TX · Healthcare shortage profile
Harris County, TX
Peak severity leads this reading: Harris County's highest active HPSA score is 25.0, clearing HRSA's 17-point high-priority line. Population 4,731,145.
- Active HPSAs
- 49
- Population
- 4,731,145
- Peak shortage score
- 25.0
- MUA Index
- 48.4
Heavy-burden verdict
According to current HRSA Data Warehouse records, Harris 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 mental health the deepest gap.
- 49
- Active HPSA designations
- 17
- Dental shortages
- 25
- Peak severity score (of 26)
- Top 1%
- US counties by volume
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.
Key findings
What the HRSA Data Warehouse does not surface for Harris County, TX 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 Harris County's active designations would take about 124 additional clinician FTEs, with mental health the largest gap.
HRSA providers_needed summed once per HPSA id (no double-count across status rows): 12 primary care, 73 mental health, 39 dental. This is the federal gap estimate, not a headcount of practising clinicians.
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34.7% of Harris County's 49 active designations are mental health.
Discipline mix from designated HPSA records only: 15 primary care, 17 mental health, 17 dental (denominator 49).
Dense ZCTA lattice over Harris County
Harris County intersects 143 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
131 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, Harris 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. Harris County is tied for the highest active-designation count among 254 real counties in TX. 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: 48201. Population: 4,731,145.
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 Harris County, ranked by HRSA shortage score.
| Name | Type | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Houston Area Community Services, Inc. | dental | 25.0 |
| Asian American Health Coalition OF The Greater Houston Area | dental | 25.0 |
| Legacy Community Health Services Inc | dental | 25.0 |
| Harris Ctyhosp Dist | dental | 25.0 |
| Healthcare For The Homeless-Houston | dental | 25.0 |
| Houston Community Health Centers, Inc. | dental | 25.0 |
| EL Centro DE Corazon | dental | 25.0 |
| Pasadena Health Center, Inc. | dental | 25.0 |
| Spring Branch Community Health Center | dental | 25.0 |
| Bee Busy Wellness Center | dental | 25.0 |
| St. Hope Foundation | dental | 25.0 |
| Pasadena Health Center, Inc. | primary_care | 22.0 |
| EL Centro DE Corazon | primary_care | 22.0 |
| Houston Community Health Centers, Inc. | primary_care | 22.0 |
| Legacy Community Health Services Inc | primary_care | 22.0 |
| Houston Area Community Services, Inc. | primary_care | 22.0 |
| Harris Ctyhosp Dist | primary_care | 22.0 |
| Houston Community Health Centers, Inc. | mental_health | 22.0 |
| St. Hope Foundation | primary_care | 21.0 |
| Spring Branch Community Health Center | primary_care | 21.0 |
| Healthcare For The Homeless-Houston | primary_care | 20.0 |
| Asian American Health Coalition OF The Greater Houston Area | primary_care | 20.0 |
| EL Centro DE Corazon | mental_health | 20.0 |
| Spring Branch Community Health Center | mental_health | 20.0 |
| LI- Pecan/ Magnolia Park SA- Harris County | dental | 20.0 |
| LI-Aldine SA-Harris County | dental | 20.0 |
| Pasadena Health Center, Inc. | mental_health | 19.0 |
| Houston Area Community Services, Inc. | mental_health | 18.0 |
| St. Hope Foundation | mental_health | 17.0 |
| Harris Ctyhosp Dist | mental_health | 17.0 |
| Tomagwa Ministries Inc | dental | 17.0 |
| Bee Busy Wellness Center | primary_care | 16.0 |
| Tomagwa Ministries Inc | primary_care | 16.0 |
| University of Houston System | primary_care | 16.0 |
| Tomagwa Ministries Inc | mental_health | 16.0 |
| Legacy Community Health Services Inc | mental_health | 16.0 |
| Asian American Health Coalition OF The Greater Houston Area | mental_health | 15.0 |
| LI - Harris County | mental_health | 15.0 |
| University of Houston System | mental_health | 15.0 |
| University of Houston System | dental | 15.0 |
Heavy-burden reading for Harris County
Peak severity leads this reading: Harris County's highest active HPSA score is 25.0, clearing HRSA's 17-point high-priority line. Dental care carries Harris 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 22.0 of 25; Mental health reads 22.0 of 25. The county also sits inside a Medically Underserved Area, indexed at 48.4, and the lower the index, the greater the measured need.
Volume places Harris County above 99% of real US counties (49 active designations: 15 primary care, 17 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.
Harris County is tied for the highest active-designation count among 254 real counties in TX. 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.
Harris 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
17 designations
- Dental
Dental
17 designations
- Primary care
Primary care
15 designations
Heavy-volume FTE gap in Harris County
HRSA providers_needed summed once per HPSA id for Harris County's active designations: about 124 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 Harris County, TX · 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
Harris County's shortage designations unlock specific federal programs and comparisons, here is how to act on them.
- Harris 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 mental health burden compares with the rest of TX before you draw conclusions from a single score. TX 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 Harris 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 Harris 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 “HOUSTON AREA COMMUNITY SERVICES, INC.”).
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.
Kings County, NY
25.0 dental score · 2,736,074 pop.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Does Harris County's MUA standing sit beside its HPSA records?
- Yes - Harris County carries an MUA designation (index 48.4; 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 Harris County's peak score of 25.0?
- "HOUSTON AREA COMMUNITY SERVICES, INC." leads the active set (score 25.0; dental; 998,417 people in the service area; designated 03/01/2009). Clearing 17 opens NHSC high-priority placement for the matching provider type on the designated geography. Discipline mix across 49 active rows: 15 primary care, 17 mental health, 17 dental.
- Which other active designations sit under Harris County's severity reading?
- After "HOUSTON AREA COMMUNITY SERVICES, INC.", the next active names on this release are "HOUSTON AREA COMMUNITY SERVICES, INC.", "ASIAN AMERICAN HEALTH COALITION OF THE GREATER HOUSTON AREA", "LEGACY COMMUNITY HEALTH SERVICES INC" and "HARRIS CTYHOSP DIST". Provider need (id-de-duped) totals ~124 FTE across disciplines that still carry a gap.
- Which federal pathways follow Harris County's high-severity geography?
- Harris 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 "HOUSTON AREA COMMUNITY SERVICES, INC.".
- How does Harris County's peak severity sit inside TX?
- Harris County holds 49 active HPSA rows with peak 25.0. Harris County is tied for the highest active-designation count among 254 real counties in TX. 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: 48201. 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 48201 (Harris County, TX), 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.