SC · Healthcare shortage profile
Marlboro County, SC
The clinician FTE gap is the sharpest number here: closing Marlboro County's active designations would take about 22 additional FTEs on HRSA's providers_needed estimate. Population 26,667.
- Active HPSAs
- 12
- Population
- 26,667
- Peak shortage score
- 21.0
- MUA Index
- 38.5
Heavy-burden verdict
According to current HRSA Data Warehouse records, Marlboro County ranks among the most underserved counties in the country - 12 active HPSA designations, more than 85% of the 3,289 real US counties, with primary care the deepest gap.
- 12
- Active HPSA designations
- 4
- Primary-care shortages
- 21
- Peak severity score (of 26)
- Top 15%
- US counties by volume
Key findings
What the HRSA Data Warehouse does not surface for Marlboro County, SC 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.
-
Peak HPSA score 21.0 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.
-
Closing Marlboro County's active designations would take about 22 additional clinician FTEs, with primary care the largest gap.
HRSA providers_needed summed once per HPSA id (no double-count across status rows): 9 primary care, 7.7 mental health, 5.1 dental. This is the federal gap estimate, not a headcount of practising clinicians.
-
33.3% of Marlboro County's 12 active designations are primary care.
Discipline mix from designated HPSA records only: 4 primary care, 4 mental health, 4 dental (denominator 12).
Few Census ZCTAs touch Marlboro County
The Census ZCTA-county crosswalk lists only 8 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas intersecting Marlboro 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.
Corpus placement
Active-designation volume placement
According to current HRSA Data Warehouse records, Marlboro County carries 12 active designations, above 85% of real US counties. Use the state peer line below before treating the national percentile as a local access verdict.
State peer position. Marlboro County sits among the top three county rank positions in SC, at rank 2 of 46. 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: 45069. Population: 26,667.
Medically Underserved Area
Peak severity scores
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 12 active (designated) HPSAs in Marlboro County, ranked by HRSA shortage score.
| Name | Type | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Fci - Bennettsville | primary_care | 21.0 |
| Evans Correctional Institution | primary_care | 21.0 |
| Marlboro County | primary_care | 21.0 |
| Marlboro Family Practice And Urgent Care | primary_care | 21.0 |
| Fci - Bennettsville | mental_health | 21.0 |
| CF-Evans Correctional Institution | mental_health | 21.0 |
| Tri County SA | mental_health | 19.0 |
| Marlboro Family Practice And Urgent Care | mental_health | 19.0 |
| Marlboro Family Practice And Urgent Care | dental | 19.0 |
| Fci - Bennettsville | dental | 18.0 |
| Evans Correctional Institution | dental | 18.0 |
| Marlboro County | dental | 14.0 |
Heavy-burden reading for Marlboro County
The clinician FTE gap is the sharpest number here: closing Marlboro County's active designations would take about 22 additional FTEs on HRSA's providers_needed estimate. Marlboro County's shortage runs equally deep in primary care and mental health: both scored 21.0 by HRSA, past the 17-point line HRSA uses to open National Health Service Corps placement and enhanced Medicare reimbursement. Dental care reads 19.0 of 26. The county also sits inside a Medically Underserved Area, indexed at 38.5, and the lower the index, the greater the measured need.
Volume places Marlboro County above 85% of real US counties (12 active designations: 4 primary care, 4 mental health, 4 dental). Peak severity on the current designated set is 21.0. The table on this page lists the highest-severity records first so a reader can see which named facilities, geographies, or population groups drive that burden without treating the county total as a personal appointment forecast.
Marlboro County sits among the top three county rank positions in SC, at rank 2 of 46. Heavy-burden counties are where NHSC placement, Community Health Center grant geography, and related federal instruments concentrate; eligibility still follows the designated area and provider type, not the county boundary alone.
Marlboro County designations by care type
Active Health Professional Shortage Area designations in the county, by provider category (high-priority disciplines emphasized).
- Primary care
Primary care
4 designations
- Mental health
Mental health
4 designations
- Dental
Dental
4 designations
Heavy-volume FTE gap in Marlboro County
Signature reading: HRSA providers_needed sums to about 22 FTE across Marlboro County's active designations (once per HPSA id), a federal gap estimate, not practising headcount.
Source: HRSA Data Warehouse, Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSA) + Medically Underserved Areas/Populations (MUA/P) HPSA primary-care, mental-health, and dental designations for Marlboro County, SC · 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 a heavy-burden county
Marlboro County's shortage designations unlock specific federal programs and comparisons, here is how to act on them.
- Marlboro County's 12 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 SC before you draw conclusions from a single score. SC 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.
Counties With a Similar Primary Care Shortage Score
Other U.S. counties whose active HRSA primary-care HPSA score is closest to Marlboro County's 21.0. This compares the designation score only, not local appointment availability or care quality. Start with Brazoria County, TX and Forsyth County, GA.
Showing 6 of 2932 counties nationally with an active designation this severe.
Counties with a matching designation count to Marlboro County's 12
One peer set for this FTE-led county: nearest active designation count to 12 - the inventory behind the ~22 FTE published need.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Does Marlboro County's MUA standing sit beside its HPSA records?
- Yes - Marlboro County carries an MUA designation (index 38.5; lower = greater measured need) in addition to its HPSA rows. MUA and HPSA are separate HRSA tracks; both can open different federal pathways.
- Where is the largest clinician FTE gap inside Marlboro County?
- Id-de-duped providers_needed across active HPSAs totals ~22 FTE, with primary care the largest slice (9). "FCI - Bennettsville" is the highest-scored active row (score 21.0; primary care; 1,740 people in the service area; ~1.7 FTE still needed on the record; designated 01/17/2007). This is HRSA's published gap, not a headcount of practising clinicians.
- Which named designations drive Marlboro County's FTE reading?
- Active names on this release include "FCI - Bennettsville", "Evans Correctional Institution", "Marlboro County" and "MARLBORO FAMILY PRACTICE AND URGENT CARE". Discipline counts: 4 primary care, 4 mental health, 4 dental across 12 designated rows.
- Do Marlboro County's FTE gaps unlock federal programs?
- Yes where an ACTIVE designation exists, NHSC, CHC grants, Medicare bonus and J-1 waivers follow the designated geography and provider type. A published FTE gap without an active row does not, by itself, open those pathways.
- How does Marlboro County's FTE burden compare inside SC?
- 12 active designations and ~22 FTE published need. Marlboro County sits among the top three county rank positions in SC, at rank 2 of 46. Score-nearest counties on this release include Brazoria County, TX and Forsyth County, GA.
Source: HRSA Data Warehouse. FIPS: 45069. 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 45069 (Marlboro County, SC), vintage 2026-08-15. Active designation count 12; peak score 21.0; signature 22 FTE gap. This profile is reference material, not professional advice; see methodology.