CO · Healthcare shortage profile
Denver County, CO
Peak severity leads this reading: Denver County's highest active HPSA score is 25.0, clearing HRSA's 17-point high-priority line. Population 715,522.
- Active HPSAs
- 35
- Population
- 715,522
- Peak shortage score
- 25.0
- MUA Index
- 49.5
Heavy-burden verdict
According to current HRSA Data Warehouse records, Denver County ranks among the most underserved counties in the country - 35 active HPSA designations, more than 98% of the 3,289 real US counties, with primary care the deepest gap.
- 35
- Active HPSA designations
- 10
- Dental shortages
- 25
- Peak severity score (of 26)
- Top 2%
- 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 Denver County, CO 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.
-
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.
-
Closing Denver County's active designations would take about 42 additional clinician FTEs, with primary care the largest gap.
HRSA providers_needed summed once per HPSA id (no double-count across status rows): 23 primary care, 6.9 mental health, 12 dental. This is the federal gap estimate, not a headcount of practising clinicians.
-
42.9% of Denver County's 35 active designations are primary care.
Discipline mix from designated HPSA records only: 15 primary care, 10 mental health, 10 dental (denominator 35).
Dense ZCTA lattice over Denver County
Denver County intersects 41 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
29 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, Denver County carries 35 active designations, above 98% of real US counties. Use the state peer line below before treating the national percentile as a local access verdict.
State peer position. Denver County is tied for the highest active-designation count among 64 real counties in CO. 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: 08031. Population: 715,522.
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 35 active (designated) HPSAs in Denver County, ranked by HRSA shortage score.
| Name | Type | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Denver Health and Hospital Authority | dental | 25.0 |
| LA Clinica Tepeyac, Inc. | dental | 23.0 |
| The Colorado Coalition For The Homeless | dental | 23.0 |
| Denver Health and Hospital Authority | mental_health | 22.0 |
| The Colorado Coalition For The Homeless | mental_health | 20.0 |
| Inner City Health Center | mental_health | 20.0 |
| LA Clinica Tepeyac, Inc. | primary_care | 19.0 |
| LI - North Denver | primary_care | 19.0 |
| LA Clinica Tepeyac, Inc. | mental_health | 19.0 |
| Inner City Health Center | dental | 19.0 |
| Denver Health and Hospital Authority | primary_care | 18.0 |
| LI-Denver Northeast | primary_care | 18.0 |
| Inner City Health Center | primary_care | 18.0 |
| Dihfs BH Clinic | primary_care | 18.0 |
| Denver Indian Health & Family Services, Inc. | primary_care | 18.0 |
| LI Lakewood East Central | primary_care | 18.0 |
| Denver Indian Health & Family Services, Inc. | dental | 18.0 |
| LI - Denver West | primary_care | 17.0 |
| Every Child Pediatrics - Denver Clinic | primary_care | 17.0 |
| Dihfs BH Clinic | dental | 17.0 |
| LI - Aurora North | primary_care | 16.0 |
| Uptown Community Health Center Inc | primary_care | 15.0 |
| Denver Indian Health & Family Services, Inc. | mental_health | 15.0 |
| LI - Adams West | dental | 15.0 |
| The Colorado Coalition For The Homeless | primary_care | 14.0 |
| Dihfs BH Clinic | mental_health | 14.0 |
| Uptown Community Health Center Inc | mental_health | 13.0 |
| Uptown Community Health Center Inc | dental | 13.0 |
| CF-Denver Women's Correctional Facility | primary_care | 12.0 |
| CF-Denver Reception and Diagnostics Center | mental_health | 12.0 |
| CF-Denver Women's Correctional Facility | mental_health | 12.0 |
| LI-Denver Mhca | mental_health | 10.0 |
| CF-Denver Reception and Diagnostic Center | dental | 6.0 |
| CF-Denver Reception and Diagnostic Center | primary_care | 3.0 |
| CF-Denver Women's Correctional Facility | dental | 3.0 |
Heavy-burden reading for Denver County
Peak severity leads this reading: Denver County's highest active HPSA score is 25.0, clearing HRSA's 17-point high-priority line. Dental care carries Denver 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 49.5, and the lower the index, the greater the measured need.
Volume places Denver County above 98% of real US counties (35 active designations: 15 primary care, 10 mental health, 10 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.
Denver County is tied for the highest active-designation count among 64 real counties in CO. 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.
Denver 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
15 designations
- Mental health
Mental health
10 designations
- Dental
Dental
10 designations
Heavy-volume FTE gap in Denver County
HRSA providers_needed summed once per HPSA id for Denver County's active designations: about 42 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 Denver County, CO · 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
Denver County's shortage designations unlock specific federal programs and comparisons, here is how to act on them.
- Denver County's 35 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 CO before you draw conclusions from a single score. CO 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 Denver County's 25.0. This compares the designation score only, not local appointment availability or care quality. Start with Wayne County, MI and Travis County, TX.
Showing 6 of 2744 counties nationally with an active designation this severe.
Counties near Denver 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 “Denver Health and Hospital Authority”).
Wayne County, MI
25.0 dental score · 1,793,561 pop.
Travis County, TX
25.0 dental score · 1,290,188 pop.
Wake County, NC
25.0 dental score · 1,129,410 pop.
Capitol County, CT
25.0 dental score · 977,165 pop.
Macomb County, MI
25.0 dental score · 881,217 pop.
San Diego County, CA
25.0 dental score · 3,298,634 pop.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Does Denver County's MUA standing sit beside its HPSA records?
- Yes - Denver County carries an MUA designation (index 49.5; 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 Denver County's peak score of 25.0?
- "Denver Health and Hospital Authority" leads the active set (score 25.0; dental; 263,486 people in the service area; designated 11/10/2003). Clearing 17 opens NHSC high-priority placement for the matching provider type on the designated geography. Discipline mix across 35 active rows: 15 primary care, 10 mental health, 10 dental.
- Which other active designations sit under Denver County's severity reading?
- After "Denver Health and Hospital Authority", the next active names on this release are "Denver Health and Hospital Authority", "LA CLINICA TEPEYAC, INC.", "THE COLORADO COALITION FOR THE HOMELESS" and "Denver Health and Hospital Authority". Provider need (id-de-duped) totals ~42 FTE across disciplines that still carry a gap.
- Which federal pathways follow Denver County's high-severity geography?
- Denver County's 35 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 "Denver Health and Hospital Authority".
- How does Denver County's peak severity sit inside CO?
- Denver County holds 35 active HPSA rows with peak 25.0. Denver County is tied for the highest active-designation count among 64 real counties in CO. Score-nearest national peers appear below when the peer module renders. Score-nearest counties on this release include Wayne County, MI and Travis County, TX.
Source: HRSA Data Warehouse. FIPS: 08031. 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 08031 (Denver County, CO), vintage 2026-08-15. Active designation count 35; peak score 25.0; signature peak score 25.0. This profile is reference material, not professional advice; see methodology.