Medically Underserved Area High-priority · primary care only

MO · Healthcare shortage profile

St. Charles County, MO

The clinician FTE gap is the sharpest number here: closing St. Charles County's active designations would take about 32 additional FTEs on HRSA's providers_needed estimate. Population 405,262.

Active HPSAs
3
Population
405,262
Peak shortage score
17.0
MUA Index
MUA

Light-burden verdict

According to current HRSA Data Warehouse records, St. Charles 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
17
Peak severity score (of 26)
Top 80%
US counties by volume
B+
Healthcare Access Score
75/100
St. Charles County, MO

Based on HRSA primary/mental/dental shortage severity, Medically Underserved Area status, and estimated unmet provider need -- not patient outcomes, insurance access, facility quality, or wait times.

Primary care D
17.0 of 25
Primary care shortage severity (HPSA score)
Mental health A+
10.0 of 25
Mental health shortage severity (HPSA score)
Dental A+
11.0 of 26
Dental shortage severity (HPSA score)
Underserved status N/A
N/A
Index of Medical Underservice (designated MUA, index not on file)
Provider gap A
0.8 per 10K
Unmet provider need (HRSA-estimated) per 10,000 residents

Key findings

What the HRSA Data Warehouse does not surface for St. Charles County, MO 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.

  1. Peak HPSA score 17.0 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.

  2. Closing St. Charles County's active designations would take about 32 additional clinician FTEs, with primary care the largest gap.

    HRSA providers_needed summed once per HPSA id (no double-count across status rows): 17 primary care, 12 mental health, 2.3 dental. This is the federal gap estimate, not a headcount of practising clinicians.

  3. 33.3% of St. Charles 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).

St. Charles County's mid-pack ZIP footprint

15 Census ZCTAs intersect St. Charles 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

7 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.

St. Charles 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

This county 0 280 every real US county, bucketed by value

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. St. Charles County falls in the lower half of MO counties by active-designation volume, at rank 89 of 115. Ties share a rank; the comparison uses the same current designated records as the national chart.

Healthcare shortage designations from HRSA. FIPS: 29183. Population: 405,262.

Medically Underserved Area

MUA Designated

Active HPSA scores

Primary Care 17.0 High priority
Mental Health 10.0 Below priority line
Dental 11.0 Below priority line

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 St. Charles County, ranked by HRSA shortage score.

Name Type Score
LI - Kinloch/Berkeley/Bridgeton primary_care 17.0
St. Charles City dental 11.0
Mhca - 16 St. Charles Service Area mental_health 10.0

Light-burden reading for St. Charles County

The clinician FTE gap is the sharpest number here: closing St. Charles County's active designations would take about 32 additional FTEs on HRSA's providers_needed estimate. Primary care is where St. Charles County is stretched thinnest: HRSA scores it 17.0 of 25, the county's highest severity reading and past the 17-point line HRSA uses to open National Health Service Corps placement and enhanced Medicare reimbursement. Mental health reads 10.0 of 25; Dental care reads 11.0 of 26. The county also sits inside a Medically Underserved Area, a separate HRSA designation from the HPSA records above.

St. Charles 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.

St. Charles County falls in the lower half of MO counties by active-designation volume, at rank 89 of 115. 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 St. Charles County

Signature reading: HRSA providers_needed sums to about 32 FTE across St. Charles County's active designations (once per HPSA id), a federal gap estimate, not practising headcount.

Acting on St. Charles County's high-priority primary care

St. Charles County's shortage designations unlock specific federal programs and comparisons, here is how to act on them.

  • St. Charles County's high-priority primary care designations are where NHSC placement geography concentrates, estimate the award and service terms. NHSC estimator
  • See how the county's primary care burden compares with the rest of MO before drawing conclusions from a single score. MO overview
  • Check the provider-to-population ratio behind an HPSA score against HRSA's designation thresholds. 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 St. Charles County's 3

One peer set for this FTE-led county: nearest active designation count to 3 - the inventory behind the ~32 FTE published need.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does St. Charles County's MUA standing sit beside its HPSA records?
Yes - St. Charles County carries an MUA designation 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 St. Charles County?
Id-de-duped providers_needed across active HPSAs totals ~32 FTE, with primary care the largest slice (17). "LI - Kinloch/Berkeley/Bridgeton" is the highest-scored active row (score 17.0; primary care; 51,723 people in the service area; ~17 FTE still needed on the record; designated 05/12/2026). This is HRSA's published gap, not a headcount of practising clinicians.
Which named designations drive St. Charles County's FTE reading?
Active names on this release include "LI - Kinloch/Berkeley/Bridgeton", "St. Charles City" and "MHCA - 16 St. Charles Service Area". Discipline counts: 1 primary care, 1 mental health, 1 dental across 3 designated rows.

Source: HRSA Data Warehouse. FIPS: 29183. 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 29183 (St. Charles County, MO), vintage 2026-08-15. Active designation count 3; peak score 17.0; signature 32 FTE gap. This profile is reference material, not professional advice; see methodology.