California has the most areas facing shortages of primary care providers of all U.S. states, according to a new ranking from the Kaiser Family Foundation.
The ranking is based on a quarterly summary of designated Health Professional Shortage Area statistics published Sept. 30 by HHS, the Bureau of Health Workforce and the Health Resources and Services Administration. The HPSA designation is given to areas where the population-to-provider ratio for primary care is at least 3,500 to 1.
In total, there are 7,578 areas with an HPSA designation in the U.S.
Here's how each state stacks up:
Note: The list includes ties.
1. California — 655 areas with an HPSA designation
2. Texas — 432
3. Missouri — 344
4. Michigan — 323
5. Florida — 278
6. Alaska — 273
7. Illinois — 249
8. Georgia — 229
9. Arizona — 219
10. Oklahoma — 208
11. Washington — 203
12. Kentucky — 202
13. North Carolina — 193
14. Kansas — 190
15. New York — 164
16. Louisiana — 157
17. Ohio — 155
18. Iowa — 152
18. Minnesota — 152
20. Pennsylvania — 151
21. Tennessee — 150
22. Mississippi — 149
23. Oregon — 148
24. Montana — 141
25. Wisconsin — 138
26. Colorado — 128
27. Indiana — 126
28. West Virginia — 113
29. New Mexico — 109
30. Alabama — 107
31. Nebraska — 105
31. Virginia — 105
33. South Dakota — 104
34. Idaho — 99
35. North Dakota — 95
35. South Carolina — 95
37. Arkansas — 88
38. Nevada — 82
39. Maine — 71
39. Utah — 71
41. Massachusetts — 66
42. Wyoming — 49
43. Maryland — 47
44. Connecticut — 41
45. New Jersey — 36
46. Hawaii — 31
47. New Hampshire — 28
48. Vermont — 25
49. Delaware — 13
49. Rhode Island — 13