AL · Healthcare shortage profile
Clarke County, AL
Peak severity leads this reading: Clarke County's highest active HPSA score is 20.0, clearing HRSA's 17-point high-priority line. Population 23,087.
- Active HPSAs
- 5
- Population
- 23,087
- Peak shortage score
- 20.0
- MUA Index
- 57.3
Mid-burden verdict
According to current HRSA Data Warehouse records, Clarke County holds a moderate federal shortage burden - 5 active HPSA designations, more than 47% of the 3,289 real US counties, with primary care the deepest gap.
- 5
- Active HPSA designations
- 2
- Primary-care shortages
- 20
- Peak severity score (of 26)
- Top 53%
- US counties by volume
Key findings
What the HRSA Data Warehouse does not surface for Clarke 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.
-
Peak HPSA score 20.0 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 Clarke County's active designations would take about 1.1 additional clinician FTEs, with dental the largest gap.
HRSA providers_needed summed once per HPSA id (no double-count across status rows): 0.2 primary care, 0.8 dental. This is the federal gap estimate, not a headcount of practising clinicians.
-
40% of Clarke County's 5 active designations are primary care.
Discipline mix from designated HPSA records only: 2 primary care, 1 mental health, 2 dental (denominator 5).
Clarke County's mid-pack ZIP footprint
10 Census ZCTAs intersect Clarke 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
2 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, Clarke County carries 5 active designations, above 47% of real US counties. Use the state peer line below before treating the national percentile as a local access verdict.
State peer position. Clarke County falls in the upper half of AL counties by active-designation volume, at rank 21 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: 01025. Population: 23,087.
Medically Underserved Area
Active HPSA 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 5 active (designated) HPSAs in Clarke County, ranked by HRSA shortage score.
| Name | Type | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Grove Hill Health Care | primary_care | 20.0 |
| Grove Hill Health Care | mental_health | 19.0 |
| Grove Hill Health Care | dental | 19.0 |
| LI - Clarke County | dental | 15.0 |
| Clarke County | primary_care | 14.0 |
Moderate-burden reading for Clarke County
Peak severity leads this reading: Clarke County's highest active HPSA score is 20.0, clearing HRSA's 17-point high-priority line. Primary care is where Clarke County is stretched thinnest: HRSA scores it 20.0 of 25, the county's highest severity reading and past the 17-point line HRSA uses to open National Health Service Corps placement and enhanced Medicare reimbursement. Mental health reads 19.0 of 25; Dental care reads 19.0 of 26. The county also sits inside a Medically Underserved Area, indexed at 57.3, and the lower the index, the greater the measured need.
Clarke County sits in the middle of the national designation-volume distribution (above 47% of counties) with 5 active records. That is enough for a formal shortage footprint without landing in the heaviest US tier. Compare the three discipline counts (2/1/2) before assuming every care category is equally short.
Clarke County falls in the upper half of AL counties by active-designation volume, at rank 21 of 67. For moderate counties, the useful move is usually a state peer check plus the score cards above, not a national superlative claim.
Clarke 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
2 designations
- Dental
Dental
2 designations
- Mental health
Mental health
1 designations
Mid-pack clinician FTE gap for Clarke County
HRSA providers_needed summed once per HPSA id for Clarke County's active designations: about 1.1 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 Clarke 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 Clarke County's designations
Clarke County's shortage designations unlock specific federal programs and comparisons, here is how to act on them.
- Clarke County's 5 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 Clarke County's 20.0. Open Humboldt County, CA or Franklin County, OH next.
Showing 3 of 2932 counties nationally with an active designation this severe.
Counties near Clarke County's primary score of 20.0
One peer set for this severity-led county: nearest active primary HPSA score to 20.0 (severity lead on this page is “GROVE HILL HEALTH CARE”).
Humboldt County, CA
20.0 primary score · 136,463 pop.
Franklin County, OH
20.0 primary score · 1,323,807 pop.
Multnomah County, OR
20.0 primary score · 815,428 pop.
Sedgwick County, KS
20.0 primary score · 523,824 pop.
Horry County, SC
20.0 primary score · 351,029 pop.
Gaston County, NC
20.0 primary score · 227,943 pop.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Does Clarke County's MUA standing sit beside its HPSA records?
- Yes - Clarke County carries an MUA designation (index 57.3; 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 Clarke County's peak score of 20.0?
- "GROVE HILL HEALTH CARE" leads the active set (score 20.0; primary care; 21,391 people in the service area; designated 08/18/2019). Clearing 17 opens NHSC high-priority placement for the matching provider type on the designated geography. Discipline mix across 5 active rows: 2 primary care, 1 mental health, 2 dental.
- Which other active designations sit under Clarke County's severity reading?
- After "GROVE HILL HEALTH CARE", the next active names on this release are "GROVE HILL HEALTH CARE", "GROVE HILL HEALTH CARE", "GROVE HILL HEALTH CARE" and "LI - Clarke County". Provider need (id-de-duped) totals ~1.1 FTE across disciplines that still carry a gap.
- Which federal pathways follow Clarke County's high-severity geography?
- Clarke County's 5 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 "GROVE HILL HEALTH CARE".
Source: HRSA Data Warehouse. FIPS: 01025. 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 01025 (Clarke County, AL), vintage 2026-08-15. Active designation count 5; peak score 20.0; signature peak score 20.0. This profile is reference material, not professional advice; see methodology.