The share of counties in each state that have no birth center. The median U.S. state appears on the right: half of all states have a higher share, half lower.
Arkansas sits well above the median, with more than a third of its sampled counties lacking a birth center. Mississippi sits above the median. Alabama falls below — a reminder that state averages can mask sharp differences between rural and urban counties.
Source: HRSA, most recent year available. Median U.S. state figure (21%) from Stoneburner et al., "State-Level Prevalence of Maternity Care Deserts," AJPM Focus, 2025. A "birth center" here is any hospital or facility that offers obstetric care. The March of Dimes "maternity care desert" definition is stricter, also requiring no OB-GYNs or midwives in the county.