Based on March 31, 2025, data available from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), over 59.7 million Americans lived in settings or communities designated as dental health professional shortage areas (HPSA).  The dental health HPSA designation means that the residents of a population group, geographic unit, or facility have substandard access to dental care because not enough dentists serve the area given the size of the HPSA's population. In order to rectify the dental care shortfall in these communities and settings, the HRSA estimates that HPSAs throughout the country would need over 10,100 more dentists.

Here is a summary look at the U.S. dental care shortfall by region (for state-level details, follow the "region" link):

The U.S. Dental Care Shortfall by Region

Region	(1) HPSAs	(2) Population	(3) Shortfall
Far Western U.S.	1,294	7,083,237	1,025
Great Lakes	916	7,278,467	1,323
Great Plains	1,053	4,017,861	675
MidEast	411	6,927,660	1,256
New England	222	1,074,377	158
Rocky Mountain	402	1,812,491	207
Southeast	1,868	22,743,034	4,018
Southwestern U.S.	764	6,046,418	1,099
U.S. Territories	124	2,734,629	382
U.S.	7,054	59,718,174	10,143

(1) HRSA-designated Geographic Units, Population Groups, and Facilities with a dental care shortfall

(2) Population of designated HPSAs

(3) Dental Care practitioners needed to remove HPSA Designation

Source:  Designated HPSA Quarterly Summary, 3/31/25 (HRSA)

Nurse Practitioner Pay in the Mid-Eastern U.S.

Data published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) put the number of nurse practitioners (NPs) working in the United States at more than 303,000 as of May 2024.  More than 49,500 of the nation's nurse practitioner jobs at that time were in the Mid-Eastern region, an area which includes five states and the District of Columbia.  The Mid-Eastern U.S. was one of the best regions of the country for nurse practitioner pay.  Moreover, over 60% of employed NPs in the region lived in New York, New Jersey or DC, three states that ranked among the ten best states in the country for nurse practitioner annual mean wages. A closer examination of BLS employment data from May 2024 shows the following about nurse practitioner pay in the Mid-Eastern U.S.:

Nurse Practitioner Pay in the Mid-Eastern U.S.

State	# Employed	Annual Mean Wages	Wage Rank*
DC	1210	$130,190	22nd
DE	790	$137,600	10th
MD	6,640	$127,100	31st
NJ	9,590	$140,470	8th
NY	20,430	$148,410	2nd
PA	10,860	$126,730	32nd
U.S.	303,410	$130,077	-------

(*) annual mean wage ranking among the 50 states and the District of Columbia

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OES. Data extracted on July 7, 2025

A facility, geographic area, or population group where community members have poor access to mental health care services can be designated by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) as a health professional shortage area (HPSA).  A mental health care shortfall designation indicates that too few mental health care practitioners are serving the community relative to the size of its population.  As of March 31, 2025, nearly 122.4 million Americans lived in mental health care shortfall areas according to the HRSA. That figures includes over 8.8 million residents of the seven-state Great Plains region who were living in mental health care shortfall areas. The HRSA estimates that Great Plains region HPSAs would need 409 additional mental health care practitioners to eliminate the shortfall in the region. A further examination of 3/31/25 HRSA data reveals the following state-level details about the mental health care shortfall in the Great Plains region:

The Mental Health Care Shortfall in the Great Plains Region

State	(1) HPSAs	(2) Population	(3) Shortfall
IA	165	1,504,536	67
KS	110	1,180,423	51
MN	141	2,170,516	93
MO	255	1,969,048	117
NE	88	1,064,487	32
ND	73	284,923	15
SD	58	656,295	34
Region	890	8,830,228	409
U.S.	6,418	122,383,988	6,202

(1) HRSA-designated Geographic Units, Population Groups, and Facilities with a mental health care shortfall

(2) Population of designated HPSAs

(3) Mental Health Care practitioners needed to remove HPSA Designation

Source:  Designated HPSA Quarterly Summary, March 31, 2025 (HRSA)

As designated by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), a primary care health professional shortage area (HPSA) is a facility, geographic area, or population group where residents are underserved for basic medical care because not enough primary care physicians service the community given the size of its population.  As of March 31, 2025, more than 77.2 million Americans lived in HRSA-designated primary care shortfall areas.  The twelve-state Southeastern U.S. had, as of 3/31/25, almost 25.7 million residents living in primary care shortfall areas.  The HRSA estimates that to eliminate this shortfall, the Southeastern U.S. would need over 4,200 additional primary care physicians serving HPSAs in the region.  A deeper examination of 3/31/25 HRSA data provides the following state-level view of the primary care shortfall in the Southeastern U.S.:

The Primary Care Shortfall in the Southeastern U.S.

