Medically Underserved Area Two high-priority disciplines

FL · Healthcare shortage profile

St. Johns County, FL

The clinician FTE gap is the sharpest number here: closing St. Johns County's active designations would take about 20 additional FTEs on HRSA's providers_needed estimate. Population 273,425.

Active HPSAs
2
Population
273,425
Peak shortage score
17.0
MUA Index
61.2

Light-burden verdict

According to current HRSA Data Warehouse records, St. Johns 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
Primary-care shortages
17
Peak severity score (of 26)
Top 90%
US counties by volume
B
Healthcare Access Score
74/100
St. Johns County, FL

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.

Primary care D
17.0 of 25
Primary care shortage severity (HPSA score)
Mental health C+
17.0 of 25
Mental health shortage severity (HPSA score)
Dental A+
No active shortage
Dental shortage severity (HPSA score)
Underserved status A+
IMU 61.2
Index of Medical Underservice (designated MUA)
Provider gap A
0.7 per 10K
Unmet provider need (HRSA-estimated) per 10,000 residents

Key findings

What the HRSA Data Warehouse does not surface for St. Johns County, FL 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 17.0 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 St. Johns County's active designations would take about 20 additional clinician FTEs, with mental health the largest gap.

    HRSA providers_needed summed once per HPSA id (no double-count across status rows): 2.2 primary care, 17 mental health. This is the federal gap estimate, not a headcount of practising clinicians.

  3. 50% of St. Johns 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).

St. Johns County's mid-pack ZIP footprint

12 Census ZCTAs intersect St. Johns County, between the 9 and 15 ZIP cuts across published counties: neither a postage-stamp footprint nor a metro-scale lattice.

Largest land-share ZCTAs

4 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.

St. Johns County vs. every real US county

Total active HPSA designations, including counties with none

2 Top 90% higher than 10% of 3,289 real US counties

This county 0 280 every real US county, bucketed by value

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more real US counties. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source HRSA Data Warehouse, designated HPSAs · 2026

State peer position. St. Johns County falls in the lower half of FL counties by active-designation volume, at rank 66 of 67. Ties share a rank; the comparison uses the same current designated records as the national chart.

Healthcare shortage designations from HRSA. FIPS: 12109. Population: 273,425.

Medically Underserved Area

MUA Designated
MUA Index: 61.2

Active HPSA scores

Primary Care 17.0 High priority
Mental Health 17.0 High priority

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 2 active (designated) HPSAs in St. Johns County, ranked by HRSA shortage score.

Name Type Score
LI - St Augustine primary_care 17.0
Mhca - Lutheran Services Florida - Circuit 7 mental_health 17.0

Light-burden reading for St. Johns County

The clinician FTE gap is the sharpest number here: closing St. Johns County's active designations would take about 20 additional FTEs on HRSA's providers_needed estimate. St. Johns County's shortage runs equally deep in primary care and mental health: both scored 17.0 by HRSA, past the 17-point line HRSA uses to open National Health Service Corps placement and enhanced Medicare reimbursement. The county also sits inside a Medically Underserved Area, indexed at 61.2, and the lower the index, the greater the measured need.

St. Johns 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.

St. Johns County falls in the lower half of FL counties by active-designation volume, at rank 66 of 67. 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 St. Johns County

Signature reading: HRSA providers_needed sums to about 20 FTE across St. Johns 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 St. Johns County, FL · 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 St. Johns County's designations

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

  • St. Johns County's 2 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 FL before you draw conclusions from a single score. FL 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 matching designation count to St. Johns County's 2

One peer set for this FTE-led county: nearest active designation count to 2 - the inventory behind the ~20 FTE published need.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does St. Johns County's MUA standing sit beside its HPSA records?
Yes - St. Johns County carries an MUA designation (index 61.2; 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 St. Johns County?
Id-de-duped providers_needed across active HPSAs totals ~20 FTE, with mental health the largest slice (17). "LI - St Augustine" is the highest-scored active row (score 17.0; primary care; 2,721 people in the service area; ~2.2 FTE still needed on the record; designated 05/24/2023). This is HRSA's published gap, not a headcount of practising clinicians.
Which named designations drive St. Johns County's FTE reading?
Active names on this release include "LI - St Augustine" and "MHCA - Lutheran Services Florida - Circuit 7". Discipline counts: 1 primary care, 1 mental health, 0 dental across 2 designated rows.

Source: HRSA Data Warehouse. FIPS: 12109. 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 12109 (St. Johns County, FL), vintage 2026-08-15. Active designation count 2; peak score 17.0; signature 20 FTE gap. This profile is reference material, not professional advice; see methodology.