Medically Underserved Area Primary · mental · dental footprint

VA · Healthcare shortage profile

Portsmouth City County, VA

Peak severity leads this reading: Portsmouth City County's highest active HPSA score is 25.0, clearing HRSA's 17-point high-priority line. Population 97,915.

Active HPSAs
6
Population
97,915
Peak shortage score
25.0
MUA Index
59.0
VA state overview → About this data

Mid-burden verdict

According to current HRSA Data Warehouse records, Portsmouth City County holds a moderate federal shortage burden - 6 active HPSA designations, more than 54% of the 3,289 real US counties, with primary care the deepest gap.

6
Active HPSA designations
2
Dental shortages
25
Peak severity score (of 26)
Top 46%
US counties by volume

Few Census ZCTAs touch Portsmouth City County

The Census ZCTA-county crosswalk lists only 8 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas intersecting Portsmouth City County, a sparse footprint relative to most US counties in this mirror (at or below the 9-ZIP tercile cut).

Intersecting ZCTA

3 additional ZCTAs intersect this county in the crosswalk (ordered by land share).

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 Portsmouth City 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.

  1. Peak HPSA score 25.0 clears HRSA's 17-point high-priority line.

    Scores at or above 17 on the 0–25/26 scales open NHSC placement priority for the matching provider type; eligibility still follows the designated area, not the county boundary alone.

  2. Closing Portsmouth City County's active designations would take about 14 additional clinician FTEs, with primary care the largest gap.

    HRSA providers_needed summed once per HPSA id (no double-count across status rows): 9.6 primary care, 2.4 mental health, 1.7 dental. This is the federal gap estimate, not a headcount of practising clinicians.

  3. 33.3% of Portsmouth City County's 6 active designations are primary care.

    Discipline mix from designated HPSA records only: 2 primary care, 2 mental health, 2 dental (denominator 6).

Corpus placement

Active-designation volume placement

According to current HRSA Data Warehouse records, Portsmouth City County carries 6 active designations, above 54% of real US counties. Use the state peer line below before treating the national percentile as a local access verdict.

State peer position. Portsmouth City County falls in the upper quarter of VA counties by active-designation volume, at rank 21 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: 51740. Population: 97,915.

2
Dental HPSAs
2
Primary Care HPSAs
2
Mental Health HPSAs

Medically Underserved Area

MUA Designated
MUA Index: 59.0

Active HPSA scores

Primary Care 21.0
Mental Health 20.0
Dental 25.0

Current designated records only. Scores range 0–25 (primary/mental health), 0–26 (dental). Higher = greater need. What counts as a high score?

Highest-severity HPSA designations

All 6 active (designated) HPSAs in Portsmouth City County, ranked by HRSA shortage score.

Name Type Score
Portsmouth Community Health Center, Inc. dental 25.0
Portsmouth Community Health Center, Inc. primary_care 21.0
LI-Portsmouth County primary_care 20.0
Portsmouth Community Health Center, Inc. mental_health 20.0
LI-Portmouth mental_health 18.0
Portsmouth City dental 11.0

Moderate-burden reading for Portsmouth City County

Peak severity leads this reading: Portsmouth City County's highest active HPSA score is 25.0, clearing HRSA's 17-point high-priority line. Dental care carries Portsmouth City County's deepest shortage reading, 25.0 on HRSA's 0–26 dental scale, past the 17-point line HRSA uses to open National Health Service Corps placement and enhanced Medicare reimbursement. Primary care reads 21.0 of 25; Mental health reads 20.0 of 25. The county also sits inside a Medically Underserved Area, indexed at 59.0, and the lower the index, the greater the measured need.

Portsmouth City County sits in the middle of the national designation-volume distribution (above 54% of counties) with 6 active records. That is enough for a formal shortage footprint without landing in the heaviest US tier. Compare the three discipline counts (2/2/2) before assuming every care category is equally short.

Portsmouth City County falls in the upper quarter of VA counties by active-designation volume, at rank 21 of 133. For moderate counties, the useful move is usually a state peer check plus the score cards above, not a national superlative claim.

