VA · Healthcare shortage profile
Stafford County, VA
The clinician FTE gap is the sharpest number here: closing Stafford County's active designations would take about 27 additional FTEs on HRSA's providers_needed estimate. Population 156,927.
- Active HPSAs
- 2
- Population
- 156,927
- Peak shortage score
- 15.0
- MUA Index
- -
Light-burden verdict
According to current HRSA Data Warehouse records, Stafford County carries a comparatively light shortage burden - 2 active HPSA designations, more than 10% of the 3,289 real US counties, with primary care the deepest gap.
- 2
- Active HPSA designations
- 1
- Mental-health shortages
- 15
- Peak severity score (of 26)
- Top 90%
- US counties by volume
Based on HRSA primary/mental/dental shortage severity, Medically Underserved Area status, and estimated unmet provider need -- not patient outcomes, insurance access, facility quality, or wait times.
Few Census ZCTAs touch Stafford County
The Census ZCTA-county crosswalk lists only 5 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas intersecting Stafford County, a sparse footprint relative to most US counties in this mirror (at or below the 9-ZIP tercile cut).
Intersecting ZCTA
Source: Census ZCTA–county relationship file joined to this portal's county FIPS set. As of 2026-08-15.
Key findings
What the HRSA Data Warehouse does not surface for Stafford County, VA 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.
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Closing Stafford County's active designations would take about 27 additional clinician FTEs, with primary care the largest gap.
HRSA providers_needed summed once per HPSA id (no double-count across status rows): 24 primary care, 3.1 mental health. This is the federal gap estimate, not a headcount of practising clinicians.
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50% of Stafford County's 2 active designations are primary care.
Discipline mix from designated HPSA records only: 1 primary care, 1 mental health, 0 dental (denominator 2).
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Peak HPSA score 15.0 sits below HRSA's 17-point high-priority line.
Below-17 designations still count as shortages for program geography, but they do not clear the high-priority NHSC placement threshold on this release.
Corpus placement
Designated volume without a high-priority score
According to current HRSA Data Warehouse records, Stafford County carries 2 active designations, above 10% of real US counties. None of those scores clear HRSA's high-priority line of 17 on this release, so the page leads with severity reading rather than a national distribution chart.
State peer position. Stafford County falls in the lower half of VA counties by active-designation volume, at rank 102 of 133. Ties share a rank.
Computed from current designated HPSA rows for every five-digit county FIPS. See the placement methodology.
Healthcare shortage designations from HRSA. FIPS: 51179. Population: 156,927.
Active HPSA scores
Current designated records only. No Medically Underserved Area designation covers Stafford County in the current HRSA release, federal support here runs through the HPSA route alone. Scores range 0–25 (primary/mental health), 0–26 (dental). Higher = greater need. What counts as a high score?
Highest-severity HPSA designations
All 2 active (designated) HPSAs in Stafford County, ranked by HRSA shortage score.
| Name | Type | Score |
|---|---|---|
| LI - Rappahannock Area Mhca | mental_health | 15.0 |
| Stafford County | primary_care | 12.0 |
Light-burden reading for Stafford County
The clinician FTE gap is the sharpest number here: closing Stafford County's active designations would take about 27 additional FTEs on HRSA's providers_needed estimate. Stafford County's severest measured gap is in mental health, scored 15.0 of 25, still short of the 17-point priority line, though the designation itself is formal. Primary care reads 12.0 of 25. No Medically Underserved Area designation covers Stafford County, so federal support here runs through the HPSA route alone.
Stafford County carries 2 active designations and sits below the national mid-pack (above 10% of counties). A light footprint still matters: a single high-score dental or mental-health record can open program geography even when the county total looks small next to heavy peers.
Stafford County falls in the lower half of VA counties by active-designation volume, at rank 102 of 133. Read the active scores and the deepest-care guide link below before collapsing this county into a "no shortage" story.
Light-volume FTE gap for Stafford County
Signature reading: HRSA providers_needed sums to about 27 FTE across Stafford County's active designations (once per HPSA id), a federal gap estimate, not practising headcount.
Counties with a matching designation count to Stafford County's 2
One peer set for this FTE-led county: nearest active designation count to 2 - the inventory behind the ~27 FTE published need.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Where is the largest clinician FTE gap inside Stafford County?
- Id-de-duped providers_needed across active HPSAs totals ~27 FTE, with primary care the largest slice (24). "LI - Rappahannock Area MHCA" is the highest-scored active row (score 15.0; mental health; 27,710 people in the service area; ~3.1 FTE still needed on the record; designated 12/10/2021). This is HRSA's published gap, not a headcount of practising clinicians.
- Why is Stafford County not listed as a Medically Underserved Area?
- Stafford County has no MUA designation on this release. Federal shortage support here runs through the active HPSA record set alone.
- Which named designations drive Stafford County's FTE reading?
- Active names on this release include "LI - Rappahannock Area MHCA" and "Stafford County". Discipline counts: 1 primary care, 1 mental health, 0 dental across 2 designated rows.
Source: HRSA Data Warehouse. FIPS: 51179. This county’s designations come from BCD_HPSA_FCT_DET_PC.csv (primary care) and BCD_HPSA_FCT_DET_MH.csv (mental health) — download the normalized export on our open data page. PlainHealthAccess is not affiliated with HRSA or any government agency.
HRSA Data Warehouse HPSA + MUA/P records for FIPS 51179 (Stafford County, VA), vintage 2026-08-15. Active designation count 2; peak score 15.0; signature 27 FTE gap. This profile is reference material, not professional advice; see methodology.