This page is general health information, not medical advice. It cannot tell you whether you have an infection. A clinician can, and the testing options on this site are a good place to start.

If you are looking at STD rates for Pittsburgh, you are probably trying to make sense of a few numbers. How common are chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis and HIV here? Is it going up or down? How does Pittsburgh compare with the rest of Pennsylvania?

This guide walks through the most recent published figures for Allegheny County, which includes Pittsburgh. It explains what the numbers mean, what they leave out, and how to get tested for free or at low cost. Every figure is given with its year and source.

Rates describe a population. They cannot tell any one person whether they have an infection. Only a test and a clinician can do that.

Key Takeaways

In 2024, the Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD) reported a chlamydia rate of 421.3 per 100,000 people (5,190 cases) and a gonorrhea rate of 209.0 per 100,000 (2,574 cases).
ACHD reported 191 early syphilis cases (15.5 per 100,000) and 78 new HIV diagnoses (7.5 per 100,000, ages 15 and older) in the county in 2024.
ACHD's preliminary 2025 counts are lower for all four infections. These are early figures and may change.
Case counts reflect who gets tested as well as who has an infection, so a number is never the whole story.
Free testing is available in Pittsburgh, and Pennsylvania law lets any minor consent to STI testing and treatment.

How to Read STD Rates
Allegheny County Rates for 2024
The 2025 Preliminary Counts and Year-on-Year Change
Pennsylvania Rates and How They Compare
What Shapes the Numbers
What the Data Means for You
Free and Low-Cost Testing in Pittsburgh
Common Questions

How to Read STD Rates

Public health agencies report two kinds of numbers. A count is the number of cases reported in a year. A rate is the number of cases per 100,000 people, which lets places of different sizes be compared fairly.

Why rates are not the same as risk

A rate is an average across a whole population. It does not describe the chance that any one person has an infection. Risk depends on factors such as new or multiple partners, whether protection was used, and how recently someone was tested.

Why reported cases are only part of the picture

Only infections that are tested for and reported get counted. Many chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis infections cause no symptoms, so they can go unnoticed. A county that tests more people may report more cases simply because more infections are found.

Pennsylvania's rules for reporting are set out in 28 Pa. Code 27.21a. It lists laboratory-confirmed chlamydia, gonococcal infections, syphilis at all stages and HIV as reportable within 5 work days after identification. This is the pipeline that produces the county figures below.

Why different sources use different years and age groups

You will see slightly different numbers depending on where you look. The county health department publishes its own year-end tables. The CDC publishes state tables later, and with a delay. HIV rates also use different age bases in different reports. We note the year and age group wherever it matters.

Allegheny County Rates for 2024

The Allegheny County Health Department publishes sexually transmitted infection tables for the county. The 2024 figures are the most recent complete year in those tables.

Infection	2024 rate per 100,000	2024 cases
Chlamydia	421.3	5,190
Gonorrhea	209.0	2,574
Early syphilis	15.5	191
New HIV diagnoses (ages 15 and older)	7.5	78

Source: Allegheny County Health Department, Sexually Transmitted Infections surveillance tables (Tables 1 and 2), 2024 data.

Chlamydia

Chlamydia is the most commonly reported of the four in Allegheny County. ACHD counted 5,190 cases in 2024. Chlamydia is a bacterial infection, and the CDC STI Treatment Guidelines (2021) note that it is curable with antibiotics prescribed by a clinician.

Gonorrhea

ACHD reported 2,574 gonorrhea cases in 2024, a rate of 209.0 per 100,000. Gonorrhea is also bacterial and curable with treatment from a clinician. It can occur in the genitals, throat and rectum, which is why testing at more than one site matters for some people.

Early syphilis

ACHD's figure of 191 cases (15.5 per 100,000) is for early syphilis. That is a broader category than primary and secondary syphilis alone, so do not compare it directly with the CDC's primary and secondary state rate shown later in this guide. Syphilis is curable with treatment from a clinician, and it is one of the infections that can be missed because early signs can be mild or short-lived.

