CA · Healthcare shortage profile
Tuolumne County, CA
Designation volume is the standout signal for Tuolumne County: 36 active HPSA records, above 98% of real US counties. Population 55,620.
- Active HPSAs
- 36
- Population
- 55,620
- Peak shortage score
- 22.0
- MUA Index
- 54.5
Heavy-burden verdict
According to current HRSA Data Warehouse records, Tuolumne County ranks among the most underserved counties in the country - 36 active HPSA designations, more than 98% of the 3,289 real US counties, with primary care the deepest gap.
- 36
- Active HPSA designations
- 12
- Dental shortages
- 22
- Peak severity score (of 26)
- Top 2%
- US counties by volume
Key findings
What the HRSA Data Warehouse does not surface for Tuolumne 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 22.0 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 Tuolumne County's active designations would take about 8.8 additional clinician FTEs, with mental health the largest gap.
HRSA providers_needed summed once per HPSA id (no double-count across status rows): 0.9 primary care, 4.7 mental health, 3.2 dental. This is the federal gap estimate, not a headcount of practising clinicians.
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33.3% of Tuolumne County's 36 active designations are primary care.
Discipline mix from designated HPSA records only: 12 primary care, 12 mental health, 12 dental (denominator 36).
Dense ZCTA lattice over Tuolumne County
Tuolumne County intersects 17 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
5 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, Tuolumne County carries 36 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. Tuolumne County falls in the upper half of CA counties by active-designation volume, at rank 16 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: 06109. Population: 55,620.
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 36 active (designated) HPSAs in Tuolumne County, ranked by HRSA shortage score.
| Name | Type | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Tuolumne Me-Wuk Indian Health Center | dental | 22.0 |
| Mathiesen Memorial Health Clinic | dental | 20.0 |
| Tuolumne Me-Wuk Health and Wellness Center | dental | 20.0 |
| Sonora Indian Health Center | dental | 20.0 |
| Tuolumne Me-Wuk Indian Health Center | primary_care | 18.0 |
| Sierra Conservation Center | mental_health | 18.0 |
| Mathiesen Memorial Health Clinic | primary_care | 17.0 |
| Tuolumne Me-Wuk Health and Wellness Center | primary_care | 17.0 |
| Sonora Indian Health Center | primary_care | 17.0 |
| Tuolumne Me-Wuk Physical Therapy | dental | 17.0 |
| Adventist Health Sonora | mental_health | 16.0 |
| ME - Mssa 234.2 and 236/Sonora/East Sonora/Phoenix Reservoir | dental | 16.0 |
| Mact - Sonora Women's Health Clinic | primary_care | 15.0 |
| Tuolumne Me-Wuk Physical Therapy | primary_care | 15.0 |
| Mact - Sonora Pediatric Health Clinic | primary_care | 15.0 |
| Tuolumne Me-Wuk Optometry | primary_care | 15.0 |
| Tuolumne Me-Wuk Dental Center | primary_care | 15.0 |
| Mathiesen Memorial Health Clinic | mental_health | 15.0 |
| Tuolumne Me-Wuk Health and Wellness Center | mental_health | 15.0 |
| Sonora Indian Health Center | mental_health | 15.0 |
| Tuolumne Me-Wuk Indian Health Center | mental_health | 15.0 |
| Tuolumne Me-Wuk Mewu:ya | dental | 15.0 |
| Mact - Sonora Pediatric Health Clinic | dental | 15.0 |
| Mact - Sonora Women's Health Clinic | dental | 15.0 |
| Adventist Health Sonora | dental | 15.0 |
| Tuolumne Me-Wuk Optometry | dental | 15.0 |
| Tuolumne Me-Wuk Dental Center | dental | 15.0 |
| Tuolumne Me-Wuk Mewu:ya | primary_care | 14.0 |
| Adventist Health Sonora | primary_care | 13.0 |
| Tuolumne Me-Wuk Physical Therapy | mental_health | 13.0 |
| Mact - Sonora Pediatric Health Clinic | mental_health | 12.0 |
| Tuolumne Me-Wuk Dental Center | mental_health | 12.0 |
| Mact - Sonora Women's Health Clinic | mental_health | 12.0 |
| Tuolumne Me-Wuk Optometry | mental_health | 12.0 |
| Tuolumne Me-Wuk Mewu:ya | mental_health | 11.0 |
| Sierra Conservation Center | primary_care | 9.0 |
Heavy-burden reading for Tuolumne County
Designation volume is the standout signal for Tuolumne County: 36 active HPSA records, above 98% of real US counties. Dental care carries Tuolumne County's deepest shortage reading, 22.0 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 18.0 of 25; Mental health reads 18.0 of 25. The county also sits inside a Medically Underserved Area, indexed at 54.5, and the lower the index, the greater the measured need.
Volume places Tuolumne County above 98% of real US counties (36 active designations: 12 primary care, 12 mental health, 12 dental). Peak severity on the current designated set is 22.0. 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.
Tuolumne County falls in the upper half of CA counties by active-designation volume, at rank 16 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.
Tuolumne 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
12 designations
- Mental health
Mental health
12 designations
- Dental
Dental
12 designations
Heavy-volume FTE gap in Tuolumne County
HRSA providers_needed summed once per HPSA id for Tuolumne County's active designations: about 8.8 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 Tuolumne 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
Tuolumne County's shortage designations unlock specific federal programs and comparisons, here is how to act on them.
- Tuolumne County's 36 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 Tuolumne County's 22.0. This compares the designation score only, not local appointment availability or care quality. Start with Richland County, OH and Toa Baja County, PR.
Showing 6 of 2744 counties nationally with an active designation this severe.
High-volume peers of Tuolumne County (36 active)
One peer set for this volume-led county: nearest active designation count to 36 across the national corpus.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Does Tuolumne County's MUA standing sit beside its HPSA records?
- Yes - Tuolumne County carries an MUA designation (index 54.5; lower = greater measured need) in addition to its HPSA rows. MUA and HPSA are separate HRSA tracks; both can open different federal pathways.
- What makes up Tuolumne County's 36 active HPSA designations?
- 36 Designated rows (12 primary care, 12 mental health, 12 dental). Highest-scored name on this release: "Tuolumne Me-Wuk Indian Health Center" (score 22.0; dental; 3,125 people in the service area; designated 08/18/2019). Also active: "Mathiesen Memorial Health Clinic", "Tuolumne Me-Wuk Health and Wellness Center", "Sonora Indian Health Center". Above 98% of real US counties by volume.
- What does volume-plus-score look like for Tuolumne County?
- Peak active score 22.0 in dental care clears the 17-point line while volume sits at 36 rows.
- What clinician need sits behind Tuolumne County's designation volume?
- Closing published gaps would take about 8.8 additional clinician FTEs (id-de-duped providers_needed). "Tuolumne Me-Wuk Indian Health Center" is the severity lead inside that inventory.
- Which federal programs follow Tuolumne County's designation volume?
- 36 active designations can open NHSC placement, CHC grants, Medicare bonus and J-1 waivers, by designated area and provider type, not by county line alone.
- How does Tuolumne County's volume compare inside CA?
- 36 active HPSA rows · peak 22.0. Tuolumne County falls in the upper half of CA counties by active-designation volume, at rank 16 of 58. Score-nearest counties on this release include Richland County, OH and Toa Baja County, PR.
Source: HRSA Data Warehouse. FIPS: 06109. 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 06109 (Tuolumne County, CA), vintage 2026-08-15. Active designation count 36; peak score 22.0; signature 36 active designations. This profile is reference material, not professional advice; see methodology.