 dental (denominator 440).
-
Closing Virginia's active designations would take about 669 additional clinician FTEs, led by dental.
HRSA providers_needed summed once per HPSA id across the state: 262 primary care, 145 mental health, 263 dental. Federal gap estimate, not a practising-clinician headcount.
Corpus placement
Where Virginia sits among all 56 states and territories
Virginia carries 440 active HPSA designations for a population of 8,631,393, which is 5.1 per 100,000 residents, ranking it 40 of 56 and above 29% of states and territories, against a median of 7.3.
90 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
108
Residents in Geographic Shortage Areas
2,328,624
% Residents in Geographic Shortage
27.0%
Discipline Mix
160 / 123 / 157 PC/MH/D
Primary care · Mental health · Dental
% Residents in Geographic Shortage-Designated Counties 27.0%
Virginia Shortage Designations by Care Type
How Virginia's 440 active HRSA designations split across the three provider categories. According to KFF's May 2026 tracker, Virginia has adopted ACA Medicaid expansion. That policy context does not measure provider supply, appointment availability, or care quality.
Virginia HPSA designations by type
Active Health Professional Shortage Area designations, by provider category.
- Primary care
Primary care
160 designations
- Dental
Dental
157 designations
- Mental health
Mental health
123 designations
Virginia 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 Virginia
112 counties with at least one active dental designation ; led by King William (4). Full list (designation count in parentheses): King William (4) , Page (4) , Richmond City (4) , Shenandoah (4) , Warren (4) , Bland (3) , Buckingham (3) , Franklin (3) , Lee (3) , Lexington City (3) , Lunenburg (3) , Lynchburg City (3) , Martinsville City (3) , Nottoway (3) , Southampton (3) , Sussex (3) , Tazewell (3) , Wise (3) , Accomack (2) , Amherst (2) ; plus 92 more in the table below.
Primary-care HPSA counties in Virginia
106 counties with at least one active primary-care designation ; led by King William (5). Full list: King William (5) , Page (4) , Richmond City (4) , Shenandoah (4) , Sussex (4) , Warren (4) , Bland (3) , Buckingham (3) , Fairfax (3) , Franklin (3) , Lee (3) , Lexington City (3) , Lunenburg (3) , Lynchburg City (3) , Martinsville City (3) , Southampton (3) , Tazewell (3) , Wise (3) , Accomack (2) , Amherst (2) ; plus 86 more in the table below.
Mental-health HPSA counties in Virginia
133 counties with at least one active mental-health designation ; led by King William (5). Full list: King William (5) , Buckingham (4) , Page (4) , Richmond City (4) , Shenandoah (4) , Sussex (4) , Warren (4) , Bland (3) , Chesapeake City (3) , Fairfax (3) , Franklin (3) , Lee (3) , Lexington City (3) , Lunenburg (3) , Lynchburg City (3) , Martinsville City (3) , Southampton (3) , Tazewell (3) , Wise (3) , Accomack (2) ; plus 113 more in the table below.
All counties in Virginia, by total shortage volume
The 40 counties with the most active HPSA designations, of 133 in Virginia. Columns split primary care, mental health, and dental.