HIV

ACHD reported 78 newly diagnosed HIV cases in the county in 2024, a rate of 7.5 per 100,000 for people 15 and older. HIV is not curable, but it is treatable. The CDC says that effective HIV treatment can keep the virus at very low levels in the body and help people stay healthy.

The 2025 Preliminary Counts and Year-on-Year Change

ACHD's surveillance page also lists counts for 2025, which it treats as the focus year of the page. The county describes these as the most recent figures. Statewide and national 2025 rates were not yet published when this guide was prepared.

Infection	2024	2025	Change in cases
Chlamydia	5,190 cases (421.3 per 100,000)	4,744 cases (385.1 per 100,000)	About 9% fewer
Gonorrhea	2,574 cases (209.0 per 100,000)	1,850 cases (150.2 per 100,000)	About 28% fewer
Early syphilis	191 cases	109 cases	About 43% fewer
New HIV diagnoses	78 cases	53 cases	About 32% fewer

Source: Allegheny County Health Department, Sexually Transmitted Infections surveillance page, 2024 and 2025 data. The percentage changes are our own arithmetic from ACHD's published counts.

How to read a drop

Lower counts are encouraging on their face. They are not proof that fewer people are getting infections, though. Several things can lower reported cases:

Fewer people being tested in a given year.
Reports that are still being processed, since early-year figures can be revised.
Changes in how and where testing happens, such as more at-home kits that may not be counted the same way.
An actual decline in new infections.

The ACHD page does not say which of these explains the change, so we cannot either. Treat the 2025 figures as a snapshot and watch for the final numbers.

Pennsylvania Rates and How They Compare

People searching for STD rates by state usually want to see where Pennsylvania falls. The CDC publishes ranked state tables in its annual STI Surveillance report. The most recent state tables we could confirm are for 2023.

Infection (Pennsylvania, 2023)	Rate per 100,000	Cases	CDC state rank
Chlamydia	421.2	54,600	35
Gonorrhea	144.7	18,758	28
Primary and secondary syphilis	9.1	1,179	39

Source: CDC STI Surveillance 2023, state tables for chlamydia (Table 28), gonorrhea (Table 19) and primary and secondary syphilis (Table 9).

For HIV, ACHD's tables list a Pennsylvania rate of 7.1 new diagnoses per 100,000 for ages 13 and older in 2024. The county rate of 7.5 per 100,000 uses ages 15 and older, so the two are close but not an exact match.

Comparing the county with the state

It is tempting to line up the county and state numbers. Be careful. The county chlamydia rate (421.3 in 2024) and the state rate (421.2 in 2023) come from different years and different reporting systems. They look almost identical, but that is not a clean comparison. The same is true for gonorrhea.

For a fair comparison, you would need the same year from the same source. Pennsylvania's 2024 STI rates were not available to us in a form we could confirm.

A note on state rankings

Rankings are useful for context, but they depend heavily on how much testing each state does and how well cases are reported. A state's rank says little about the risk faced by an individual person living there.

What about STD rates by city?

STD rates by city are harder to find than state numbers. Most agencies publish by county, because case reporting and population counts are organized that way. In Pittsburgh's case, the county figure for Allegheny County is the closest published measure. If you need neighborhood-level information, ACHD is the place to ask.

What Shapes the Numbers

It is natural to ask why rates rise or fall. The honest answer is that many things interact, and the published sources for Pittsburgh do not pin down a single cause. Here is what public health agencies generally point to.

How much testing happens

The CDC's STI Treatment Guidelines (2021) recommend regular screening for many groups, since chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis often have no symptoms. More screening finds more infections. Less screening can make rates look lower than they are.

Access to care

Cost, transportation, clinic hours and comfort with a provider all affect whether someone gets tested. Free walk-in options, extended hours and at-home kits are meant to lower these barriers.

Prevention tools

Condoms, vaccines, PrEP and PEP for HIV, and doxy-PEP all play a role. In 2024 the CDC issued guidance on doxycycline post-exposure prophylaxis (doxy-PEP) for certain groups at higher risk of bacterial STIs. Whether it is right for someone is a decision for a clinician. The ACHD Sexual Health Clinic lists doxy-PEP, PrEP and non-occupational PEP among its services.

