IA · Healthcare shortage profile
Ringgold County, IA
Peak severity leads this reading: Ringgold County's highest active HPSA score is 13.0, still below HRSA's 17-point high-priority line. Population 4,663.
- Active HPSAs
- 2
- Population
- 4,663
- Peak shortage score
- 13.0
- MUA Index
- 51.6
Light-burden verdict
According to current HRSA Data Warehouse records, Ringgold County carries a comparatively light shortage burden - 2 active HPSA designations, more than 10% of the 3,289 real US counties, with mental health the deepest gap.
- 2
- Active HPSA designations
- 1
- Mental-health shortages
- 13
- Peak severity score (of 26)
- Top 90%
- US counties by volume
Key findings
What the HRSA Data Warehouse does not surface for Ringgold County, IA 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.
-
Closing Ringgold County's active designations would take about 1.8 additional clinician FTEs, with mental health the largest gap.
HRSA providers_needed summed once per HPSA id (no double-count across status rows): 1.1 mental health, 0.7 dental. This is the federal gap estimate, not a headcount of practising clinicians.
-
50% of Ringgold County's 2 active designations are mental health.
Discipline mix from designated HPSA records only: 0 primary care, 1 mental health, 1 dental (denominator 2).
-
Peak HPSA score 13.0 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.
Ringgold County's mid-pack ZIP footprint
12 Census ZCTAs intersect Ringgold 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
4 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
Designated volume without a high-priority score
According to current HRSA Data Warehouse records, Ringgold County carries 2 active designations, above 10% 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. Ringgold County falls in the lower half of IA counties by active-designation volume, at rank 66 of 99. 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: 19159. Population: 4,663.
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 2 active (designated) HPSAs in Ringgold County, ranked by HRSA shortage score.
| Name | Type | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Mhca-14 | mental_health | 13.0 |
| Ringgold County | dental | 13.0 |
Light-burden reading for Ringgold County
Peak severity leads this reading: Ringgold County's highest active HPSA score is 13.0, still below HRSA's 17-point high-priority line. Ringgold County's shortage runs equally deep in mental health and dental care: both scored 13.0 by HRSA, still short of the 17-point priority line, though the designation itself is formal. The county also sits inside a Medically Underserved Area, indexed at 51.6, and the lower the index, the greater the measured need.
Ringgold County carries 2 active designations and sits below the national mid-pack (above 10% 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.
Ringgold County falls in the lower half of IA counties by active-designation volume, at rank 66 of 99. 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 Ringgold County
HRSA providers_needed summed once per HPSA id for Ringgold County's active designations: about 1.8 FTE, a federal gap estimate, not a headcount of practising clinicians.
Counties near Ringgold County's mental score of 13.0
One peer set for this severity-led county: nearest active mental HPSA score to 13.0 (severity lead on this page is “MHCA-14”).
Sussex County, NJ
13.0 mental score · 144,221 pop.
Belknap County, NH
13.0 mental score · 63,705 pop.
Summit County, UT
13.0 mental score · 42,357 pop.
Jackson County, OH
13.0 mental score · 32,653 pop.
Meigs County, OH
13.0 mental score · 22,210 pop.
Poweshiek County, IA
13.0 mental score · 18,662 pop.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Does Ringgold County's MUA standing sit beside its HPSA records?
- Yes - Ringgold County carries an MUA designation (index 51.6; 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 Ringgold County's peak score of 13.0?
- "MHCA-14" leads the active set (score 13.0; mental health; 30,000 people in the service area; ~1.1 FTE still needed on the record; designated 05/21/1980). Below 17 the shortage is formal but outside HRSA's high-priority NHSC tier. Discipline mix across 2 active rows: 0 primary care, 1 mental health, 1 dental.
- Which other active designations sit under Ringgold County's severity reading?
- After "MHCA-14", the next active names on this release are "MHCA-14" and "Ringgold County". Provider need (id-de-duped) totals ~1.8 FTE across disciplines that still carry a gap.
Source: HRSA Data Warehouse. FIPS: 19159. This county’s designations come from 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 19159 (Ringgold County, IA), vintage 2026-08-15. Active designation count 2; peak score 13.0; signature peak score 13.0. This profile is reference material, not professional advice; see methodology.