| # | County | Designations | Primary Care | Mental Health | Dental | MUA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | King William | 14 | 5 | 5 | 4 | MUA |
| 2 | Page | 12 | 4 | 4 | 4 | MUA |
| 3 | Richmond City | 12 | 4 | 4 | 4 | MUA |
| 4 | Shenandoah | 12 | 4 | 4 | 4 | MUA |
| 5 | Warren | 12 | 4 | 4 | 4 | - |
| 6 | Sussex | 11 | 4 | 4 | 3 | MUA |
| 7 | Buckingham | 10 | 3 | 4 | 3 | MUA |
| 8 | Bland | 9 | 3 | 3 | 3 | MUA |
| 9 | Franklin | 9 | 3 | 3 | 3 | MUA |
| 10 | Lee | 9 | 3 | 3 | 3 | MUA |
| 11 | Lexington City | 9 | 3 | 3 | 3 | - |
| 12 | Lunenburg | 9 | 3 | 3 | 3 | MUA |
| 13 | Lynchburg City | 9 | 3 | 3 | 3 | MUA |
| 14 | Martinsville City | 9 | 3 | 3 | 3 | MUA |
| 15 | Southampton | 9 | 3 | 3 | 3 | - |
| 16 | Tazewell | 9 | 3 | 3 | 3 | MUA |
| 17 | Wise | 9 | 3 | 3 | 3 | MUA |
| 18 | Fairfax | 8 | 3 | 3 | 2 | MUA |
| 19 | Chesapeake City | 7 | 2 | 3 | 2 | MUA |
| 20 | Nottoway | 7 | 2 | 2 | 3 | MUA |
| 21 | Accomack | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | MUA |
| 22 | Amherst | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | MUA |
| 23 | Brunswick | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | MUA |
| 24 | Buchanan | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | MUA |
| 25 | Carroll | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | MUA |
| 26 | Culpeper | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | MUA |
| 27 | Danville City | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | - |
| 28 | Frederick | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | - |
| 29 | Galax City | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | - |
| 30 | Giles | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | MUA |
| 31 | Grayson | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | MUA |
| 32 | Greensville | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | - |
| 33 | Harrisonburg City | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | MUA |
| 34 | King and Queen | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | MUA |
| 35 | Mecklenburg | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | MUA |
| 36 | Montgomery | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | MUA |
| 37 | Nelson | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | MUA |
| 38 | Newport News City | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | MUA |
| 39 | Patrick | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | MUA |
| 40 | Pittsylvania | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | MUA |
Medically Underserved Areas in Virginia
Showing 30 of 108 MUA designations (lowest MUA Index first, i.e. most underserved).
| Name | MUA Index |
|---|---|
| Low Inc - Arlandria | 0.0 |
| Cedar Mountain Division Service Area | 42.3 |
| Isle OF Wight Service Area | 42.9 |
| Lee County | 44.0 |
| Grayson County | 45.0 |
| Northumberland County | 46.0 |
| Dickenson County | 46.0 |
| Buchanan County | 46.8 |
| Westmoreland County | 48.0 |
| King and Queen County | 48.0 |
| Mathews County | 49.0 |
| Russell County | 49.0 |
| Carroll County | 49.0 |
| Patrick County | 49.0 |
| Brunswick County | 49.4 |
| Low Inc - Williamsburg Service Area | 49.6 |
| Highland County | 50.0 |
| Charles City County | 50.0 |
| Bath County | 50.0 |
| LI - Alleghany Area | 50.0 |
| Accomack County | 50.5 |
| Charlottesville | 50.8 |
| Radford City | 50.9 |
| Scott County | 51.0 |
| Halifax County | 51.0 |
| LI - Washington County | 51.0 |
| Middlesex County | 51.0 |
| Charlotte County | 51.0 |
| Lunenburg County | 52.0 |
| Tazewell County | 52.0 |
Lower-middle density reading for Virginia
Virginia sits below the national mid-pack by designations per resident with 440 active records across 133 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 27.0% 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 Virginia? ▼
Virginia has 108 Medically Underserved Areas (MUAs). About 2,328,624 residents (27.0% 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 Virginia have dental HPSA designations? ▼
112 Virginia counties carry at least one active dental Health Professional Shortage Area in the current HRSA release: King William (4), Page (4), Richmond City (4), Shenandoah (4), Warren (4), Bland (3), Buckingham (3), Franklin (3), Lee (3), Lexington City (3), Lunenburg (3), Lynchburg City (3), Martinsville City (3), Nottoway (3), Southampton (3), Sussex (3), Tazewell (3), Wise (3), Accomack (2), Amherst (2); plus 92 more on the table below. Counts are designated dental HPSA records per county, not a dentist headcount.
Are there doctor shortages in Virginia? ▼
Yes. Virginia has 440 Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs), including 160 in primary care, 123 in mental health, and 157 in dental care. About 27.0% of Virginia 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 Virginia'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 Virginia's primary-care shortage record with every other state before drawing conclusions from a raw total; population and geography affect designation counts. Compare states
- King William 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 Virginia (VA) 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.