State	(1) HPSAs	(2) Population	(3) Shortfall
AL	109	2,018,437	221
AR	144	1,101,893	131
FL	292	6,166,533	1,338
GA	231	2,783,079	586
KY	231	1,426,402	305
LA	175	2,086,166	206
MS	153	1,379,002	251
NC	195	2,296,076	409
SC	93	1,395,598	162
TN	142	2,364,873	272
VA	137	1,933,391	210
WV	121	748,303	123
Region	2,023	25,699,753	4,214
U.S.	7,749	77,253,848	13,364

(1) HRSA-designated Geographic Units, Population Groups, and Facilities with a primary care shortfall

(2) Population of designated HPSAs

(3) Primary Care practitioners needed to remove the HPSA Designation

Source:  Designated HPSA Quarterly Summary, 3/31/25 (HRSA)

Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) data as of March 31, 2025, indicated that over 59.7 million Americans lived in communities designated as a dental health HPSA (health professional shortage area).  A dental health HPSA is a population group, geographic area, or facility where access to dental care suffers from too few dentists serving the community relative to the size of its population.  As of 3/31/25, HRSA designated dental care shortfall areas in the five-state Great Lakes region totaled almost 7.3 million residents.  In order to remove that dental care shortfall designation, the HRSA estimates that HPSAs in the Great Lakes states would need 1,323 more dentists serving their communities.  A deeper look at HRSA data provides the following state-level summary view of the dental care shortfall in the Great Lakes region:

The Dental Care Shortfall in the Great Lakes Region

State	(1) HPSAs	(2) Population	(3) Shortfall
IL	227	2,134,589	408
IN	124	976,210	164
MI	242	1,582,942	297
OH	162	1,717,141	289
WI	161	867,585	165
Region	916	7,278,467	1,323
U.S.	7,054	59,718,174	10,143

(1) Designated Geographic, Population Group, and Facility HPSAs with a dental care shortfall

(2) Population of designated HPSAs

(3) Dental Care practitioners needed to remove HPSA Designation

Source:  Designated HPSA Quarterly Summary, 3/31/25 (HRSA)

Family Medicine Physician Pay in the Great Lakes Region

Information published recently by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) put the number of family medicine physicians employed in the United States at more than 104,000 as of May 2024.  Almost 10,000 family medicine physicians were employed at that time in the five-state Great Lakes region.  BLS data reveals the region to have much disparity in family physician pay.  Indiana and Wisconsin are both top ten states nationally for family medicine physician annual mean wages.  However, more than 70% of Great Lakes region family medicine physicians live in other states in the region, all of which register family physician annual mean wage levels below the national average.  A closer examination of May 2024 data from the BLS details the following about family medicine physician pay in the Great Lakes region:

Family Medicine Physician Pay in the Great Lakes Region

State	# Employed	Annual Mean Wages	Wage Rank*
IL	1,540	$206,010	48th
IN	1,700	$295,310	5th
MI	4,400	$222,500	41st
OH	1,780	$230,400	36th
WI	1,510	$293,630	6th
U.S.	98,590	$214,370	-------

(*) annual mean wage ranking among the 50 states and the District of Columbia

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OES. Data extracted on July 3, 2025

The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) can designate a population group, facility, or geographic area as a health professional shortage area (HPSA) for mental health care services. This designation indicates that there is a mental health care services shortfall in the community because too few mental health care practitioners service the area relative to the size of the population. From March 31, 2025 HRSA data, more than 122.4 million Americans live in a mental health care HPSA. That number included 1.8 million residents of the six-state New England region. To eliminate that mental health care shortfall, the HRSA estimates that HPSAs in the region would need 90 additional mental health care practitioners.  A further review of 3/31/25 HRSA data details the following about the state-level mental health care shortfall in New England:

The Mental Health Care Shortfall in New England

State	(1) HPSAs	(2) Population	(3) Shortfall
CT	43	801,604	53
ME	65	268,713	11
MA	51	256,453	13
NH	18	91,279	2
RI	12	394,307	11
VT	12	N/A	N/A
Region	201	1,812,356	90
U.S.	6,418	122,383,988	6,202

(1) HRSA-designated Geographic Units, Population Groups, and Facilities with a mental health care shortfall

(2) Population of designated HPSAs

(3) Mental Health Care practitioners needed to remove HPSA Designation

Source:  Designated HPSA Quarterly Summary, March 31, 2025 (HRSA)

A primary care health professional shortage area (HPSA) is a designation given by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to a population group, geographic area, or facility where residents have limited access to basic medical care because not enough primary care physicians serve the area relative to its population size.  As of March 31, 2025, the HRSA reported that more than 77.2 million Americans lived in a community that had a primary care shortfall.  Per HRSA data, the six-state Far Western U.S. was home to nearly 11.8 million Americans who lived in primary care shortfall areas.  The HRSA estimates that to eliminate this shortfall, HPSAs in the Far Western U.S would need 1,922 additional primary care physicians.  A closer review of 3/31/25 HRSA data reveals the following about the primary care shortfall in the Far Western U.S.:

The Primary Care Shortfall in the Far Western U.S.

State	(1) HPSAs	(2) Population	(3) Shortfall
AK	343	288,772	71
CA	630	6,549,786	971
HI	33	519,572	87
NV	74	952,427	183
OR	150	877,420	111
WA	214	2,606,632	499
Region	1,444	11,794,609	1.922
U.S.	7,749	77,253,848	13,364

(1) HRSA-designated Geographic Units, Population Groups, and Facilities with a primary care shortfall

(2) Population of designated HPSAs

(3) Primary Care practitioners needed to remove the HPSA Designation

Source:  Designated HPSA Quarterly Summary, 3/31/25 (HRSA)

According to data from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), as of March 31, 2025, over 59.7 million Americans resided in a dental health professional shortage area (HPSA).  A dental health HPSA is a geographic area, population group, or facility where community residents are underserved for dental care because too few dentists work in the area relative to the size of the population.  In the four-state Southwestern U.S., as of March 31, 2025, over 6.0 million residents lived in dental care shortfall areas.  The HRSA estimates that HPSAs in the Southwest would need 1,099 more dentists to eliminate the dental care shortfall in the region.  From 3/31/25 HRSA data, here is a summary look at the dental care shortfall in the Southwestern U.S.:

The Dental Care Shortfall in the Southwestern U.S.

State	(1) HPSAs	(2) Population	(3) Shortfall
AZ	207	2,046,279	339
NM	106	865,757	171
OK	187	1,083,631	211
TX	264	2,050,751	378
Region	764	6,046,418	1,099
U.S.	7,054	59,718,174	10,143

(1) HRSA-designated Geographic Units, Population Groups, and Facilities with a dental care shortfall

(2) Population of designated HPSAs

(3) Dental Care practitioners needed to remove HPSA Designation

Source:  Designated HPSA Quarterly Summary, 3/31/25 (HRSA)

A population group, facility, or geographic area where community residents have substandard access to mental health care services can be designated by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) as a health professional shortage area (HPSA).  This designation reflects an environment where the HPSA has too few mental health care practitioners serving the community relative to the size of its population.  The HRSA reports that, as of March 31, 2025, nearly 122.4 million Americans lived in communities where there was a mental health care shortfall. That number included over 7.7 million residents who lived in mental health care shortfall areas in the five-state Rocky Mountain region. To eliminate that mental health care shortfall, the HRSA estimates that Rocky Mountain region HPSAs would need 287 additional mental health care practitioners. A closer examination of HRSA data reveals the following state-level details about the mental health care shortfall in the Rocky Mountain region as of March 31, 2025:

The Mental Health Care Shortfall in the Rocky Mountain Region

State	(1) HPSAs	(2) Population	(3) Shortfall
CO	78	2,744,353	110
ID	63	1,210,451	48
MT	105	772,338	38
UT	57	2,430,542	68
WY	23	566,918	23
Region	326	7,724,602	287
U.S.	6,418	122,383,988	6,202

