MS · Healthcare shortage profile
Hancock County, MS
The clinician FTE gap is the sharpest number here: closing Hancock County's active designations would take about 40 additional FTEs on HRSA's providers_needed estimate. Population 46,053.
- Active HPSAs
- 3
- Population
- 46,053
- Peak shortage score
- 18.0
- MUA Index
- 49.4
Light-burden verdict
According to current HRSA Data Warehouse records, Hancock County carries a comparatively light shortage burden - 3 active HPSA designations, more than 20% of the 3,289 real US counties, with primary care the deepest gap.
- 3
- Active HPSA designations
- 1
- Primary-care shortages
- 18
- Peak severity score (of 26)
- Top 80%
- US counties by volume
Key findings
What the HRSA Data Warehouse does not surface for Hancock County, MS 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.
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Peak HPSA score 18.0 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.
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Closing Hancock County's active designations would take about 40 additional clinician FTEs, with mental health the largest gap.
HRSA providers_needed summed once per HPSA id (no double-count across status rows): 9.9 primary care, 23 mental health, 6.4 dental. This is the federal gap estimate, not a headcount of practising clinicians.
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33.3% of Hancock County's 3 active designations are primary care.
Discipline mix from designated HPSA records only: 1 primary care, 1 mental health, 1 dental (denominator 3).
Hancock County's mid-pack ZIP footprint
11 Census ZCTAs intersect Hancock 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
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.
Hancock County vs. every real US county
Total active HPSA designations, including counties with none
3 Top 80% higher than 20% of 3,289 real US counties
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. Hancock County falls in the lower half of MS counties by active-designation volume, at rank 45 of 82. Ties share a rank; the comparison uses the same current designated records as the national chart.
Healthcare shortage designations from HRSA. FIPS: 28045. Population: 46,053.
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 3 active (designated) HPSAs in Hancock County, ranked by HRSA shortage score.
| Name | Type | Score |
|---|---|---|
| LI - Hancock & Pearl River Counties | primary_care | 18.0 |
| LI-Hancock & Pearl River Counties | dental | 18.0 |
| Mental Health Catchment Area 12 | mental_health | 13.0 |
Light-burden reading for Hancock County
The clinician FTE gap is the sharpest number here: closing Hancock County's active designations would take about 40 additional FTEs on HRSA's providers_needed estimate. Hancock County's shortage runs equally deep in primary care and dental care: both scored 18.0 by HRSA, past the 17-point line HRSA uses to open National Health Service Corps placement and enhanced Medicare reimbursement. Mental health reads 13.0 of 25. The county also sits inside a Medically Underserved Area, indexed at 49.4, and the lower the index, the greater the measured need.
Hancock County carries 3 active designations and sits below the national mid-pack (above 20% 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.
Hancock County falls in the lower half of MS counties by active-designation volume, at rank 45 of 82. 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 Hancock County
Signature reading: HRSA providers_needed sums to about 40 FTE across Hancock 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 Hancock County, MS · 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 Hancock County's designations
Hancock County's shortage designations unlock specific federal programs and comparisons, here is how to act on them.
- Hancock County's 3 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 MS before you draw conclusions from a single score. MS 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 Hancock County's 3
One peer set for this FTE-led county: nearest active designation count to 3 - the inventory behind the ~40 FTE published need.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Does Hancock County's MUA standing sit beside its HPSA records?
- Yes - Hancock County carries an MUA designation (index 49.4; 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 Hancock County?
- Id-de-duped providers_needed across active HPSAs totals ~40 FTE, with mental health the largest slice (23). "LI - Hancock & Pearl River Counties" is the highest-scored active row (score 18.0; primary care; 6,117 people in the service area; ~9.9 FTE still needed on the record; designated 04/01/2026). This is HRSA's published gap, not a headcount of practising clinicians.
- Which named designations drive Hancock County's FTE reading?
- Active names on this release include "LI - Hancock & Pearl River Counties", "LI-Hancock & Pearl River Counties" and "Mental Health Catchment Area 12". Discipline counts: 1 primary care, 1 mental health, 1 dental across 3 designated rows.
Source: HRSA Data Warehouse. FIPS: 28045. 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 28045 (Hancock County, MS), vintage 2026-08-15. Active designation count 3; peak score 18.0; signature 40 FTE gap. This profile is reference material, not professional advice; see methodology.