TX · Healthcare shortage profile
Cameron County, TX
The clinician FTE gap is the sharpest number here: closing Cameron County's active designations would take about 176 additional FTEs on HRSA's providers_needed estimate. Population 421,017.
- Active HPSAs
- 15
- Population
- 421,017
- Peak shortage score
- 23.0
- MUA Index
- 58.0
Heavy-burden verdict
According to current HRSA Data Warehouse records, Cameron County ranks among the most underserved counties in the country - 15 active HPSA designations, more than 91% of the 3,289 real US counties, with primary care the deepest gap.
- 15
- Active HPSA designations
- 4
- Dental shortages
- 23
- Peak severity score (of 26)
- Top 9%
- US counties by volume
Key findings
What the HRSA Data Warehouse does not surface for Cameron 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 23.0 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 Cameron County's active designations would take about 176 additional clinician FTEs, with primary care the largest gap.
HRSA providers_needed summed once per HPSA id (no double-count across status rows): 62 primary care, 53 mental health, 61 dental. This is the federal gap estimate, not a headcount of practising clinicians.
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46.7% of Cameron County's 15 active designations are primary care.
Discipline mix from designated HPSA records only: 7 primary care, 4 mental health, 4 dental (denominator 15).
Dense ZCTA lattice over Cameron County
Cameron County intersects 17 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
5 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, Cameron County carries 15 active designations, above 91% of real US counties. Use the state peer line below before treating the national percentile as a local access verdict.
State peer position. Cameron County falls in the upper quarter of TX counties by active-designation volume, at rank 4 of 254. 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: 48061. Population: 421,017.
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
All 15 active (designated) HPSAs in Cameron County, ranked by HRSA shortage score.
| Name | Type | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Brownsville Community Health Clinic Corporation | dental | 23.0 |
| SU Clinica Familiar | dental | 23.0 |
| Ice - Port Isabel | mental_health | 21.0 |
| LI - Cameron County | dental | 20.0 |
| SU Clinica Familiar | mental_health | 19.0 |
| Brownsville Community Health Clinic Corporation | primary_care | 17.0 |
| SU Clinica Familiar | primary_care | 17.0 |
| Brownsville Community Health Clinic Corporation | mental_health | 17.0 |
| Coastal SA-Cameron Co | primary_care | 16.0 |
| LI-West Brownsville SA - Cameron Co | primary_care | 16.0 |
| Ice - Port Isabel | primary_care | 15.0 |
| LI-West Cameron County SA | primary_care | 14.0 |
| Mhca 38 - Tropical Texas | mental_health | 14.0 |
| Ice - Port Isabel | dental | 12.0 |
| East Brownsville SA - Cameron Co | primary_care | 10.0 |
Heavy-burden reading for Cameron County
The clinician FTE gap is the sharpest number here: closing Cameron County's active designations would take about 176 additional FTEs on HRSA's providers_needed estimate. Dental care carries Cameron County's deepest shortage reading, 23.0 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 17.0 of 25; Mental health reads 21.0 of 25. The county also sits inside a Medically Underserved Area, indexed at 58.0, and the lower the index, the greater the measured need.
Volume places Cameron County above 91% of real US counties (15 active designations: 7 primary care, 4 mental health, 4 dental). Peak severity on the current designated set is 23.0. 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.
Cameron County falls in the upper quarter of TX counties by active-designation volume, at rank 4 of 254. 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.
Cameron County designations by care type
Active Health Professional Shortage Area designations in the county, by provider category (high-priority disciplines emphasized).
- Primary care
Primary care
7 designations
- Mental health
Mental health
4 designations
- Dental
Dental
4 designations
Heavy-volume FTE gap in Cameron County
Signature reading: HRSA providers_needed sums to about 176 FTE across Cameron County's active designations (once per HPSA id), a federal gap estimate, not practising headcount.
Source: HRSA Data Warehouse, Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSA) + Medically Underserved Areas/Populations (MUA/P) HPSA primary-care, mental-health, and dental designations for Cameron 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
Cameron County's shortage designations unlock specific federal programs and comparisons, here is how to act on them.
- Cameron County's 15 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 primary care 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 Cameron County's 23.0. This compares the designation score only, not local appointment availability or care quality. Start with Kern County, CA and Prince William County, VA.
Showing 6 of 2744 counties nationally with an active designation this severe.
Counties with a matching designation count to Cameron County's 15
One peer set for this FTE-led county: nearest active designation count to 15 - the inventory behind the ~176 FTE published need.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Does Cameron County's MUA standing sit beside its HPSA records?
- Yes - Cameron County carries an MUA designation (index 58.0; lower = greater measured need) 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 Cameron County?
- Id-de-duped providers_needed across active HPSAs totals ~176 FTE, with primary care the largest slice (62). "Brownsville Community Health Clinic Corporation" is the highest-scored active row (score 23.0; dental; 85,743 people in the service area; designated 10/22/2002). This is HRSA's published gap, not a headcount of practising clinicians.
- Which named designations drive Cameron County's FTE reading?
- Active names on this release include "Brownsville Community Health Clinic Corporation", "SU CLINICA FAMILIAR", "ICE - Port Isabel" and "LI - Cameron County". Discipline counts: 7 primary care, 4 mental health, 4 dental across 15 designated rows.
- Do Cameron County's FTE gaps unlock federal programs?
- Yes where an ACTIVE designation exists, NHSC, CHC grants, Medicare bonus and J-1 waivers follow the designated geography and provider type. A published FTE gap without an active row does not, by itself, open those pathways.
- How does Cameron County's FTE burden compare inside TX?
- 15 active designations and ~176 FTE published need. Cameron County falls in the upper quarter of TX counties by active-designation volume, at rank 4 of 254. Score-nearest counties on this release include Kern County, CA and Prince William County, VA.
Source: HRSA Data Warehouse. FIPS: 48061. 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 48061 (Cameron County, TX), vintage 2026-08-15. Active designation count 15; peak score 23.0; signature 176 FTE gap. This profile is reference material, not professional advice; see methodology.