Medically Underserved Area Primary · mental · dental footprint

CA · Healthcare shortage profile

Alameda County, CA

Peak severity leads this reading: Alameda County's highest active HPSA score is 25.0, clearing HRSA's 17-point high-priority line. Population 1,682,353.

Active HPSAs
39
Population
1,682,353
Peak shortage score
25.0
MUA Index
52.3
CA state overview → About this data

Heavy-burden verdict

According to current HRSA Data Warehouse records, Alameda County ranks among the most underserved counties in the country - 39 active HPSA designations, more than 98% of the 3,289 real US counties, with primary care the deepest gap.

39
Active HPSA designations
13
Dental shortages
25
Peak severity score (of 26)
Top 2%
US counties by volume

Key findings

What the HRSA Data Warehouse does not surface for Alameda 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.

  1. 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.

  2. Closing Alameda County's active designations would take about 2.4 additional clinician FTEs, with primary care the largest gap.

    HRSA providers_needed summed once per HPSA id (no double-count across status rows): 1.1 primary care, 0.6 mental health, 0.7 dental. This is the federal gap estimate, not a headcount of practising clinicians.

  3. 33.3% of Alameda County's 39 active designations are primary care.

    Discipline mix from designated HPSA records only: 13 primary care, 13 mental health, 13 dental (denominator 39).

Dense ZCTA lattice over Alameda County

Alameda County intersects 53 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

41 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, Alameda County carries 39 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. Alameda County falls in the upper quarter of CA counties by active-designation volume, at rank 13 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: 06001. Population: 1,682,353.

13
Dental HPSAs
13
Primary Care HPSAs
13
Mental Health HPSAs

Medically Underserved Area

MUA Designated
MUA Index: 52.3

Peak severity scores

Primary Care 20.0
Mental Health 21.0
Dental 25.0

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 39 active (designated) HPSAs in Alameda County, ranked by HRSA shortage score.

Name Type Score
LA Clinica DE LA Raza, Inc. dental 25.0
The Davis Street Community Center Incorporated dental 23.0
Lifelong Medical Care dental 23.0
Children's Hospital & Research Center AT Oakland dental 23.0
Axis Community Health, Inc. mental_health 21.0
Bay Area Community Health mental_health 21.0
Tiburcio Vasquez Health Center, Incorporated mental_health 21.0
LA Clinica DE LA Raza, Inc. mental_health 21.0
Tiburcio Vasquez Health Center, Incorporated dental 21.0
Bay Area Community Health dental 21.0
Alameda, County Of dental 21.0
Lifelong Medical Care primary_care 20.0
The Davis Street Community Center Incorporated mental_health 19.0
Children's Hospital & Research Center AT Oakland mental_health 19.0
Alameda, County Of mental_health 19.0
Asian Health Services dental 19.0
The West Oakland Health Council dental 19.0
LA Clinica DE LA Raza, Inc. primary_care 18.0
Axis Community Health, Inc. primary_care 18.0
Asian Health Services mental_health 18.0
The West Oakland Health Council primary_care 17.0
The Davis Street Community Center Incorporated primary_care 17.0
The West Oakland Health Council mental_health 17.0
Asian Health Services primary_care 16.0
Native American Health - Community Wellness primary_care 16.0
Native American Health Center - Oakland primary_care 16.0
Alameda, County Of primary_care 15.0
Children's Hospital & Research Center AT Oakland primary_care 15.0
Native American Health Center - Oakland mental_health 15.0
Native American Health - Community Wellness mental_health 15.0
Native American Health - Community Wellness dental 15.0
Axis Community Health, Inc. dental 15.0
Native American Health Center - Oakland dental 15.0
Lifelong Medical Care mental_health 14.0
Tiburcio Vasquez Health Center, Incorporated primary_care 13.0
Fci - Dublin primary_care 12.0
Bay Area Community Health primary_care 12.0
Fci - Dublin mental_health 12.0
Fci - Dublin dental 12.0

Heavy-burden reading for Alameda County

Peak severity leads this reading: Alameda County's highest active HPSA score is 25.0, clearing HRSA's 17-point high-priority line. Dental care carries Alameda 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 20.0 of 25; Mental health reads 21.0 of 25. The county also sits inside a Medically Underserved Area, indexed at 52.3, and the lower the index, the greater the measured need.

Volume places Alameda County above 98% of real US counties (39 active designations: 13 primary care, 13 mental health, 13 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.

Alameda County falls in the upper quarter of CA counties by active-designation volume, at rank 13 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.

Alameda County designations by care type

Active Health Professional Shortage Area designations in the county, by provider category (high-priority disciplines emphasized).

designations
Source HRSA Data Warehouse, designated HPSAs As of 2026

Heavy-volume FTE gap in Alameda County

HRSA providers_needed summed once per HPSA id for Alameda County's active designations: about 2.4 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 Alameda 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

Alameda County's shortage designations unlock specific federal programs and comparisons, here is how to act on them.

  • Alameda County's 39 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 Alameda 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.

Montgomery County, MD

25.0 score 1,062,061 pop.

Milwaukee County, WI

25.0 score 939,489 pop.

Hamilton County, OH

25.0 score 830,639 pop.

Miami-Dade County, FL

25.0 score 2,701,767 pop.

Tarrant County, TX

25.0 score 2,110,640 pop.

Sacramento County, CA

25.0 score 1,585,055 pop.

Counties near Alameda 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 “LA CLINICA DE LA RAZA, INC.”).

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.

Miami-Dade County, FL

25.0 dental score · 2,701,767 pop.

Tarrant County, TX

25.0 dental score · 2,110,640 pop.

Sacramento County, CA

25.0 dental score · 1,585,055 pop.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Alameda County's MUA standing sit beside its HPSA records?
Yes - Alameda County carries an MUA designation (index 52.3; 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 Alameda County's peak score of 25.0?
"LA CLINICA DE LA RAZA, INC." leads the active set (score 25.0; dental; 211,610 people in the service area; designated 09/30/2003). Clearing 17 opens NHSC high-priority placement for the matching provider type on the designated geography. Discipline mix across 39 active rows: 13 primary care, 13 mental health, 13 dental.
Which other active designations sit under Alameda County's severity reading?
After "LA CLINICA DE LA RAZA, INC.", the next active names on this release are "LA CLINICA DE LA RAZA, INC.", "THE DAVIS STREET COMMUNITY CENTER INCORPORATED", "LIFELONG MEDICAL CARE" and "CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL & RESEARCH CENTER AT OAKLAND". Provider need (id-de-duped) totals ~2.4 FTE across disciplines that still carry a gap.
Which federal pathways follow Alameda County's high-severity geography?
Alameda County's 39 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 "LA CLINICA DE LA RAZA, INC.".
How does Alameda County's peak severity sit inside CA?
Alameda County holds 39 active HPSA rows with peak 25.0. Alameda County falls in the upper quarter of CA counties by active-designation volume, at rank 13 of 58. 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: 06001. 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 06001 (Alameda County, CA), vintage 2026-08-15. Active designation count 39; peak score 25.0; signature peak score 25.0. This profile is reference material, not professional advice; see methodology.