Portsmouth City County designations by care type

Active Health Professional Shortage Area designations in the county, by provider category (high-priority disciplines emphasized).

designations
Source HRSA Data Warehouse, designated HPSAs As of 2026

Mid-pack clinician FTE gap for Portsmouth City County

HRSA providers_needed summed once per HPSA id for Portsmouth City County's active designations: about 14 FTE, a federal gap estimate, not a headcount of practising clinicians.

Source: HRSA Data Warehouse, Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSA) + Medically Underserved Areas/Populations (MUA/P) HPSA primary-care, mental-health, and dental designations for Portsmouth City County, VA · 2026 HRSA designation data updated quarterly; HPSA scores 0-25 (primary/mental) and 0-26 (dental); higher = greater shortage severity. Coverage tiers from U.S. Census ACS PUMS + KFF state tracker.

Acting on Portsmouth City County's designations

Portsmouth City County's shortage designations unlock specific federal programs and comparisons, here is how to act on them.

  • Portsmouth City County's 6 active designations make providers here eligible for National Health Service Corps loan repayment, estimate the award and service terms. NHSC estimator
  • See how the county's primary care burden compares with the rest of VA before you draw conclusions from a single score. VA overview
  • Check whether an area clears HRSA's 3,500:1 population-to-provider threshold with the provider-to-population ratio behind an HPSA score. HPSA score lookup

HPSA scores describe shortage severity within HRSA's designation criteria, not the availability of any individual provider. For a specific appointment, contact a provider or your insurer; use HRSA's current tools to verify a designation.

Nearby dental score peers

Closest U.S. counties on active dental HPSA score to Portsmouth City County's 25.0. Open Cook County, IL or Riverside County, CA next.

Showing 3 of 2744 counties nationally with an active designation this severe.

Cook County, IL

25.0 score 5,275,541 pop.

Riverside County, CA

25.0 score 2,418,185 pop.

Broward County, FL

25.0 score 1,944,375 pop.

Counties near Portsmouth City County's dental score of 25.0

One peer set for this severity-led county: nearest active dental HPSA score to 25.0 (severity lead on this page is “PORTSMOUTH COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTER, INC.”).

Cook County, IL

25.0 dental score · 5,275,541 pop.

Riverside County, CA

25.0 dental score · 2,418,185 pop.

Broward County, FL

25.0 dental score · 1,944,375 pop.

Bronx County, NY

25.0 dental score · 1,472,654 pop.

Salt Lake County, UT

25.0 dental score · 1,185,238 pop.

Fresno County, CA

25.0 dental score · 1,008,654 pop.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Portsmouth City County's MUA standing sit beside its HPSA records?
Yes - Portsmouth City County carries an MUA designation (index 59.0; lower = greater measured need) in addition to its HPSA rows. MUA and HPSA are separate HRSA tracks; both can open different federal pathways.
Which record sets Portsmouth City County's peak score of 25.0?
"PORTSMOUTH COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTER, INC." leads the active set (score 25.0; dental; 103,151 people in the service area; designated 10/26/2002). Clearing 17 opens NHSC high-priority placement for the matching provider type on the designated geography. Discipline mix across 6 active rows: 2 primary care, 2 mental health, 2 dental.
Which other active designations sit under Portsmouth City County's severity reading?
After "PORTSMOUTH COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTER, INC.", the next active names on this release are "PORTSMOUTH COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTER, INC.", "PORTSMOUTH COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTER, INC.", "LI-Portsmouth County" and "PORTSMOUTH COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTER, INC.". Provider need (id-de-duped) totals ~14 FTE across disciplines that still carry a gap.
Which federal pathways follow Portsmouth City County's high-severity geography?
Portsmouth City County's 6 active designations can open NHSC placement, CHC grants, Medicare bonus and J-1 waivers, eligibility follows the designated area and provider type, not merely the county line around "PORTSMOUTH COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTER, INC.".

Source: HRSA Data Warehouse. FIPS: 51740. This county’s designations come from BCD_HPSA_FCT_DET_PC.csv (primary care) , BCD_HPSA_FCT_DET_MH.csv (mental health) and BCD_HPSA_FCT_DET_DH.csv (dental) — 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 51740 (Portsmouth City County, VA), vintage 2026-08-15. Active designation count 6; peak score 25.0; signature peak score 25.0. This profile is reference material, not professional advice; see methodology.