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)

The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) designates a geographic area, population group, or facility where access to mental health care is substandard as a mental health HPSA (health professional shortage area). This designation reflects a situation where the number of mental health care practitioners working in the area or community is too small to serve the mental health care needs of a population as large as that of the HPSA.  As of March 31, 2025, HRSA data indicated that mental health care HPSAs in the six-state Far Western U.S. had 18.6 million residents, accounting for just over 15% of the U.S. population who lived in mental health care shortfall areas.  To eliminate the shortfall, the HRSA estimates that HPSAs in the Far Western U.S. would need 994 additional mental health care practitioners.  A further review of HRSA data reveals the following state-level details about the mental health care shortfall in the Far Western U.S.:

The Mental Health Care Shortfall in the Far Western U.S.

State	(1) HPSAs	(2) Population	(3) Shortfall
AK	343	415,445	22
CA	596	11,030,569	569
HI	32	496,429	28
NV	56	1,959,041	153
OR	123	1,390,825	66
WA	208	3,311,047	156
Region	1,358	18,603,356	994
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)

Clinical Lab Tech Pay in the Great Plains States

There were over 337,700 clinical laboratory technicians and technologists at work in the U.S. as of May 2024 according to data published earlier this year by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).  The seven-state Great Plains region accounted for about 26,570 of those clinical lab tech jobs, or about 7.8% of U.S. clinical lab technician employment.  For clinical lab techs, the Great Plains region is one of the weakest ones in the nation for pay.  The clinical lab tech annual mean wage level in six of the seven states in the region fell below the national average, and four Great Plains states ranked among the ten worst states in the nation for clinical lab tech annual mean wages.  BLS data from May 2024 details the following about clinical lab tech pay in the Great Plains states:

Clinical Lab Tech Pay in the Great Plains States

State	# Employed	Annual Mean Wages	Wage Rank*
IA	3,020	$57,110	43rd
KS	4,510	$61,770	30th
MN	6,010	$73,840	9th
MO	8,830	$60,210	33rd
NE	1,750	$63,270	25th
ND	1,160	$62,700	28th
SD	1,290	$58,220	40th
U.S.	337,740	$65,012	-------

(*) annual mean wage ranking among the 50 states

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OES. Data extracted on June 13, 2025

Nurse Practitioner Pay in the Southwestern U.S.

Data published earlier this summer by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports that there were over 303,000 nurse practitioners (NPs) working in the United States as of May 2024.  More than 34,000 nurse practitioner jobs in the U.S. were in the four-state Southwestern region of the country.  The Southwestern region is a relatively good one for nurse practitioner pay.  Nearly 90% of NPs in the Southwestern U.S. live in one of the three states in the region where NP annual mean wages exceed the national average of $130,077. A closer look at BLS data from May 2024 shows the following about nurse practitioner pay in the Southwestern U.S.:

Nurse Practitioner Pay in the Southwestern U.S.

State	# Employed	Annual Mean Wages	Wage Rank*
AZ	7,540	$132,920	15th
NM	1,870	$136,620	11th
OK	3,020	$127,120	30th
TX	21,690	$130,930	19th
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 June 12, 2025

A primary care health professional shortage area (HPSA), as designated by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), is geographic area, population group, or facility where residents have bad access to basic medical care.  This designation reflects the fact that given the population size of the HPSA, there are too few primary care physicians serving the community.  As of March 31, 2025, HRSA data showed that more than 77.2 million Americans lived in a primary care shortfall area, including over 10.8 million residents of the four-state Southwestern U.S.  The HRSA estimates that to eliminate the primary care shortfall in the Southwestern U.S., HPSAs in the region would need over 1,900 additional primary care physicians.  A closer review of March 31, 2025, HRSA data reveals the following about the primary care shortfall in the Southwestern U.S.:

The Primary Care Shortfall in the Southwestern U.S.

