STD Statistics by State: Analyzing National Trends

It’s unfortunate, but STD statistics from recent times underline some troubling national trends. Over the past few years, the US has seen dramatic rises in cases of common STDs like gonorrhea and chlamydia. In addition, around 40,000 people contract HIV every year. Just as troubling though, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) estimates that only 15% of the million or so people living with HIV in the US actually know they have it! Today then, we’ll take a deep dive on some recent STD reports and tell you the places with the highest rates of infection:

Nationwide STD Stats

In 2016, there were over 2 million reported cases of chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis in the US. Of that 2 million, chlamydia accounted for the lion’s share of new cases. What’s more, experts believe that around 20 million new STD cases occur every year –– most of them involving individuals between the ages of 15-25. Of particular concern to the CDC is the marked rise in syphilis. Indeed, there was a 36% rise in syphilis cases among women, and a 28% increase in syphilis among newborns in their most recent study. (Note: all pregnant women should get tested for STDs at least once during their gestation period.)

In brief, the national STD stats don’t make for great reading.

States with the Highest STD Rates

Trying to determine which state actually carries the “highest risk” in regard to STD transmission is a tricky prospect. First, STDs themselves are a diverse and varied group; some are more harmful than others, for instance, while others are extremely difficult to identify. Additionally, state populations aren’t uniform. And of course –– as we alluded to before –– it’s especially difficult to track STD cases because so many people don’t know that they have one. Given all that, the CDC has developed a ranking system based on the known cases of chlamydia and gonorrhea within each state, per every 100,000 residents. Here then are the ten most sexually diseased states:

  1. Alaska
  2. Louisiana
  3. Mississippi
  4. North Carolina
  5. New Mexico
  6. Georgia
  7. South Carolina
  8. Arkansas
  9. Oklahoma
  10. Delaware

STD Capital USA

So where’s the highest concentration of STDs cases in the country? Well, in terms of chlamydia and gonorrhea, Etowah County in Alabama takes the crown. St. Louis, a perennial high-ranker on these STD prevalence lists, fell to second according to the most recent statistics.

 

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