KS · Healthcare shortage profile
Kiowa County, KS
Peak severity leads this reading: Kiowa County's highest active HPSA score is 14.0, still below HRSA's 17-point high-priority line. Population 2,460.
- Active HPSAs
- 1
- Population
- 2,460
- Peak shortage score
- 14.0
- MUA Index
- 61.3
Light-burden verdict
According to current HRSA Data Warehouse records, Kiowa County carries a comparatively light shortage burden - 1 active HPSA designation, more than 2% of the 3,289 real US counties, with mental health the deepest gap.
- 1
- Active HPSA designations
- 1
- Mental-health shortages
- 14
- Peak severity score (of 26)
- Top 98%
- US counties by volume
Few Census ZCTAs touch Kiowa County
The Census ZCTA-county crosswalk lists only 7 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas intersecting Kiowa County, a sparse footprint relative to most US counties in this mirror (at or below the 9-ZIP tercile cut).
Intersecting ZCTA
2 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.
Key findings
What the HRSA Data Warehouse does not surface for Kiowa County, KS 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 Kiowa County's active designations would take about 0.4 additional clinician FTEs, with mental health the largest gap.
HRSA providers_needed summed once per HPSA id (no double-count across status rows): 0.4 mental health. This is the federal gap estimate, not a headcount of practising clinicians.
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100% of Kiowa County's 1 active designations are mental health.
Discipline mix from designated HPSA records only: 0 primary care, 1 mental health, 0 dental (denominator 1).
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Peak HPSA score 14.0 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, Kiowa County carries 1 active designation, above 2% 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. Kiowa County falls in the lower half of KS counties by active-designation volume, at rank 79 of 105. 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: 20097. Population: 2,460.
Medically Underserved Area
Active HPSA scores
Current designated records only · mental health only on this FIPS. Scores range 0–25 (primary/mental health), 0–26 (dental). Higher = greater need. What counts as a high score?
Highest-severity HPSA designations
All 1 active (designated) HPSAs in Kiowa County, ranked by HRSA shortage score.
| Name | Type | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Mhca 22 | mental_health | 14.0 |
Light-burden reading for Kiowa County
Peak severity leads this reading: Kiowa County's highest active HPSA score is 14.0, still below HRSA's 17-point high-priority line. Kiowa County's severest measured gap is in mental health, scored 14.0 of 25, 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 61.3, and the lower the index, the greater the measured need.
Kiowa County carries 1 active designation and sits below the national mid-pack (above 2% 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.
Kiowa County falls in the lower half of KS counties by active-designation volume, at rank 79 of 105. Read the active scores and the deepest-care guide link below before collapsing this county into a "no shortage" story.
Counties near Kiowa County's mental score of 14.0
One peer set for this severity-led county: nearest active mental HPSA score to 14.0 (severity lead on this page is “MHCA 22”).
St. Clair County, MI
14.0 mental score · 160,383 pop.
Calvert County, MD
14.0 mental score · 92,783 pop.
Salem County, NJ
14.0 mental score · 64,837 pop.
Queen Anne's County, MD
14.0 mental score · 49,874 pop.
Tift County, GA
14.0 mental score · 41,344 pop.
Dorchester County, MD
14.0 mental score · 32,531 pop.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Does Kiowa County's MUA standing sit beside its HPSA records?
- Yes - Kiowa County carries an MUA designation (index 61.3; 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 Kiowa County's peak score of 14.0?
- "MHCA 22" leads the active set (score 14.0; mental health; 8,470 people in the service area; ~0.4 FTE still needed on the record; designated 09/29/1997). Below 17 the shortage is formal but outside HRSA's high-priority NHSC tier. Discipline mix across 1 active rows: 0 primary care, 1 mental health, 0 dental.
- What provider types does Kiowa County's severity cover?
- Active rows break down 0 primary care / 1 mental health / 0 dental. Closing published gaps would take about 0.4 additional clinician FTEs on this release.
Source: HRSA Data Warehouse. FIPS: 20097. This county’s designations come from BCD_HPSA_FCT_DET_MH.csv (mental health) — 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 20097 (Kiowa County, KS), vintage 2026-08-15. Active designation count 1; peak score 14.0; signature peak score 14.0. This profile is reference material, not professional advice; see methodology.