Health Professional Shortage Areas (HRSA)

Share of each county's residents living in a primary care, dental or mental health shortage area, and how the county is designated, 2000 on.

Source: Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), Bureau of Health Workforce: HPSA detail files for primary care, dental health and mental health (data.hrsa.gov Data Downloads, built 2026-10-23, retrieved 2026-10-24); U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 Census P.L. 94-171 block populations and the 2010-to-2020 tract and block relationship files (our calculation of residents covered). Citation: Health Resources and Services Administration, data.hrsa.gov Data Downloads.
Year coverage: 2000–2026
Updated: daily (re-pulled on demand)
Version: 1.0.0
Schema hash: f57f989fc847

Detail levels available

County · default

Overview

How much of each Georgia county is a Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA) for primary care, dental and mental health, each year from 2000, from HRSA's designation files: the share of the county's residents (2020 Census) living in a geographic HPSA, our calculation, with the county's coverage status (whole county; whole county for low-income residents only; part of the county; facilities only; none), the number of geographic, population-group and facility designations, and, for the latest year, HRSA's highest shortage score. HPSAs decide where National Health Service Corps clinicians, loan repayment and Medicare bonus payments go. Past years are rebuilt from designation and withdrawal dates.

Row grain: One row per year, county_fips, tract_geoid, discipline.

Key metric

pct_population_in_geographic_hpsa — Share of Residents in a Geographic HPSA (proportion)

The single headline value most answers want.

JSON schema →Data contract (YAML) →

Variables

Every column in the fact table. The code is the exact field name the API returns.

