MN · Healthcare shortage profile
Hennepin County, MN
Peak severity leads this reading: Hennepin County's highest active HPSA score is 25.0, clearing HRSA's 17-point high-priority line. Population 1,281,565.
- Active HPSAs
- 49
- Population
- 1,281,565
- Peak shortage score
- 25.0
- MUA Index
- 47.1
Heavy-burden verdict
According to current HRSA Data Warehouse records, Hennepin County ranks among the most underserved counties in the country - 49 active HPSA designations, more than 99% of the 3,289 real US counties, with dental the deepest gap.
- 49
- 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 Hennepin County, MN 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 Hennepin County's active designations would take about 63 additional clinician FTEs, with primary care the largest gap.
HRSA providers_needed summed once per HPSA id (no double-count across status rows): 29 primary care, 9.9 mental health, 24 dental. This is the federal gap estimate, not a headcount of practising clinicians.
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34.7% of Hennepin County's 49 active designations are dental.
Discipline mix from designated HPSA records only: 16 primary care, 16 mental health, 17 dental (denominator 49).
Dense ZCTA lattice over Hennepin County
Hennepin County intersects 74 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
62 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, Hennepin County carries 49 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. Hennepin County is tied for the highest active-designation count among 85 real counties in MN. 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: 27053. Population: 1,281,565.
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 49 active (designated) HPSAs in Hennepin County, ranked by HRSA shortage score.
| Name | Type | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Native American Community Clinic | dental | 25.0 |
| Southside Community Health Services Inc | dental | 25.0 |
| Hennepin County | dental | 25.0 |
| Indian Health Board OF Minneapolis, Inc. | dental | 25.0 |
| Hennepin County | dental | 23.0 |
| Regents OF The University OF Minnesota | dental | 23.0 |
| Hennepin County | mental_health | 22.0 |
| Regents OF The University OF Minnesota | mental_health | 22.0 |
| Universal Medical Services Inc | mental_health | 21.0 |
| Cedar-Riverside Peoples Center | mental_health | 21.0 |
| Southside Community Health Services Inc | mental_health | 21.0 |
| Universal Medical Services Inc | dental | 21.0 |
| Cedar-Riverside Peoples Center | dental | 21.0 |
| Neighborhood Healthsource | dental | 21.0 |
| Native American Community Clinic | mental_health | 20.0 |
| Neighborhood Healthsource | mental_health | 20.0 |
| Indian Health Board OF Minneapolis, Inc. | mental_health | 20.0 |
| Hennepin County | primary_care | 19.0 |
| Regents OF The University OF Minnesota | primary_care | 19.0 |
| Native American Community Clinic | primary_care | 19.0 |
| Cedar-Riverside Peoples Center | primary_care | 19.0 |
| Universal Medical Services Inc | primary_care | 19.0 |
| LI-North Minneapolis | dental | 19.0 |
| LI-North Minneapolis | primary_care | 18.0 |
| Indian Health Board of Minneapolis, Inc. - Counseling Center | primary_care | 18.0 |
| LI-North Minneapolis | mental_health | 18.0 |
| Southside Community Health Services Inc | primary_care | 17.0 |
| Neighborhood Healthsource | primary_care | 17.0 |
| Indian Health Board OF Minneapolis, Inc. | primary_care | 17.0 |
| Hennepin County | primary_care | 17.0 |
| Indian Health Board of Minneapolis, Inc. | primary_care | 17.0 |
| Hennepin County | mental_health | 17.0 |
| LI-Brooklyn Center/Brooklyn Park | mental_health | 17.0 |
| Indian Health Board of Minneapolis, Inc. | dental | 17.0 |
| Indian Health Board of Minneapolis, Inc. - Counseling Center | dental | 17.0 |
| LI-Northeast Minneapolis | primary_care | 16.0 |
| LI-Central Minneapolis | mental_health | 16.0 |
| LI-Northeast Minneapolis | mental_health | 16.0 |
| Indian Health Board of Minneapolis, Inc. | mental_health | 16.0 |
| Community Dental Care - Robbinsdale | dental | 16.0 |
Heavy-burden reading for Hennepin County
Peak severity leads this reading: Hennepin County's highest active HPSA score is 25.0, clearing HRSA's 17-point high-priority line. Dental care carries Hennepin 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 19.0 of 25; Mental health reads 22.0 of 25. The county also sits inside a Medically Underserved Area, indexed at 47.1, and the lower the index, the greater the measured need.
Volume places Hennepin County above 99% of real US counties (49 active designations: 16 primary care, 16 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.
Hennepin County is tied for the highest active-designation count among 85 real counties in MN. 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.
Hennepin County designations by care type
Active Health Professional Shortage Area designations in the county, by provider category (high-priority disciplines emphasized).
- Dental
Dental
17 designations
- Primary care
Primary care
16 designations
- Mental health
Mental health
16 designations
Heavy-volume FTE gap in Hennepin County
HRSA providers_needed summed once per HPSA id for Hennepin County's active designations: about 63 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 Hennepin County, MN · 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
Hennepin County's shortage designations unlock specific federal programs and comparisons, here is how to act on them.
- Hennepin County's 49 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 dental burden compares with the rest of MN before you draw conclusions from a single score. MN 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 Hennepin County's 25.0. This compares the designation score only, not local appointment availability or care quality. Start with Montgomery County, MD and Milwaukee County, WI.
Showing 6 of 2744 counties nationally with an active designation this severe.
Counties near Hennepin 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 “NATIVE AMERICAN COMMUNITY CLINIC”).
Montgomery County, MD
25.0 dental score · 1,062,061 pop.
Milwaukee County, WI
25.0 dental score · 939,489 pop.
Hamilton County, OH
25.0 dental score · 830,639 pop.
Miami-Dade County, FL
25.0 dental score · 2,701,767 pop.
Tarrant County, TX
25.0 dental score · 2,110,640 pop.
Philadelphia County, PA
25.0 dental score · 1,603,797 pop.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Does Hennepin County's MUA standing sit beside its HPSA records?
- Yes - Hennepin County carries an MUA designation (index 47.1; 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 Hennepin County's peak score of 25.0?
- "NATIVE AMERICAN COMMUNITY CLINIC" leads the active set (score 25.0; dental; 184,187 people in the service area; designated 02/28/2006). Clearing 17 opens NHSC high-priority placement for the matching provider type on the designated geography. Discipline mix across 49 active rows: 16 primary care, 16 mental health, 17 dental.
- Which other active designations sit under Hennepin County's severity reading?
- After "NATIVE AMERICAN COMMUNITY CLINIC", the next active names on this release are "NATIVE AMERICAN COMMUNITY CLINIC", "SOUTHSIDE COMMUNITY HEALTH SERVICES INC", "HENNEPIN COUNTY" and "INDIAN HEALTH BOARD OF MINNEAPOLIS, INC.". Provider need (id-de-duped) totals ~63 FTE across disciplines that still carry a gap.
- Which federal pathways follow Hennepin County's high-severity geography?
- Hennepin County's 49 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 "NATIVE AMERICAN COMMUNITY CLINIC".
- How does Hennepin County's peak severity sit inside MN?
- Hennepin County holds 49 active HPSA rows with peak 25.0. Hennepin County is tied for the highest active-designation count among 85 real counties in MN. Score-nearest national peers appear below when the peer module renders. Score-nearest counties on this release include Montgomery County, MD and Milwaukee County, WI.
Source: HRSA Data Warehouse. FIPS: 27053. 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 27053 (Hennepin County, MN), vintage 2026-08-15. Active designation count 49; peak score 25.0; signature peak score 25.0. This profile is reference material, not professional advice; see methodology.