Objective To examine the status and equity of human resource allocation (HRA) in centers for disease control and prevention (CDCs) at county-level in Chongqing municipality.

Methods An online survey with a self-designed questionnaire was carried among 39 county-level CDCs in Chongqing municipality during May 2022 to collect information relevant to HRA of the CDCs during 2019 – 2021. A comprehensive score was adopted to evaluate the quality of staff of the 39 CDCs. County-specific population agglomeration degree (PAD) and health resource agglomeration degree (HRAD) were calculated and the deficit between the two values of the degree was used for assessment of HRA equity.

Results The total number of staff was 2 674, with an average number of 0.83 per 10 000 permanent population for the 39 county-level CDCs by the end of 2021. During the 3-year period for the 39 county-level CDCs, the total number of staff was 547 for the newly hired, 76 for the resigned, 120 for the retired, and 351 for the actually increased, respectively, and the mean comprehensive quality score for the actually increased staff was 8.7. The difference between HRAD and PAD was – 0.09 for all the 39 CDCs and – 1.68 for the CDCs in central urban region, indicating insufficient HRA. The 5 HRA-related matters most frequently proposed by the 39 CDCs included personnel benefits, team building, talent introduction, scientific research capability, and a good working atmosphere.

Conclusion The overall HRA in county-level CDCs in Chongqing municipality was insufficient and unbalanced, with generally lower comprehensive quality for the actually increased staff. The results suggest that HRA in county-level CDCs of Chongqing municipality needs to be improved.