Column	Type	Unit	Range	Null?	Description
`year`Year	integer	—	—	no	The designations in effect on December 31 of the year (2026: on October 23, 2026, the date HRSA built its file), rebuilt from designation and withdrawal dates, 2000 on (see year_meaning). Full description▾ The designations in effect on December 31 of the year (2026: on October 23, 2026, the date HRSA built its file), rebuilt from designation and withdrawal dates, 2000 on (see year_meaning).
`county_fips`County FIPS	string	—	—	no	5-digit county FIPS code (FK to the counties dimension). Every Georgia county has a row every year and discipline. Full description▾ 5-digit county FIPS code (FK to the counties dimension). Every Georgia county has a row every year and discipline. Joins counties; adds its label columns.
`tract_geoid`Tract GEOID	string	—	—	yes	Always NULL: this table has county rows only. Full description▾ Always NULL: this table has county rows only. Joins tracts; adds its label columns.
`discipline`Discipline	string	—	—	no	Kind of care: primary care, dental or mental health shortage areas. Full description▾ HRSA's HPSA discipline: primary_care, dental or mental_health. Each is designated separately (a county can be a mental health shortage area and not a primary care one), and all three cover the same residents: pick one, never add across them. 3 allowed values▾ `primary_care` `dental` `mental_health`
`coverage_status`Coverage Status	string	—	—	no	Whether the whole county, its low-income residents, part of it, or only facilities are designated. Full description▾ The widest kind of shortage designation in effect in the county, first that applies: whole_county (a geographic HPSA covering the whole county, or tract designations naming every resident: every resident); whole_county_low_income (a population HPSA covering the county's low-income residents, in a few cases low-income migrant or seasonal farmworkers or homeless people); part_of_county (geographic or low-income designations of some census tracts or county subdivisions: the share is 0 where only low-income ones apply); facilities_only (only facility HPSAs: health centers, rural health clinics, prisons, state mental hospitals); none. An attribute of the row, not part of its key. Population-group designations show here, not in the share. 5 allowed values▾ `whole_county` `whole_county_low_income` `part_of_county` `facilities_only` `none`
`num_population_in_geographic_hpsa`Residents in a Geographic HPSA	integer	count	—	yes	Residents (2020 Census) living in a geographic HPSA of the discipline in effect in the county: the whole county population for a whole-county designation, otherwise the residents of the covered census tracts (2020 or 2010 tracts, through 2020 blocks) and county subdivisions (2020 census county divisions), each counted once and rounded to a whole person. Our calculation; the numerator of pct_population_in_geographic_hpsa. Never HRSA's designation population. Full description▾ Residents (2020 Census) living in a geographic HPSA of the discipline in effect in the county: the whole county population for a whole-county designation, otherwise the residents of the covered census tracts (2020 or 2010 tracts, through 2020 blocks) and county subdivisions (2020 census county divisions), each counted once and rounded to a whole person. Our calculation; the numerator of pct_population_in_geographic_hpsa. Never HRSA's designation population.
`num_population`County Population (2020 Census)	integer	count	—	yes	The county's 2020 Census population (the sum of its 2020 blocks; equal to the tracts dimension's population_2020), the same in every year and discipline; Georgia 10,711,908. The denominator of pct_population_in_geographic_hpsa: never add it across disciplines. Full description▾ The county's 2020 Census population (the sum of its 2020 blocks; equal to the tracts dimension's population_2020), the same in every year and discipline; Georgia 10,711,908. The denominator of pct_population_in_geographic_hpsa: never add it across disciplines.
`pct_population_in_geographic_hpsa`Share of Residents in a Geographic HPSA	number	proportion	—	yes	Share of the county's residents living in a geographic Health Professional Shortage Area for the discipline. Full description▾ Share of the county's residents (2020 Census) living in a geographic Health Professional Shortage Area of the discipline in effect at the year's as-of date: our calculation, num_population_in_geographic_hpsa / num_population, on the 0-1 scale (0.0949 = 9.49%). 1 for a county wholly designated; between 0 and 1 where some tracts or county subdivisions are; 0 where none is, including counties designated only for low-income residents or facilities (see coverage_status). 2026, Georgia pooled: primary care 7.94%, dental 4.18%, mental health 41.34%. For several counties, pool as SUM(num_population_in_geographic_hpsa) / SUM(num_population) within one discipline and year.
`num_geographic_designations`Geographic Designations	integer	count	—	yes	Geographic HPSAs (Geographic and High Needs Geographic) of the discipline in effect with any area in the county. Detail only: a designation spanning several counties counts in each. Full description▾ Geographic HPSAs (Geographic and High Needs Geographic) of the discipline in effect with any area in the county. Detail only: a designation spanning several counties counts in each.
`num_population_designations`Population-Group Designations	integer	count	—	yes	Population HPSAs (in Georgia, low-income residents) of the discipline in effect with any area in the county. Detail only; a designation spanning several counties counts in each. Full description▾ Population HPSAs (in Georgia, low-income residents) of the discipline in effect with any area in the county. Detail only; a designation spanning several counties counts in each.
`num_facility_designations`Facility Designations	integer	count	—	yes	Facility HPSAs of the discipline in effect in the county: health centers (designated automatically, so counts jump in 2003), rural health clinics, correctional facilities, state mental hospitals, tribal and other facilities. Detail only: counts mostly measure facilities, not shortage. Full description▾ Facility HPSAs of the discipline in effect in the county: health centers (designated automatically, so counts jump in 2003), rural health clinics, correctional facilities, state mental hospitals, tribal and other facilities. Detail only: counts mostly measure facilities, not shortage.
`max_hpsa_score`Highest HPSA Score	number	score	0–26	yes	2026 only: the highest HRSA shortage score (whole points; primary care and mental health 0-25, dental 0-26; higher is a greater shortage, used to place National Health Service Corps clinicians) among the designations behind the coverage status: the whole-county geographic ones, the whole-county low-income ones, or the tract and subdivision ones. Full description▾ 2026 only: the highest HRSA shortage score (whole points; primary care and mental health 0-25, dental 0-26; higher is a greater shortage, used to place National Health Service Corps clinicians) among the designations behind the coverage status: the whole-county geographic ones, the whole-county low-income ones, or the tract and subdivision ones.

Filters

Query parameters the fact endpoint accepts. Comma-separated values are OR within a parameter; multiple parameters AND together.

