KY · Healthcare shortage profile
Mercer County, KY
Peak severity leads this reading: Mercer County's highest active HPSA score is 15.0, still below HRSA's 17-point high-priority line. Population 22,641.
- Active HPSAs
- 3
- Population
- 22,641
- Peak shortage score
- 15.0
- MUA Index
- 59.8
Light-burden verdict
According to current HRSA Data Warehouse records, Mercer 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
- Mental-health shortages
- 15
- Peak severity score (of 26)
- Top 80%
- US counties by volume
Few Census ZCTAs touch Mercer County
The Census ZCTA-county crosswalk lists only 5 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas intersecting Mercer County, a sparse footprint relative to most US counties in this mirror (at or below the 9-ZIP tercile cut).
Intersecting ZCTA
Source: Census ZCTA–county relationship file joined to this portal's county FIPS set. As of 2026-08-15.
Key findings
What the HRSA Data Warehouse does not surface for Mercer County, KY 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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Closing Mercer County's active designations would take about 4.8 additional clinician FTEs, with primary care the largest gap.
HRSA providers_needed summed once per HPSA id (no double-count across status rows): 2.8 primary care, 0.5 mental health, 1.5 dental. This is the federal gap estimate, not a headcount of practising clinicians.
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33.3% of Mercer 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).
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Peak HPSA score 15.0 sits below HRSA's 17-point high-priority line.
Below-17 designations still count as shortages for program geography, but they do not clear the high-priority NHSC placement threshold on this release.
Corpus placement
Designated volume without a high-priority score
According to current HRSA Data Warehouse records, Mercer County carries 3 active designations, above 20% of real US counties. None of those scores clear HRSA's high-priority line of 17 on this release, so the page leads with severity reading rather than a national distribution chart.
State peer position. Mercer County falls in the lower half of KY counties by active-designation volume, at rank 68 of 120. 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: 21167. Population: 22,641.
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 Mercer County, ranked by HRSA shortage score.
| Name | Type | Score |
|---|---|---|
| ME-Mercer County | mental_health | 15.0 |
| ME-Mercer County | dental | 15.0 |
| Boyle, Lincoln & Mercer Counties | primary_care | 9.0 |
Light-burden reading for Mercer County
Peak severity leads this reading: Mercer County's highest active HPSA score is 15.0, still below HRSA's 17-point high-priority line. Mercer County's shortage runs equally deep in mental health and dental care: both scored 15.0 by HRSA, still short of the 17-point priority line, though the designation itself is formal. Primary care reads 9.0 of 25. The county also sits inside a Medically Underserved Area, indexed at 59.8, and the lower the index, the greater the measured need.
Mercer 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.
Mercer County falls in the lower half of KY counties by active-designation volume, at rank 68 of 120. 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 Mercer County
HRSA providers_needed summed once per HPSA id for Mercer County's active designations: about 4.8 FTE, a federal gap estimate, not a headcount of practising clinicians.
Counties near Mercer County's mental score of 15.0
One peer set for this severity-led county: nearest active mental HPSA score to 15.0 (severity lead on this page is “ME-Mercer County”).
Anchorage County, AK
15.0 mental score · 291,247 pop.
Cass County, ND
15.0 mental score · 184,525 pop.
Gallatin County, MT
15.0 mental score · 118,960 pop.
Kershaw County, SC
15.0 mental score · 65,403 pop.
Washington County, VA
15.0 mental score · 53,935 pop.
De Kalb County, IN
15.0 mental score · 43,265 pop.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Does Mercer County's MUA standing sit beside its HPSA records?
- Yes - Mercer County carries an MUA designation (index 59.8; 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 Mercer County's peak score of 15.0?
- "ME-Mercer County" leads the active set (score 15.0; mental health; 6,841 people in the service area; ~0.5 FTE still needed on the record; designated 02/20/2026). Below 17 the shortage is formal but outside HRSA's high-priority NHSC tier. Discipline mix across 3 active rows: 1 primary care, 1 mental health, 1 dental.
- Which other active designations sit under Mercer County's severity reading?
- After "ME-Mercer County", the next active names on this release are "ME-Mercer County", "ME-Mercer County" and "Boyle, Lincoln & Mercer Counties". Provider need (id-de-duped) totals ~4.8 FTE across disciplines that still carry a gap.
Source: HRSA Data Warehouse. FIPS: 21167. 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 21167 (Mercer County, KY), vintage 2026-08-15. Active designation count 3; peak score 15.0; signature peak score 15.0. This profile is reference material, not professional advice; see methodology.