AZ · Healthcare shortage profile
Maricopa County, AZ
Peak severity leads this reading: Maricopa County's highest active HPSA score is 25.0, clearing HRSA's 17-point high-priority line. Population 4,420,568.
- Active HPSAs
- 130
- Population
- 4,420,568
- Peak shortage score
- 25.0
- MUA Index
- 47.3
Heavy-burden verdict
According to current HRSA Data Warehouse records, Maricopa County ranks among the most underserved counties in the country - 130 active HPSA designations, more than 99% of the 3,289 real US counties, with primary care the deepest gap.
- 130
- Active HPSA designations
- 43
- Dental shortages
- 25
- Peak severity score (of 26)
- Top 1%
- US counties by volume
Key findings
What the HRSA Data Warehouse does not surface for Maricopa County, AZ 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 Maricopa County's active designations would take about 290 additional clinician FTEs, with primary care the largest gap.
HRSA providers_needed summed once per HPSA id (no double-count across status rows): 195 primary care, 20 mental health, 75 dental. This is the federal gap estimate, not a headcount of practising clinicians.
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38.5% of Maricopa County's 130 active designations are primary care.
Discipline mix from designated HPSA records only: 50 primary care, 37 mental health, 43 dental (denominator 130).
Dense ZCTA lattice over Maricopa County
Maricopa County intersects 140 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
128 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, Maricopa County carries 130 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. Maricopa County is tied for the highest active-designation count among 15 real counties in AZ. 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: 04013. Population: 4,420,568.
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 130 active (designated) HPSAs in Maricopa County, ranked by HRSA shortage score.
| Name | Type | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Circle The City | dental | 25.0 |
| Mountain Park Health Center | dental | 25.0 |
| Adelante Healthcare Inc | dental | 25.0 |
| Tohono O’odham Nation | dental | 24.0 |
| Wesley Community Center Inc | dental | 23.0 |
| Native Health | dental | 23.0 |
| Valle Del Sol, Inc | dental | 23.0 |
| Maricopa County Special Health Care District | dental | 23.0 |
| LI-Gila River Indian Community | dental | 22.0 |
| Circle The City | primary_care | 21.0 |
| Neighborhood Outreach Access TO Health | dental | 21.0 |
| Terros Inc | dental | 21.0 |
| Tohono O’odham Nation | primary_care | 20.0 |
| Wassaja Health Center | dental | 20.0 |
| Komatke Health Center | dental | 20.0 |
| Phoenix Indian Medical Center | dental | 20.0 |
| LI-Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community | dental | 20.0 |
| Native American Connections, Inc. - Integrated Clinic | dental | 20.0 |
| Neighborhood Outreach Access TO Health | primary_care | 19.0 |
| Mountain Park Health Center | primary_care | 19.0 |
| Adelante Healthcare Inc | primary_care | 19.0 |
| Terros Inc | primary_care | 19.0 |
| Wesley Community Center Inc | primary_care | 19.0 |
| Native Health | primary_care | 19.0 |
| Maricopa County Special Health Care District | primary_care | 19.0 |
| Gila River Indian Community | primary_care | 19.0 |
| Glendale - Central | mental_health | 19.0 |
| Adelante Healthcare Inc | mental_health | 19.0 |
| Salt River | dental | 19.0 |
| San Tan Behavioral Health Services | dental | 19.0 |
| LI-Tempe - North | dental | 19.0 |
| LI-Phoenix - Maryvale East | dental | 19.0 |
| LI-Glendale - Central | dental | 19.0 |
| Gila Bend Health Station | dental | 19.0 |
| Guadalupe Health Complex | dental | 19.0 |
| Wassaja Health Center | primary_care | 18.0 |
| Phoenix Indian Medical Center | primary_care | 18.0 |
| Native Health - Mesa | primary_care | 18.0 |
| Salt River | primary_care | 18.0 |
| Walupe Health Center | primary_care | 18.0 |
Heavy-burden reading for Maricopa County
Peak severity leads this reading: Maricopa County's highest active HPSA score is 25.0, clearing HRSA's 17-point high-priority line. Dental care carries Maricopa 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 21.0 of 25; Mental health reads 19.0 of 25. The county also sits inside a Medically Underserved Area, indexed at 47.3, and the lower the index, the greater the measured need.
Volume places Maricopa County above 99% of real US counties (130 active designations: 50 primary care, 37 mental health, 43 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.
Maricopa County is tied for the highest active-designation count among 15 real counties in AZ. 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.
Maricopa 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
50 designations
- Dental
Dental
43 designations
- Mental health
Mental health
37 designations
Heavy-volume FTE gap in Maricopa County
HRSA providers_needed summed once per HPSA id for Maricopa County's active designations: about 290 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 Maricopa County, AZ · 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
Maricopa County's shortage designations unlock specific federal programs and comparisons, here is how to act on them.
- Maricopa County's 130 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 AZ before you draw conclusions from a single score. AZ 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 Maricopa County's 25.0. This compares the designation score only, not local appointment availability or care quality. Start with Montgomery County, MD and Milwaukee County, WI.
Showing 6 of 2744 counties nationally with an active designation this severe.
Counties near Maricopa 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 “CIRCLE THE CITY”).
Montgomery County, MD
25.0 dental score · 1,062,061 pop.
Milwaukee County, WI
25.0 dental score · 939,489 pop.
Hamilton County, OH
25.0 dental score · 830,639 pop.
Dallas County, TX
25.0 dental score · 2,613,539 pop.
Bexar County, TX
25.0 dental score · 2,009,324 pop.
Sacramento County, CA
25.0 dental score · 1,585,055 pop.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Does Maricopa County's MUA standing sit beside its HPSA records?
- Yes - Maricopa County carries an MUA designation (index 47.3; 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 Maricopa County's peak score of 25.0?
- "CIRCLE THE CITY" leads the active set (score 25.0; dental; 144,483 people in the service area; designated 05/01/2015). Clearing 17 opens NHSC high-priority placement for the matching provider type on the designated geography. Discipline mix across 130 active rows: 50 primary care, 37 mental health, 43 dental.
- Which other active designations sit under Maricopa County's severity reading?
- After "CIRCLE THE CITY", the next active names on this release are "CIRCLE THE CITY", "MOUNTAIN PARK HEALTH CENTER", "ADELANTE HEALTHCARE INC" and "Tohono O’odham Nation". Provider need (id-de-duped) totals ~290 FTE across disciplines that still carry a gap.
- Which federal pathways follow Maricopa County's high-severity geography?
- Maricopa County's 130 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 "CIRCLE THE CITY".
- How does Maricopa County's peak severity sit inside AZ?
- Maricopa County holds 130 active HPSA rows with peak 25.0. Maricopa County is tied for the highest active-designation count among 15 real counties in AZ. Score-nearest national peers appear below when the peer module renders. Score-nearest counties on this release include Montgomery County, MD and Milwaukee County, WI.
Source: HRSA Data Warehouse. FIPS: 04013. 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 04013 (Maricopa County, AZ), vintage 2026-08-15. Active designation count 130; peak score 25.0; signature peak score 25.0. This profile is reference material, not professional advice; see methodology.