AK · Healthcare shortage profile
Kenai Peninsula County, AK
Designation volume is the standout signal for Kenai Peninsula County: 50 active HPSA records, above 99% of real US counties. Population 58,799.
- Active HPSAs
- 50
- Population
- 58,799
- Peak shortage score
- 20.0
- MUA Index
- MUA
Heavy-burden verdict
According to current HRSA Data Warehouse records, Kenai Peninsula County ranks among the most underserved counties in the country - 50 active HPSA designations, more than 99% of the 3,289 real US counties, with primary care the deepest gap.
- 50
- Active HPSA designations
- 16
- Dental shortages
- 20
- Peak severity score (of 26)
- Top 1%
- US counties by volume
Key findings
What the HRSA Data Warehouse does not surface for Kenai Peninsula County, AK 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.
-
Peak HPSA score 20.0 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.
-
Closing Kenai Peninsula County's active designations would take about 9.5 additional clinician FTEs, with primary care the largest gap.
HRSA providers_needed summed once per HPSA id (no double-count across status rows): 6.1 primary care, 2.7 mental health, 0.7 dental. This is the federal gap estimate, not a headcount of practising clinicians.
-
34% of Kenai Peninsula County's 50 active designations are primary care.
Discipline mix from designated HPSA records only: 17 primary care, 17 mental health, 16 dental (denominator 50).
Kenai Peninsula County's mid-pack ZIP footprint
15 Census ZCTAs intersect Kenai Peninsula County, between the 9 and 15 ZIP cuts across published counties: neither a postage-stamp footprint nor a metro-scale lattice.
Largest land-share ZCTAs
7 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.
Kenai Peninsula County vs. every real US county
Total active HPSA designations, including counties with none
50 Top 1% higher than 99% 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. Kenai Peninsula County falls in the upper quarter of AK counties by active-designation volume, at rank 5 of 31. Ties share a rank; the comparison uses the same current designated records as the national chart.
Healthcare shortage designations from HRSA. FIPS: 02122. Population: 58,799.
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 50 active (designated) HPSAs in Kenai Peninsula County, ranked by HRSA shortage score.
| Name | Type | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Ninilchik Traditional Council Community Clinic | dental | 20.0 |
| Nanwalek Village Clinic | dental | 18.0 |
| Seldovia Health Center - Homer | dental | 18.0 |
| ME-Kenai Peninsula Borough | mental_health | 17.0 |
| Peninsula Community Health Services OF Alaska, Inc. | mental_health | 17.0 |
| Dena'Ina Dental Clinic | primary_care | 16.0 |
| Dena'ina Health Center | primary_care | 16.0 |
| Dena'ina Health Center | mental_health | 16.0 |
| Dena'Ina Dental Clinic | mental_health | 16.0 |
| Chignik Lagoon Village Clinic | primary_care | 15.0 |
| Ninilchik Traditional Council Community Clinic | mental_health | 15.0 |
| Spring Creek Correctional Center | mental_health | 15.0 |
| Seldovia Village Tribe | mental_health | 15.0 |
| Wildwood Correctional Center | mental_health | 15.0 |
| ME-Kenai Peninsula Borough | primary_care | 13.0 |
| Seldovia Health Center - Homer | mental_health | 13.0 |
| Nanwalek Village Clinic | mental_health | 13.0 |
| Peninsula Community Health Services OF Alaska, Inc. | primary_care | 12.0 |
| Svt Health & Wellness - Seldovia | mental_health | 12.0 |
| Port Graham Village Clinic | mental_health | 12.0 |
| Chignik Lagoon Village Clinic | dental | 12.0 |
| Peninsula Community Health Services OF Alaska, Inc. | dental | 12.0 |
| Seldovia Village Tribe | dental | 12.0 |
| Seward Community Health Center, Inc. | mental_health | 11.0 |
| North Star Health Clinic | mental_health | 11.0 |
| North Star Dental | mental_health | 10.0 |
| Chignik Lagoon Village Clinic | mental_health | 10.0 |
| Svt Health & Wellness - Seldovia | dental | 10.0 |
| North Star Health Clinic | dental | 10.0 |
| Tyonek Village Clinic | dental | 10.0 |
| Dena'Ina Dental Clinic | dental | 10.0 |
| Dena'ina Health Center | dental | 10.0 |
| Port Graham Village Clinic | dental | 10.0 |
| Svt Health & Wellness - Seldovia | primary_care | 9.0 |
| Port Graham Village Clinic | primary_care | 9.0 |
| Tyonek Village Clinic | mental_health | 9.0 |
| North Star Dental | dental | 9.0 |
| Seldovia Village Tribe | primary_care | 8.0 |
| Kenai Peninsula Borough | dental | 8.0 |
| Seward Community Health Center, Inc. | dental | 8.0 |
Heavy-burden reading for Kenai Peninsula County
Designation volume is the standout signal for Kenai Peninsula County: 50 active HPSA records, above 99% of real US counties. Dental care carries Kenai Peninsula County's deepest shortage reading, 20.0 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 16.0 of 25; Mental health reads 17.0 of 25. The county also sits inside a Medically Underserved Area, a separate HRSA designation from the HPSA records above.
