UT · Healthcare shortage profile
Salt Lake County, UT
Peak severity leads this reading: Salt Lake County's highest active HPSA score is 25.0, clearing HRSA's 17-point high-priority line. Population 1,185,238.
- Active HPSAs
- 17
- Population
- 1,185,238
- Peak shortage score
- 25.0
- MUA Index
- 54.7
Heavy-burden verdict
According to current HRSA Data Warehouse records, Salt Lake County ranks among the most underserved counties in the country - 17 active HPSA designations, more than 93% of the 3,289 real US counties, with primary care the deepest gap.
- 17
- Active HPSA designations
- 5
- Dental shortages
- 25
- Peak severity score (of 26)
- Top 7%
- US counties by volume
Key findings
What the HRSA Data Warehouse does not surface for Salt Lake County, UT 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 Salt Lake County's active designations would take about 67 additional clinician FTEs, with primary care the largest gap.
HRSA providers_needed summed once per HPSA id (no double-count across status rows): 45 primary care, 19 mental health, 2 dental. This is the federal gap estimate, not a headcount of practising clinicians.
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35.3% of Salt Lake County's 17 active designations are primary care.
Discipline mix from designated HPSA records only: 6 primary care, 6 mental health, 5 dental (denominator 17).
Dense ZCTA lattice over Salt Lake County
Salt Lake County intersects 42 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
30 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, Salt Lake County carries 17 active designations, above 93% of real US counties. Use the state peer line below before treating the national percentile as a local access verdict.
State peer position. Salt Lake County sits among the top three county rank positions in UT, at rank 3 of 29. 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: 49035. Population: 1,185,238.
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 17 active (designated) HPSAs in Salt Lake County, ranked by HRSA shortage score.
| Name | Type | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Utah Partners For Health | dental | 25.0 |
| Wasatch Homeless Health Care Inc | dental | 23.0 |
| Community Health Centers Inc | dental | 23.0 |
| Community Health Centers Inc | mental_health | 22.0 |
| Utah Partners For Health | mental_health | 21.0 |
| Utah Partners For Health | primary_care | 19.0 |
| Sacred Circle Healthcare | dental | 19.0 |
| Community Health Centers Inc | primary_care | 18.0 |
| Sacred Circle Healthcare | primary_care | 18.0 |
| Utah State Correctional Facility | mental_health | 18.0 |
| LI-Salt Lake County | mental_health | 18.0 |
| Wasatch Homeless Health Care Inc | primary_care | 17.0 |
| Sacred Circle Healthcare | mental_health | 17.0 |
| Wasatch Homeless Health Care Inc | mental_health | 16.0 |
| Magna/ West Valley SA | primary_care | 12.0 |
| Utah State Correctional Facility | primary_care | 6.0 |
| Utah State Correctional Facility | dental | 3.0 |
Heavy-burden reading for Salt Lake County
Peak severity leads this reading: Salt Lake County's highest active HPSA score is 25.0, clearing HRSA's 17-point high-priority line. Dental care carries Salt Lake 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 54.7, and the lower the index, the greater the measured need.
Volume places Salt Lake County above 93% of real US counties (17 active designations: 6 primary care, 6 mental health, 5 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.
Salt Lake County sits among the top three county rank positions in UT, at rank 3 of 29. 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.
Salt Lake 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
6 designations
- Mental health
Mental health
6 designations
- Dental
Dental
5 designations
Heavy-volume FTE gap in Salt Lake County
HRSA providers_needed summed once per HPSA id for Salt Lake County's active designations: about 67 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 Salt Lake County, UT · 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
Salt Lake County's shortage designations unlock specific federal programs and comparisons, here is how to act on them.
- Salt Lake County's 17 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 UT before you draw conclusions from a single score. UT 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 Salt Lake 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 Salt Lake 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 “UTAH PARTNERS FOR HEALTH”).
Wayne County, MI
25.0 dental score · 1,793,561 pop.
Travis County, TX
25.0 dental score · 1,290,188 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.
San Diego County, CA
25.0 dental score · 3,298,634 pop.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Does Salt Lake County's MUA standing sit beside its HPSA records?
- Yes - Salt Lake County carries an MUA designation (index 54.7; 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 Salt Lake County's peak score of 25.0?
- "UTAH PARTNERS FOR HEALTH" leads the active set (score 25.0; dental; 147,107 people in the service area; designated 11/01/2013). Clearing 17 opens NHSC high-priority placement for the matching provider type on the designated geography. Discipline mix across 17 active rows: 6 primary care, 6 mental health, 5 dental.
- Which other active designations sit under Salt Lake County's severity reading?
- After "UTAH PARTNERS FOR HEALTH", the next active names on this release are "UTAH PARTNERS FOR HEALTH", "WASATCH HOMELESS HEALTH CARE INC", "COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTERS INC" and "COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTERS INC". Provider need (id-de-duped) totals ~67 FTE across disciplines that still carry a gap.
- Which federal pathways follow Salt Lake County's high-severity geography?
- Salt Lake County's 17 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 "UTAH PARTNERS FOR HEALTH".
- How does Salt Lake County's peak severity sit inside UT?
- Salt Lake County holds 17 active HPSA rows with peak 25.0. Salt Lake County sits among the top three county rank positions in UT, at rank 3 of 29. 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: 49035. 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 49035 (Salt Lake County, UT), vintage 2026-08-15. Active designation count 17; peak score 25.0; signature peak score 25.0. This profile is reference material, not professional advice; see methodology.