CA · Healthcare shortage profile
Fresno County, CA
Peak severity leads this reading: Fresno County's highest active HPSA score is 25.0, clearing HRSA's 17-point high-priority line. Population 1,008,654.
- Active HPSAs
- 96
- Population
- 1,008,654
- Peak shortage score
- 25.0
- MUA Index
- 53.9
Heavy-burden verdict
According to current HRSA Data Warehouse records, Fresno County ranks among the most underserved counties in the country - 96 active HPSA designations, more than 99% of the 3,289 real US counties, with primary care the deepest gap.
- 96
- Active HPSA designations
- 32
- 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 Fresno County, CA 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 Fresno County's active designations would take about 43 additional clinician FTEs, with primary care the largest gap.
HRSA providers_needed summed once per HPSA id (no double-count across status rows): 29 primary care, 7.7 mental health, 6.1 dental. This is the federal gap estimate, not a headcount of practising clinicians.
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34.4% of Fresno County's 96 active designations are primary care.
Discipline mix from designated HPSA records only: 33 primary care, 31 mental health, 32 dental (denominator 96).
Dense ZCTA lattice over Fresno County
Fresno County intersects 60 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
48 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, Fresno County carries 96 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. Fresno County sits among the top three county rank positions in CA, at rank 2 of 58. 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: 06019. Population: 1,008,654.
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 96 active (designated) HPSAs in Fresno County, ranked by HRSA shortage score.
| Name | Type | Score |
|---|---|---|
| United Health Centers OF The San Joaquin Valley | dental | 25.0 |
| Valley Health Team, Inc. | dental | 25.0 |
| Fci - Mendota | primary_care | 24.0 |
| Fci - Mendota | mental_health | 24.0 |
| Greater Fresno Health Organization, Inc. | dental | 23.0 |
| Todos Para LA Salud | dental | 23.0 |
| Central Valley Indian Health, Bullard Clinic | dental | 22.0 |
| Central Valley Indian Health Clinic | dental | 22.0 |
| Central Valley Indian Health, Prather Clinic | dental | 22.0 |
| Fresno American Indian Health Project | dental | 22.0 |
| LI Mssa 25-Firebaugh | dental | 22.0 |
| LI Mssa 26-San Joaquin | dental | 22.0 |
| Valley Health Team, Inc. | primary_care | 21.0 |
| Greater Fresno Health Organization, Inc. | primary_care | 21.0 |
| Todos Para LA Salud | primary_care | 21.0 |
| Fresno American Indian Health Project | mental_health | 21.0 |
| Valley Health Team, Inc. | mental_health | 21.0 |
| United Health Centers OF The San Joaquin Valley | mental_health | 21.0 |
| Central Valley Indian Health Clinic | mental_health | 20.0 |
| Todos Para LA Salud | mental_health | 20.0 |
| Central Valley Indian Health, Prather Clinic | mental_health | 20.0 |
| Central Valley Indian Health, Bullard Clinic | mental_health | 20.0 |
| United Health Centers OF The San Joaquin Valley | primary_care | 19.0 |
| Central Valley Indian Health Clinic | primary_care | 19.0 |
| Fresno American Indian Health Project | primary_care | 19.0 |
| Central Valley Indian Health, Prather Clinic | primary_care | 19.0 |
| ME - Mssa 35d/Fresno East Central | primary_care | 19.0 |
| Central Valley Indian Health, Bullard Clinic | primary_care | 19.0 |
| Greater Fresno Health Organization, Inc. | mental_health | 19.0 |
| Table Mountain Rancheria Medical Clinic | dental | 19.0 |
| Adventist Health Reedley | primary_care | 18.0 |
| Table Mountain Rancheria Medical Clinic | primary_care | 18.0 |
| Adventist Health Reedley | primary_care | 18.0 |
| LI-Mfw Mssa 26- San Joaquin | primary_care | 18.0 |
| LI - Mssa 35e - Fresno South and West | mental_health | 18.0 |
| Table Mountain Rancheria Medical Clinic | mental_health | 18.0 |
| Fci - Mendota | dental | 18.0 |
| Adventist Health Reedley | mental_health | 17.0 |
| Adventist Health Reedley | mental_health | 17.0 |
| Adventist Health Reedley | mental_health | 17.0 |
Heavy-burden reading for Fresno County
Peak severity leads this reading: Fresno County's highest active HPSA score is 25.0, clearing HRSA's 17-point high-priority line. Dental care carries Fresno 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 24.0 of 25; Mental health reads 24.0 of 25. The county also sits inside a Medically Underserved Area, indexed at 53.9, and the lower the index, the greater the measured need.
Volume places Fresno County above 99% of real US counties (96 active designations: 33 primary care, 31 mental health, 32 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.
Fresno County sits among the top three county rank positions in CA, at rank 2 of 58. 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.
Fresno 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
33 designations
- Dental
Dental
32 designations
- Mental health
Mental health
31 designations
Heavy-volume FTE gap in Fresno County
HRSA providers_needed summed once per HPSA id for Fresno County's active designations: about 43 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 Fresno County, CA · 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
Fresno County's shortage designations unlock specific federal programs and comparisons, here is how to act on them.
- Fresno County's 96 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 CA before you draw conclusions from a single score. CA 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 Fresno County's 25.0. This compares the designation score only, not local appointment availability or care quality. Start with Fulton County, GA and Milwaukee County, WI.
Showing 6 of 2744 counties nationally with an active designation this severe.
Counties near Fresno 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 “UNITED HEALTH CENTERS OF THE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY”).
Fulton County, GA
25.0 dental score · 1,066,710 pop.
Milwaukee County, WI
25.0 dental score · 939,489 pop.
Hamilton County, OH
25.0 dental score · 830,639 pop.
Miami-Dade County, FL
25.0 dental score · 2,701,767 pop.
Tarrant County, TX
25.0 dental score · 2,110,640 pop.
Philadelphia County, PA
25.0 dental score · 1,603,797 pop.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Does Fresno County's MUA standing sit beside its HPSA records?
- Yes - Fresno County carries an MUA designation (index 53.9; 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 Fresno County's peak score of 25.0?
- "UNITED HEALTH CENTERS OF THE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY" leads the active set (score 25.0; dental; 299,412 people in the service area; designated 05/23/2003). Clearing 17 opens NHSC high-priority placement for the matching provider type on the designated geography. Discipline mix across 96 active rows: 33 primary care, 31 mental health, 32 dental.
- Which other active designations sit under Fresno County's severity reading?
- After "UNITED HEALTH CENTERS OF THE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY", the next active names on this release are "UNITED HEALTH CENTERS OF THE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY", "VALLEY HEALTH TEAM, INC.", "FCI - Mendota" and "FCI - Mendota". Provider need (id-de-duped) totals ~43 FTE across disciplines that still carry a gap.
- Which federal pathways follow Fresno County's high-severity geography?
- Fresno County's 96 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 "UNITED HEALTH CENTERS OF THE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY".
- How does Fresno County's peak severity sit inside CA?
- Fresno County holds 96 active HPSA rows with peak 25.0. Fresno County sits among the top three county rank positions in CA, at rank 2 of 58. Score-nearest national peers appear below when the peer module renders. Score-nearest counties on this release include Fulton County, GA and Milwaukee County, WI.
Source: HRSA Data Warehouse. FIPS: 06019. 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 06019 (Fresno County, CA), vintage 2026-08-15. Active designation count 96; peak score 25.0; signature peak score 25.0. This profile is reference material, not professional advice; see methodology.