docs/us_health/health_access_capacity_county_year

health_access_capacity_county_year

Healthcare provider supply and capacity by county. HRSA Area Health Resources File (AHRF) 2025: primary care physicians, specialists, hospital beds, and dentists per 100k.

tier aadmin_recordhealthhrsaahrfprimary_carepsychiatristdentistprovider_density
grain
county-year
years
2024 – 2025
cadence
Annual
overview

overview

All 3,144 US counties. HRSA AHRF provides comprehensive provider supply.

current vintage — AHRF 2024-2025

history — AHRF: 1980s to present; specific provider counts vary by year

provenance

source & licensing

authority
U.S. Health Resources & Services Administration
dataset
HRSA Area Health Resources Files (AHRF)
license
Public domain (U.S. Federal Government work)
citation
U.S. Health Resources & Services Administration. Area Health Resources Files (AHRF), 2024-2025 release.
schema

fields

nametypedefinition
_ingested_attimestampTimestamp when this record was written to BigQuery.Pipeline metadata field.
_reliability_tierstringData quality tier (A/B/C) assigned at ingestion.Pipeline metadata field.
country_idstringISO alpha-2 country code (always 'US' for domestic tables).
county_idkeystring5-character FIPS code identifying the county.Joins dim.counties on county_id.
dentist_countint64 · countTotal number of active dentists in the county, sourced from the Area Health Resources Files (AHRF). Higher values indicate greater dental care supply.
dentists_per_100kfloat64 · rate per 100kNumber of active dentists per 100,000 county residents, calculated as (dentist_count / population_ahrf) × 100,000. Higher values indicate better dental care access relative to population size.
pcp_countint64 · countTotal number of active primary care physicians in the county, sourced from the Area Health Resources Files (AHRF). Higher values indicate greater primary care supply.
population_ahrfint64 · countTotal resident population of the county as reported in the Area Health Resources Files (AHRF), used as the denominator for per-capita provider rate calculations.
primary_care_physicians_per_100kfloat64 · rate per 100kNumber of active primary care physicians per 100,000 county residents, calculated as (pcp_count / population_ahrf) × 100,000. Higher values indicate better primary care access relative to population size.
psychiatrist_countint64 · countTotal number of active psychiatrists in the county, sourced from the Area Health Resources Files (AHRF). Higher values indicate greater behavioral health provider supply.
psychiatrists_per_100kfloat64 · rate per 100kNumber of active psychiatrists per 100,000 county residents, calculated as (psychiatrist_count / population_ahrf) × 100,000. Higher values indicate better behavioral health provider access relative to population size.
state_idstring2-character FIPS code identifying the state.Joins dim.states on state_id.
yearkeyint64Reference year of the observation.
relationships

joins

primary key
county_id, year
common joins
dim.geographies on county_id
health_access_coverage_county_year on (county_id, year)
scorecard_health_county on county_id
usage

how to use this table

method

AHRF aggregates county-level health workforce data from AMA Masterfile (physicians), ADA (dentists), and other sources. Per-100k rates use Census population denominators.

do not use for

Practicing-vs-licensed distinctions (AHRF counts active patient-care physicians but data lag practice changes); telehealth providers serving county from elsewhere; sub-specialty granularity beyond major categories.

known issues

Provider data has 1-2 year lag from AMA Masterfile. Physicians in HPSAs (shortage areas) systematically undercounted.

last updated · May 5, 2026