(1) HRSA-designated Geographic Units, Population Groups, and Facilities with a mental health care shortfall

(2) Population of designated HPSAs

(3) Mental Health Care practitioners needed to remove HPSA Designation

Source:  Designated HPSA Quarterly Summary, March 31, 2025 (HRSA)

A geographic area, population group, or facility where residents have poor access to basic medical care because too few primary care physicians service the community can be designated a primary care HPSA (health professional shortage area) by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA).  As of March 31, 2025, more than 77.2 million Americans lived in primary care shortfall areas as designated by the HRSA.  At that time, more than 7 million residents of the Mid-Eastern region of the U.S., which includes five states and the District of Columbia, were living in communities that were primary care shortfall areas. The HRSA estimates that to eliminate the region's primary care shortfall, Mid-Eastern region HPSAs would need more than 1,570 additional primary care physicians.  A closer examination of that 3/31/25 HRSA data reveals the following about the primary care shortfall in the Mid-Eastern U.S.:

The Primary Care Shortfall in the Mid-Eastern U.S.

State	(1) HPSAs	(2) Population	(3) Shortfall
DC	13	286,765	96
DE	10	231,014	71
MD	56	1,168,871	282
NJ	37	163,027	19
NY	191	4,810,016	1,033
PA	130	383,121	73
Region	437	7,042,814	1,574
U.S.	7,749	77,253,848	13,364

(1) HRSA-designated Geographic Units, Population Groups, and Facilities with a primary care shortfall

(2) Population of designated HPSAs

(3) Primary Care practitioners needed to remove the HPSA Designation

Source:  Designated HPSA Quarterly Summary, 3/31/25 (HRSA)

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data released earlier this year indicated that over 287,000 dental assistants were employed in the United States as of May 2024.  At that time, roughly 79,970 dental assistants were working in the six-state Far West region of the country.  Although dental assistant annual mean wage levels were poor in Hawaii and Nevada, BLS data revealed the Far West U.S. to be a modestly good one for dental assistant pay.  Over 93% of the region's dental assistants lived in a state where the annual mean wage level for dental assistants was above the national average.  Moreover, this included four states that ranked among the ten best states in the nation for dental assistant annual mean wages.  A closer review of May 2024 BLS data reveals the following about dental assistant pay in the Far West U.S.:

Dental Assistant Pay in the Far West U.S.

State	# Employed	Annual Mean Wages	Wage Rank*
AK	1,080	$54,720	6th
CA	54,580	$53,570	10th
HI	1,610	$42,130	44th
NV	3,890	$47,320	26nd
OR	5,480	$57,690	2nd
WA	13,330	$56,140	5th
U.S.	387,780	$48,225	-------

(*) annual mean wage ranking among the 50 states and the District of Columbia

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OES. Data extracted on June 24, 2025

From March 31, 2025 data from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), more than 59.7 million Americans were living in settings designated as dental health professional shortage areas (HPSA).  A dental health HPSA is a facility, geographic area, or population group, where access to basic dental care is deemed substandard because there is a shortfall in the number of dentists serving the area relative to the size of the HPSA's population.  Per 3/31/25 HRSA data, dental care shortfall areas in the seven-state Great Plains region totaled more than 4 million residents.  The HRSA estimated that the region would need 675 more dentists to fully eliminate the dental care shortfall in the region's HPSAs.  From 3/31/25 HRSA data, here is a summary breakdown of the dental care shortfall in the Great Plains region of the U.S.:

The Dental Care Shortfall in the Great Plains Region

State	(1) HPSAs	(2) Population	(3) Shortfall
IA	140	483,912	98
KS	129	288,859	50
MN	194	991,583	130
MO	321	1,761,565	334
NE	112	134,922	12
ND	67	116,532	12
SD	90	240,488	39
Region	1,053	4,017,861	675
U.S.	7,054	59,718,174	10,143

(1) Designated Geographic, Population Group, and Facility HPSAs with a dental care shortfall

(2) Population of designated HPSAs

(3) Dental Care practitioners needed to remove HPSA Designation

Source:  Designated HPSA Quarterly Summary, 3/31/25 (HRSA)

