MI · Healthcare shortage profile
Wayne County, MI
Peak severity leads this reading: Wayne County's highest active HPSA score is 25.0, clearing HRSA's 17-point high-priority line. Population 1,793,561.
- Active HPSAs
- 54
- Population
- 1,793,561
- Peak shortage score
- 25.0
- MUA Index
- 32.5
Heavy-burden verdict
According to current HRSA Data Warehouse records, Wayne County ranks among the most underserved counties in the country - 54 active HPSA designations, more than 99% of the 3,289 real US counties, with mental health the deepest gap.
- 54
- Active HPSA designations
- 17
- Dental shortages
- 25
- Peak severity score (of 26)
- Top 1%
- US counties by volume
Key findings
What the HRSA Data Warehouse does not surface for Wayne County, MI 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 25.0 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 Wayne County's active designations would take about 215 additional clinician FTEs, with primary care the largest gap.
HRSA providers_needed summed once per HPSA id (no double-count across status rows): 106 primary care, 24 mental health, 84 dental. This is the federal gap estimate, not a headcount of practising clinicians.
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35.2% of Wayne County's 54 active designations are mental health.
Discipline mix from designated HPSA records only: 18 primary care, 19 mental health, 17 dental (denominator 54).
Dense ZCTA lattice over Wayne County
Wayne County intersects 71 Census ZCTAs, above the 15-ZIP dense-tercile cut. Shortage designations still attach at the county (or smaller HPSA) grain; the ZIP list is geography, not a second severity score.
Largest land-share ZCTAs in this county
59 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, Wayne County carries 54 active designations, above 99% of real US counties. Use the state peer line below before treating the national percentile as a local access verdict.
State peer position. Wayne County is tied for the highest active-designation count among 83 real counties in MI. 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: 26163. Population: 1,793,561.
Medically Underserved Area
Peak severity 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
Showing the 40 most-severe of 54 active (designated) HPSAs in Wayne County, ranked by HRSA shortage score.
| Name | Type | Score |
|---|---|---|
| County OF Wayne | dental | 25.0 |
| The Wellness Plan | dental | 25.0 |
| Detroit Cntrl Cty Community Mntl | dental | 25.0 |
| Institute For Population Health, Inc. | dental | 25.0 |
| Western Wayne Family Health Centers | dental | 25.0 |
| Community Health And Social Services Center, Inc | dental | 25.0 |
| Detroit Community Health Connection | dental | 25.0 |
| Health Centers Detroit Foundation, Inc | dental | 25.0 |
| Covenant Community Care Inc | dental | 25.0 |
| Community Health And Social Services Center, Inc | primary_care | 24.0 |
| Detroit Cntrl Cty Community Mntl | primary_care | 23.0 |
| Health Centers Detroit Foundation, Inc | primary_care | 23.0 |
| The Wellness Plan | primary_care | 23.0 |
| Covenant Community Care Inc | primary_care | 23.0 |
| Detroit Community Health Connection | primary_care | 23.0 |
| Institute For Population Health, Inc. | primary_care | 23.0 |
| Detroit Health Care For The Homeless, Inc | dental | 23.0 |
| LI-West Detroit Rsa | primary_care | 22.0 |
| County OF Wayne | primary_care | 22.0 |
| Western Wayne Family Health Centers | primary_care | 22.0 |
| Detroit Community Health Connection | mental_health | 22.0 |
| The Wellness Plan | mental_health | 22.0 |
| LI - Northwest Detroit Rsa | primary_care | 21.0 |
| Covenant Community Care Inc | mental_health | 21.0 |
| LI - West Detroit | mental_health | 21.0 |
| LI - Hamtramck/Highland Park SA | mental_health | 21.0 |
| LI - Southwest Detroit SA | dental | 21.0 |
| LI - East Detroit SA | dental | 21.0 |
| LI - Hamtramck/Highland Park SA | dental | 21.0 |
| LI - West Detroit | dental | 21.0 |
| Detroit Health Care For The Homeless, Inc | primary_care | 20.0 |
| LI-East Detroit | primary_care | 20.0 |
| LI - Southwest Detroit SA | primary_care | 20.0 |
| LI - East Detroit SA | mental_health | 20.0 |
| American Indian Health & Family Services of Southeastern Michigan, Inc. | dental | 20.0 |
| Community Health And Social Services Center, Inc | mental_health | 19.0 |
| Detroit Health Care For The Homeless, Inc | mental_health | 19.0 |
| County OF Wayne | mental_health | 19.0 |
| Health Centers Detroit Foundation, Inc | mental_health | 19.0 |
| LI - Northwest Detroit SA | dental | 19.0 |
Heavy-burden reading for Wayne County
Peak severity leads this reading: Wayne County's highest active HPSA score is 25.0, clearing HRSA's 17-point high-priority line. Dental care carries Wayne County's deepest shortage reading, 25.0 on HRSA's 0–26 dental scale, past the 17-point line HRSA uses to open National Health Service Corps placement and enhanced Medicare reimbursement. Primary care reads 24.0 of 25; Mental health reads 22.0 of 25. The county also sits inside a Medically Underserved Area, indexed at 32.5, and the lower the index, the greater the measured need.
