Medically Underserved Area Primary · mental · dental footprint

AL · Healthcare shortage profile

Wilcox County, AL

Peak severity leads this reading: Wilcox County's highest active HPSA score is 23.0, clearing HRSA's 17-point high-priority line. Population 10,600.

Active HPSAs
6
Population
10,600
Peak shortage score
23.0
MUA Index
51.3

Mid-burden verdict

According to current HRSA Data Warehouse records, Wilcox 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
Primary-care shortages
23
Peak severity score (of 26)
Top 46%
US counties by volume

Key findings

What the HRSA Data Warehouse does not surface for Wilcox County, AL 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 23.0 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 Wilcox County's active designations would take about 4.1 additional clinician FTEs, with mental health the largest gap.

    HRSA providers_needed summed once per HPSA id (no double-count across status rows): 1.2 primary care, 1.9 mental health, 1.1 dental. This is the federal gap estimate, not a headcount of practising clinicians.

  3. 33.3% of Wilcox 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).

Wilcox County's mid-pack ZIP footprint

15 Census ZCTAs intersect Wilcox 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

7 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, Wilcox 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. Wilcox County falls in the upper quarter of AL counties by active-designation volume, at rank 12 of 67. 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: 01131. Population: 10,600.

2
Primary Care HPSAs
2
Mental Health HPSAs
2
Dental HPSAs

Medically Underserved Area

MUA Designated
MUA Index: 51.3

Active HPSA scores

Primary Care 23.0
Mental Health 21.0
Dental 23.0

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 Wilcox County, ranked by HRSA shortage score.

Name Type Score
Physicians Care OF Clarke primary_care 23.0
Physicians Care OF Clarke dental 23.0
Physicians Care OF Clarke mental_health 21.0
Mhca-13 mental_health 19.0
LI - Wilcox County dental 19.0
Wilcox primary_care 18.0

Moderate-burden reading for Wilcox County

Peak severity leads this reading: Wilcox County's highest active HPSA score is 23.0, clearing HRSA's 17-point high-priority line. Wilcox County's shortage runs equally deep in primary care and dental care: both scored 23.0 by HRSA, past the 17-point line HRSA uses to open National Health Service Corps placement and enhanced Medicare reimbursement. Mental health reads 21.0 of 25. The county also sits inside a Medically Underserved Area, indexed at 51.3, and the lower the index, the greater the measured need.

Wilcox 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.

Wilcox County falls in the upper quarter of AL counties by active-designation volume, at rank 12 of 67. For moderate counties, the useful move is usually a state peer check plus the score cards above, not a national superlative claim.

Wilcox 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 Wilcox County

HRSA providers_needed summed once per HPSA id for Wilcox County's active designations: about 4.1 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 Wilcox County, AL · 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 Wilcox County's designations

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

  • Wilcox 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 AL before you draw conclusions from a single score. AL 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 primary-care score peers

Closest U.S. counties on active primary-care HPSA score to Wilcox County's 23.0. Open Leflore County, MS or Webster County, WV next.

Showing 3 of 2932 counties nationally with an active designation this severe.

Counties near Wilcox County's primary score of 23.0

One peer set for this severity-led county: nearest active primary HPSA score to 23.0 (severity lead on this page is “PHYSICIANS CARE OF CLARKE”).

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Wilcox County's MUA standing sit beside its HPSA records?
Yes - Wilcox County carries an MUA designation (index 51.3; 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 Wilcox County's peak score of 23.0?
"PHYSICIANS CARE OF CLARKE" leads the active set (score 23.0; primary care; 44,751 people in the service area; designated 08/06/2021). 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 Wilcox County's severity reading?
After "PHYSICIANS CARE OF CLARKE", the next active names on this release are "PHYSICIANS CARE OF CLARKE", "PHYSICIANS CARE OF CLARKE", "PHYSICIANS CARE OF CLARKE" and "MHCA-13". Provider need (id-de-duped) totals ~4.1 FTE across disciplines that still carry a gap.
Which federal pathways follow Wilcox County's high-severity geography?
Wilcox 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 "PHYSICIANS CARE OF CLARKE".

Source: HRSA Data Warehouse. FIPS: 01131. 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 01131 (Wilcox County, AL), vintage 2026-08-15. Active designation count 6; peak score 23.0; signature peak score 23.0. This profile is reference material, not professional advice; see methodology.