As designated by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), a mental health HPSA (health professional shortage area) is a population group, facility, or geographic unit where the availability of basic mental health care services is substandard. This designation is a reflection of there not being enough mental health care practitioners serving the HPSA community relative to its population size.  As of March 31, 2025, the HRSA reported that nearly 122.4 million Americans were living in designated mental health care shortfall areas.  That national total included more than 36.4 million residents of the twelve-state Southeast who were living in mental health care shortfall areas.  According to HRSA estimates, HPSAs in the Southeast would need 1,987 additional mental health care practitioners servicing these communities in order to eliminate the mental healthcare shortfall in the region.  A deeper look into 3/31/25 HRSA data reveals the following details about the mental health care shortfall in the Southeast:

The Mental Health Care Shortfall in the Southeast

State	(1) HPSAs	(2) Population	(3) Shortfall
AL	64	2,943,245	128
AR	90	1,163,274	69
FL	219	7,830,810	452
GA	90	5,025,398	180
KY	179	2,414,709	131
LA	171	3,210,059	160
MS	84	2,132,264	90
NC	191	3,512,069	217
SC	73	2,081,830	99
TN	83	2,987,186	243
VA	99	2,385,548	129
WV	115	766,433	89
Region	1,458	36,452,825	1,987
U.S.	6,418	122,383,988	6,202

(1) HRSA-designated Geographic Units, Population Groups, and Facilities with a mental health care shortfall

(2) Population of designated HPSAs

(3) Mental Health Care practitioners needed to remove HPSA Designation

Source:  Designated HPSA Quarterly Summary, March 31, 2025 (HRSA)

If residents within a geographic area, facility, or population group have poor access to basic medical care because an insufficient number of primary care physicians serve the area relative to its population, that setting can be designated a primary care HPSA (health professional shortage area) by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA).  As of March 31, 2025, more than 77.2 million Americans lived in the HRSA-designated primary care shortfall areas.    That number included about 11.4 million residents of the five-state Great Lakes region who were living in HRSA-designated primary care shortfall areas at that time.  According to HRSA estimates, another 1,847 primary care providers would need to be serving Great Lakes region HPSAs in order to eliminate the primary care shortfall in the region.  A further review of HRSA data details the following about the primary care shortfall in the Great Lakes region:

The Primary Care Shortfall in the Great Lakes Region

State	(1) HPSAs	(2) Population	(3) Shortfall
IL	261	3,081,967	527
IN	153	2,230,213	336
MI	253	2,698,029	490
OH	174	2,011,262	342
WI	165	1,332,145	152
Region	1,006	11,353,616	1,847
U.S.	7,749	77,253,848	13,364

(1) HRSA-designated Geographic Units, Population Groups, and Facilities with a primary care shortfall

(2) Population of designated HPSAs

(3) Primary Care practitioners needed to remove the HPSA Designation

Source:  Designated HPSA Quarterly Summary, 3/31/25 (HRSA)

March 31, 2025 data from the HRSA (Health Resources and Services Administration) estimated that nearly 59.7 million Americans lived in a dental health HPSA (health professional shortage area).  A dental health HPSA is a geographic area, population group, or facility where residents have bad dental care access because not enough dentists serve the area relative to the population of that HPSA.  The six-state New England region was home to almost 1.1 million individuals who resided in dental care shortfall areas.  The HRSA estimates that New England HPSAs would need 158 more dentists in order to eliminate the dental care shortfall in the region.  Further examination of the HRSA's 3/31/25 data provides the following state-level details about the dental care shortfall New England:

The Dental Care Shortfall in New England

State	(1) HPSAs	(2) Population	(3) Shortfall
CT	40	480,128	71
ME	82	234,694	39
MA	55	185,325	18
NH	19	27,417	7
RI	13	140,340	23
VT	13	6,473	0
Region	222	1,074,377	158
U.S.	7,054	59,718,174	10,143

(1) HRSA-designated Geographic Units, Population Groups, and Facilities with a dental care shortfall

(2) Population of designated HPSAs

(3) Dental Care practitioners needed to remove HPSA Designation

Source:  Designated HPSA Quarterly Summary, 3/31/25 (HRSA)