STD statistics 2020: States with the highest rates

Sexually transmitted disease infection rates continue to rise in the United States, with combined cases of chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis hitting a new all-time high in 2018.

Additionally, each of the three most commonly reported STDs witnessed an increase in cases between 2017 and 2018, with reported gonorrhea cases increasing by 5 percent, chlamydia cases increasing by 3 percent, and primary and secondary syphilis cases increasing by a remarkable 15 percent to reach the highest number reported since 1991 (source).

In order to find out which states had the highest STD rates, we pulled the latest data from all 50 states on reported cases of the three most commonly reported sexually transmitted diseases, chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis, from the the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s 2018 STD Surveillance Report. Then, we used this data and other variables to rank all 50 states based on overall STD infection rates.

A quick note on prevention: ​There’s no equivalent of a security system to help you identify carriers before having intercourse. Always make sure to use appropriate protection and choose your partners wisely.

Chlamydia statistics

Chlamydia isn’t the most dangerous sexually transmitted disease, but it is the most common in the U.S. The bacterial infection is often spread unknowingly due to the fact that most infected people show no symptoms. However, Chlamydia can do serious, lasting damage to a woman’s reproductive system, in addition to potentially causing fatal complications to a fetus during pregnancy.

States with the highest rates of infection (per 100,000 population):

Alaska (832.5) Louisiana (774.8) Mississippi (740.1) South Carolina (674.9) New Mexico (670.5)

States with the lowest rates of infection:

West Virginia (198.2) Vermont (274.5) New Hampshire (278.1) Maine (325.2) Utah (339.8)

The list of the top five states with the highest rate of reported cases of Chlamydia is nearly identical to the previous year’s, with New Mexico and South Carolina swapping places. Each of the five states saw an increase in reported cases over 2017.

The two lists demonstrate the wide variance in reported chlamydia cases between states at the top and the bottom of the ranking, as Alaska’s infection rate per 100K is over four times higher than West Virginia’s.