State	(1) HPSAs	(2) Population	(3) Shortfall
AZ	215	2,285,336	493
NM	106	1,027,943	200
OK	190	1,225,098	297
TX	387	6,278,102	916
Region	898	10,816,479	1,906
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)

Data released by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) reported that, as of March 31, 2025, more than 59.7 million Americans resided in settings or communities designated as dental health professional shortage areas (HPSA).  A dental health HPSA is a population group, facility, or geographic area where dental care access is limited because too few dentists serve the area relative to the population of the HPSA.  Dental health HPSAs in the five-state Rocky Mountain region were home to just over 1.8 million residents, or approximately 3% of the U.S. population who lived in dental care shortfall areas.  The HRSA estimates that HPSAs in the five Rocky Mountain states would need 207 additional dentists to eliminate the dental care shortfall in the region.  Here is a state-level look at the dental care shortfall in the Rocky Mountain region:

The Dental Care Shortfall in the Rocky Mountain Region

State	(1) HPSAs	(2) Population	(3) Shortfall
CO	109	884,783	85
ID	96	471,159	60
MT	115	241,855	32
UT	56	167,532	23
WY	26	47,162	7
Region	402	1,812,491	207
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 access to mental health care is poor due to an inadequate number of practitioners may be designated by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) as a mental health HPSA (health professional shortage area). As of March 31, 2025, more than 122.3 million Americans lived in a mental health care shortfall area according to HRSA data.  That figure included nearly 6.9 million residents living in the Mid-Eastern U.S., a region that encompasses five states and the District of Columbia.  The HRSA estimates that HPSAs in the Mid-Eastern U.S. would need 453 more mental health care practitioners to eliminate the shortfall in the region.  A closer examination of March 31, 2025, HRSA data reveals the following about the mental health care shortfall in the Mid-Eastern U.S.:

The Mental Health Care Shortfall in the Mid-Eastern U.S.

State	(1) HPSAs	(2) Population	(3) Shortfall
DE	12	316,367	41
DC	11	126,214	8
MD	48	1,515,872	81
NJ	39	404,293	28
NY	197	3,662,589	230
PA	119	857,739	65
Region	426	6,883,274	453
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)

Family Medicine Physician Pay in New England

According to recently published data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), as of May 2024, there were just over 104,000 family medicine physicians employed across the United States. Of these, 6,120 were practicing in the six-state New England region.

BLS data highlights a significant pay disparity among family medicine physicians in New England. Massachusetts stands out, accounting for more than half of the region’s family medicine employment and ranking in the top 10 nationally for annual mean wages. In contrast, the other five New England states report average salaries below the national average.

The May 2024 BLS data provides the following insights into family medicine physician compensation across New England:

Family Medicine Physician Pay in New England

State	# Employed	Annual Mean Wages	Wage Rank*
CT	900	$213,400	45th
MA	3,550	$301,270	4th
ME	630	$221,190	42nd
NH	410	$248,550	28th
RI	280	$244,270	30th
VT	350	$238,710	32nd
U.S.	104,780	$253,047	-------

(*) 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 5, 2025

Whenever residents of geographic areas, facilities, or population groups have subpar access to basic medical care because too few primary care physicians serve the area relative to its population, the 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, the HRSA reported that more than 77.2 million Americans lived in primary care HPSAs.  That included just over 5.4 million residents of the seven-state Great Plains region.  This number represented almost 7% of the U.S. population that was living in a primary care shortfall area at that time.  The HRSA estimates that to eliminate the shortfall Great Plains region HPSAs would need 1,080 additional primary care physicians.  An examination of HRSA data details the following about the primary care shortfall in the Great Plains region:

The Primary Care Shortfall in the Great Plains Region

State	(1) HPSAs	(2) Population	(3) Shortfall
IA	161	745,778	162
KS	160	676,611	113
MN	212	1,415,841	201
MO	336	1,878,341	476
NE	131	235,596	33
ND	87	182,247	39
SD	99	267,936	56
Region	1,186	5,402,350	1,080
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)

Speech Language Pathologist Pay in the Great Plains Region

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' (BLS) most current occupational employment data indicated that nearly 174,000 speech language pathologists (SLPs) were working in the United States as of May 2024.  More than 12,000 of those employed in the U.S. as SLPs resided in the seven-state Great Plains region.  BLS data indicated that the region is one of the weakest in the country for speech language pathologist pay, as no state in the region registered a SLP annual mean wage level above the national average.  Moreover, three Great Plains states ranked among the ten worst states in the country for SLP annual mean wages.  More examination of BLS data from May 2024 reveals the following details about speech language pathologist pay in the Great Plains region:

Speech Language Pathologist Pay in the Great Plains Region

State	# Employed	Annual Mean Wages	Wage Rank*
IA	1,390	$85,230	32nd
KS	1,790	$84,230	36th
MN	3,730	$82,020	42nd
MO	2,700	$84,930	33rd
NE	1,230	$83,880	38th
ND	670	$73,950	48th
SD	510	$69,230	50th
U.S.	173,910	$91,089	-------

(*) 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 3, 2025