Volume places Wayne County above 99% of real US counties (54 active designations: 18 primary care, 19 mental health, 17 dental). Peak severity on the current designated set is 25.0. The table on this page lists the highest-severity records first so a reader can see which named facilities, geographies, or population groups drive that burden without treating the county total as a personal appointment forecast.
Wayne County is tied for the highest active-designation count among 83 real counties in MI. Heavy-burden counties are where NHSC placement, Community Health Center grant geography, and related federal instruments concentrate; eligibility still follows the designated area and provider type, not the county boundary alone.
Wayne County designations by care type
Active Health Professional Shortage Area designations in the county, by provider category (high-priority disciplines emphasized).
- Mental health
Mental health
19 designations
- Primary care
Primary care
18 designations
- Dental
Dental
17 designations
Heavy-volume FTE gap in Wayne County
HRSA providers_needed summed once per HPSA id for Wayne County's active designations: about 215 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 Wayne County, MI · 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 a heavy-burden county
Wayne County's shortage designations unlock specific federal programs and comparisons, here is how to act on them.
- Wayne County's 54 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 mental health burden compares with the rest of MI before you draw conclusions from a single score. MI 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 Similar Dental Shortage Score
Other U.S. counties whose active HRSA dental HPSA score is closest to Wayne County's 25.0. This compares the designation score only, not local appointment availability or care quality. Start with New York County, NY and Hennepin County, MN.
Showing 6 of 2744 counties nationally with an active designation this severe.
Counties near Wayne County's dental score of 25.0
One peer set for this severity-led county: nearest active dental HPSA score to 25.0 (severity lead on this page is “COUNTY OF WAYNE”).
New York County, NY
25.0 dental score · 1,694,251 pop.
Hennepin County, MN
25.0 dental score · 1,281,565 pop.
Mecklenburg County, NC
25.0 dental score · 1,115,482 pop.
Gwinnett County, GA
25.0 dental score · 957,062 pop.
Hidalgo County, TX
25.0 dental score · 870,781 pop.
San Diego County, CA
25.0 dental score · 3,298,634 pop.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Does Wayne County's MUA standing sit beside its HPSA records?
- Yes - Wayne County carries an MUA designation (index 32.5; 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 Wayne County's peak score of 25.0?
- "COUNTY OF WAYNE" leads the active set (score 25.0; dental; 71,147 people in the service area; designated 06/01/2012). Clearing 17 opens NHSC high-priority placement for the matching provider type on the designated geography. Discipline mix across 54 active rows: 18 primary care, 19 mental health, 17 dental.
- Which other active designations sit under Wayne County's severity reading?
- After "COUNTY OF WAYNE", the next active names on this release are "COUNTY OF WAYNE", "THE WELLNESS PLAN", "DETROIT CNTRL CTY COMMUNITY MNTL" and "INSTITUTE FOR POPULATION HEALTH, INC.". Provider need (id-de-duped) totals ~215 FTE across disciplines that still carry a gap.
- Which federal pathways follow Wayne County's high-severity geography?
- Wayne County's 54 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 "COUNTY OF WAYNE".
- How does Wayne County's peak severity sit inside MI?
- Wayne County holds 54 active HPSA rows with peak 25.0. Wayne County is tied for the highest active-designation count among 83 real counties in MI. Score-nearest national peers appear below when the peer module renders. Score-nearest counties on this release include New York County, NY and Hennepin County, MN.
Source: HRSA Data Warehouse. FIPS: 26163. 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 26163 (Wayne County, MI), vintage 2026-08-15. Active designation count 54; peak score 25.0; signature peak score 25.0. This profile is reference material, not professional advice; see methodology.