Volume places Kenai Peninsula County above 99% of real US counties (50 active designations: 17 primary care, 17 mental health, 16 dental). Peak severity on the current designated set is 20.0. 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.
Kenai Peninsula County falls in the upper quarter of AK counties by active-designation volume, at rank 5 of 31. 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.
Kenai Peninsula County designations by care type
Active Health Professional Shortage Area designations in the county, by provider category (high-priority disciplines emphasized).
- Mental health
Mental health
17 designations
- Dental
Dental
16 designations
Heavy-volume FTE gap in Kenai Peninsula County
HRSA providers_needed summed once per HPSA id for Kenai Peninsula County's active designations: about 9.5 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 Kenai Peninsula County, AK · 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
Kenai Peninsula County's shortage designations unlock specific federal programs and comparisons, here is how to act on them.
- Kenai Peninsula County's 50 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 AK before you draw conclusions from a single score. AK 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 Kenai Peninsula County's 20.0. This compares the designation score only, not local appointment availability or care quality. Start with Snohomish County, WA and Marion County, FL.
Showing 6 of 2744 counties nationally with an active designation this severe.
High-volume peers of Kenai Peninsula County (50 active)
One peer set for this volume-led county: nearest active designation count to 50 across the national corpus.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Does Kenai Peninsula County's MUA standing sit beside its HPSA records?
- Yes - Kenai Peninsula County carries an MUA designation in addition to its HPSA rows. MUA and HPSA are separate HRSA tracks; both can open different federal pathways.
- What makes up Kenai Peninsula County's 50 active HPSA designations?
- 50 Designated rows (17 primary care, 17 mental health, 16 dental). Highest-scored name on this release: "Ninilchik Traditional Council Community Clinic" (score 20.0; dental; 4,035 people in the service area; designated 10/26/2002). Also active: "Nanwalek Village Clinic", "Seldovia Health Center - Homer", "ME-Kenai Peninsula Borough". Above 99% of real US counties by volume.
- What does volume-plus-score look like for Kenai Peninsula County?
- Peak active score 20.0 in dental care clears the 17-point line while volume sits at 50 rows.
- What clinician need sits behind Kenai Peninsula County's designation volume?
- Closing published gaps would take about 9.5 additional clinician FTEs (id-de-duped providers_needed). "Ninilchik Traditional Council Community Clinic" is the severity lead inside that inventory.
- Which federal programs follow Kenai Peninsula County's designation volume?
- 50 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 Kenai Peninsula County's volume compare inside AK?
- 50 active HPSA rows · peak 20.0. Kenai Peninsula County falls in the upper quarter of AK counties by active-designation volume, at rank 5 of 31. Score-nearest counties on this release include Snohomish County, WA and Marion County, FL.
Source: HRSA Data Warehouse. FIPS: 02122. 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 02122 (Kenai Peninsula County, AK), vintage 2026-08-15. Active designation count 50; peak score 20.0; signature 50 active designations. This profile is reference material, not professional advice; see methodology.