Parameter	Kind	Allowed values	Notes
`year`	year_exact	any value	—
`year_min`	year_range	any value	—
`year_max`	year_range	any value	—
`detail`	detail	`counties`	enum-enforced, default: counties
`county_fips`	foreign_key	any value	multi-value
`tract_geoid`	foreign_key	any value	multi-value
`discipline`	categorical	`primary_caredentalmental_health`	multi-value, enum-enforced, pick one
`coverage_status`	categorical	`whole_countywhole_county_low_incomepart_of_countyfacilities_onlynone`	multi-value, enum-enforced

Example requests

Run these against the base URL — they return live data.

All rows (first page), counties level

curl "https://georgiacivicdata.org/api/v1/health/hpsa_designations"

counties data for 2026

curl "https://georgiacivicdata.org/api/v1/health/hpsa_designations?year=2026"

Filtered to discipline = primary_care for 2026

curl "https://georgiacivicdata.org/api/v1/health/hpsa_designations?year=2026&discipline=primary_care"

One county (FIPS 13121), 2026

curl "https://georgiacivicdata.org/api/v1/health/hpsa_designations?county_fips=13121&year=2026&detail=counties"

Download 2026 as CSV

curl "https://georgiacivicdata.org/api/v1/health/hpsa_designations?year=2026&format=csv"

Notes & limitations

NULL handling

Zero is a real, reported value.

Limitations

Our calculation, not an HRSA figure: the share of a county's residents (2020 Census) living in a geographic Health Professional Shortage Area, rebuilt for each year from HRSA's designation and withdrawal dates. The share counts geographic designations only; low-income and facility designations show only in coverage_status and the counts. This is not a count of designations, which mostly measures facilities. A county wholly in a geographic HPSA counts as 1. Tract and county-subdivision designations are weighted by 2020 Census population: each resident of a covered 2020 census block counts once, however many designations name the block, and a resident is placed in the county of the 2020 block. HRSA's own designation population is never used: it is not split by county (a multi-county designation repeats it on each county). Some designations still list 2010 census tracts. A designation with any tract code that is a 2010 tract and not a 2020 tract is read entirely as 2010 tracts, whose 2020 Census residents come from the Census Bureau's 2010-to-2020 block relationship file (a 2020 block split between 2010 tracts is split by land area); the rest are read as 2020 tracts. Among designations in effect in 2026, every one still on 2010 tracts is proposed for withdrawal, so the 2026 partial shares (primary care: Chatham 27.0%, Effingham 37.3%, Fulton 9.5%; mental health: Fulton 17.8%) rest on designations HRSA has proposed to withdraw. Each year is rebuilt from HRSA's designation and withdrawal dates: the designations in effect on December 31 (the latest year: on October 23, 2026, the date HRSA built the file). A designation proposed for withdrawal is still designated. HRSA keeps withdrawn designations in its file but only each designation's current list of areas, so past years use today's lists; whether every old withdrawal is still in the file is not stated. County-subdivision designations are read as 2020 census county divisions (Georgia's division codes are the same in 2010 and 2020), each 2020 census block counted in the division that contains it. Withdrawn designations with no withdrawal date (21, all facilities) are left out. So are 13 tract components we read as an HRSA data error: three withdrawn urban designations also list every census tract of a distant rural county (dental West Atlanta, 1994-2007: Hart County's 5 tracts; primary care Low Income - Stone Mountain/Clarkson, 2001-2011: Turner County's 2; primary care Low Income - Central Muscogee, 1995-2011: Dodge County's 6). Without them Hart County has no dental designation in 2000-2006. HRSA's scores exist only for the current list, so max_hpsa_score is 2026 only. Facility designation counts jump in 2003, when health centers began to be designated automatically. Shares fall in years HRSA withdrew many designations at once: primary care and dental in November 2011 and January 2024, mental health in November 2011 and July 2018. A designation covering several counties counts in each county's designation counts, and the disciplines count the same residents: never add counts across counties or residents across disciplines.