WA · Healthcare shortage profile
Thurston County, WA
The clinician FTE gap is the sharpest number here: closing Thurston County's active designations would take about 55 additional FTEs on HRSA's providers_needed estimate. Population 294,793.
- Active HPSAs
- 15
- Population
- 294,793
- Peak shortage score
- 17.0
- MUA Index
- 57.1
Heavy-burden verdict
According to current HRSA Data Warehouse records, Thurston County ranks among the most underserved counties in the country - 15 active HPSA designations, more than 91% of the 3,289 real US counties, with primary care the deepest gap.
- 15
- Active HPSA designations
- 5
- Primary-care shortages
- 17
- Peak severity score (of 26)
- Top 9%
- US counties by volume
Key findings
What the HRSA Data Warehouse does not surface for Thurston County, WA 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 17.0 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 Thurston County's active designations would take about 55 additional clinician FTEs, with primary care the largest gap.
HRSA providers_needed summed once per HPSA id (no double-count across status rows): 37 primary care, 12 mental health, 6.1 dental. This is the federal gap estimate, not a headcount of practising clinicians.
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33.3% of Thurston County's 15 active designations are primary care.
Discipline mix from designated HPSA records only: 5 primary care, 5 mental health, 5 dental (denominator 15).
Dense ZCTA lattice over Thurston County
Thurston County intersects 16 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
4 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.
Thurston County vs. every real US county
Total active HPSA designations, including counties with none
15 Top 9% higher than 91% of 3,289 real US counties
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more real US counties. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source HRSA Data Warehouse, designated HPSAs · 2026
State peer position. Thurston County falls in the upper half of WA counties by active-designation volume, at rank 15 of 39. Ties share a rank; the comparison uses the same current designated records as the national chart.
Healthcare shortage designations from HRSA. FIPS: 53067. Population: 294,793.
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 15 active (designated) HPSAs in Thurston County, ranked by HRSA shortage score.
| Name | Type | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Nisqually Health Clinic | primary_care | 17.0 |
| Nisqually Health Clinic | mental_health | 17.0 |
| Northwest Pediatric Center | mental_health | 16.0 |
| Rochester Family Med Clinic | mental_health | 16.0 |
| Nisqually Health Clinic | dental | 16.0 |
| South Thurston County | mental_health | 15.0 |
| North Thurston County | mental_health | 14.0 |
| East Thurston Service Area | dental | 14.0 |
| South Thurston County | primary_care | 12.0 |
| Northwest Pediatric Center | primary_care | 11.0 |
| Rochester Family Med Clinic | primary_care | 11.0 |
| North Thurston County | primary_care | 11.0 |
| Northwest Pediatric Center | dental | 11.0 |
| Rochester Family Med Clinic | dental | 11.0 |
| LI-Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater Service Area | dental | 8.0 |
Heavy-burden reading for Thurston County
The clinician FTE gap is the sharpest number here: closing Thurston County's active designations would take about 55 additional FTEs on HRSA's providers_needed estimate. Thurston County's shortage runs equally deep in primary care and mental health: both scored 17.0 by HRSA, past the 17-point line HRSA uses to open National Health Service Corps placement and enhanced Medicare reimbursement. Dental care reads 16.0 of 26. The county also sits inside a Medically Underserved Area, indexed at 57.1, and the lower the index, the greater the measured need.
Volume places Thurston County above 91% of real US counties (15 active designations: 5 primary care, 5 mental health, 5 dental). Peak severity on the current designated set is 17.0. 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.
Thurston County falls in the upper half of WA counties by active-designation volume, at rank 15 of 39. 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.
Thurston 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
5 designations
- Mental health
Mental health
5 designations
Heavy-volume FTE gap in Thurston County
Signature reading: HRSA providers_needed sums to about 55 FTE across Thurston County's active designations (once per HPSA id), a federal gap estimate, not practising headcount.
Source: HRSA Data Warehouse, Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSA) + Medically Underserved Areas/Populations (MUA/P) HPSA primary-care, mental-health, and dental designations for Thurston County, WA · 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
Thurston County's shortage designations unlock specific federal programs and comparisons, here is how to act on them.
- Thurston County's 15 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 WA before you draw conclusions from a single score. WA 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 Primary Care Shortage Score
Other U.S. counties whose active HRSA primary-care HPSA score is closest to Thurston County's 17.0. This compares the designation score only, not local appointment availability or care quality. Start with Madison County, IN and Providence County, RI.
Showing 6 of 2932 counties nationally with an active designation this severe.
Counties with a matching designation count to Thurston County's 15
One peer set for this FTE-led county: nearest active designation count to 15 - the inventory behind the ~55 FTE published need.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Does Thurston County's MUA standing sit beside its HPSA records?
- Yes - Thurston County carries an MUA designation (index 57.1; lower = greater measured need) in addition to its HPSA rows. MUA and HPSA are separate HRSA tracks; both can open different federal pathways.
- Where is the largest clinician FTE gap inside Thurston County?
- Id-de-duped providers_needed across active HPSAs totals ~55 FTE, with primary care the largest slice (37). "Nisqually Health Clinic" is the highest-scored active row (score 17.0; primary care; 27,764 people in the service area; designated 10/26/2002). This is HRSA's published gap, not a headcount of practising clinicians.
- Which named designations drive Thurston County's FTE reading?
- Active names on this release include "Nisqually Health Clinic", "Nisqually Health Clinic", "NORTHWEST PEDIATRIC CENTER" and "ROCHESTER FAMILY MED CLINIC". Discipline counts: 5 primary care, 5 mental health, 5 dental across 15 designated rows.
- Do Thurston County's FTE gaps unlock federal programs?
- Yes where an ACTIVE designation exists, NHSC, CHC grants, Medicare bonus and J-1 waivers follow the designated geography and provider type. A published FTE gap without an active row does not, by itself, open those pathways.
- How does Thurston County's FTE burden compare inside WA?
- 15 active designations and ~55 FTE published need. Thurston County falls in the upper half of WA counties by active-designation volume, at rank 15 of 39. Score-nearest counties on this release include Madison County, IN and Providence County, RI.
Source: HRSA Data Warehouse. FIPS: 53067. 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 53067 (Thurston County, WA), vintage 2026-08-15. Active designation count 15; peak score 17.0; signature 55 FTE gap. This profile is reference material, not professional advice; see methodology.