Partner notification and treatment

When one person is treated, their partners also need to be tested and treated, or the infection can pass back and forth. Pennsylvania law (35 P.S. 603 and 604) allows a health care practitioner to prescribe or furnish antibiotics for STIs without examining the partner, as described by the CDC's page on the legal status of expedited partner therapy in Pennsylvania. Which infections this covers in Pennsylvania is not specified in the source we reviewed, so ask your clinician.

Prenatal screening

Pennsylvania regulation 28 Pa. Code 27.89 directs a physician examining a pregnant woman to offer a syphilis test at the first examination. The Pennsylvania Department of Health also recommends testing in the third trimester and at delivery. Those two are recommendations, not requirements, on the state page we reviewed.

What the Data Means for You

Numbers about a county can feel distant. Here is a practical way to use them.

Use them as context, not a verdict. The figures show these infections are present in Allegheny County. They do not say who has one.
Remember that many infections have no symptoms. A test is the only way to know a status for the infections discussed here.
Ask about timing. Every infection has a window period, which is the time after exposure when a test may not yet detect it. The CDC publishes these windows, and a clinician can tell you which apply to your situation.
Test again when things change. A new partner, a partner who has tested positive, or a change in your health are all good reasons to talk with a clinician about testing.

Getting tested is routine health care. It is something people of every gender, orientation and relationship type do.

Privacy and consent for young people

Under Pennsylvania's Act of Feb. 13, 1970, P.L. 19, No. 10 (35 P.S. 10103, Section 3), any minor may consent to medical and health services to determine the presence of or to treat venereal disease. The section does not mention parental notification. The ACHD Sexual Health Clinic states that it sees anyone 13 and older without parental consent. The Guttmacher Institute's summary agrees that Pennsylvania lists no age restriction for minors seeking STI services.

Free and Low-Cost STD Testing in Pittsburgh

If these numbers have you thinking about getting tested, there are several options. For the full list with costs and what to bring, see our guide to STD testing in Pittsburgh and what it costs, or go to the local clinic list. Here is a summary.

Allegheny County Health Department Sexual Health Clinic

ACHD runs the clinic at two sites. Its page lists the services as free, and they include STD testing, HIV testing, PrEP, PEP, doxy-PEP, treatment and hepatitis C testing.

Downtown: 425 First Avenue, Fourth Floor (entrance on Cherry Way), Pittsburgh, PA 15219. ACHD lists Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday 9:00 am to 3:45 pm, and Thursday 11:30 am to 6:15 pm, with a lunch closure.
McKeesport: 339 Fifth Avenue, McKeesport, PA 15132. ACHD lists Monday to Friday 9:00 am to 3:45 pm, with a lunch closure.

Call 412-578-8081 with questions or to make an appointment. ACHD says appointments get priority and walk-ins are first come, first served. Hours may vary on holidays. Another ACHD page shows different Downtown hours for Wednesday, so call to confirm before you go.

ACHD says photo ID is not required to be seen but is required to receive results. It also says patients are seen regardless of immigration status.

Free at-home kits from ACHD

ACHD's Sexual Health Clinic page says it offers free at-home test kits for gonorrhea, chlamydia, syphilis and HIV, and gives lumba.health/achd as the place to order. A county flyer reportedly limits kits to Allegheny County residents age 16 or older, but we could not read the flyer. Check the ACHD page for current eligibility.

Allies for Health + Wellbeing

Allies, a nonprofit offering HIV, STI and hepatitis C services, lists free walk-in testing at its office at 211 North Whitfield Street, Suite 500, Pittsburgh, PA 15206 on Sundays from 9 to 11:15 am and 1 to 4:15 pm. It also lists weekly walk-in sites around the city, including Unity Recovery on Tuesdays, Pittsburgh Action Against Rape on Wednesdays and Bethany Baptist Church on Fridays. Allies' page says rapid HIV, hepatitis C and syphilis results come in about 20 minutes, and that chlamydia and gonorrhea testing uses urine, oral and rectal swabs.

Allies has posted notices of canceled walk-in sessions, so confirm before you go. Call 412-345-7456 for clinic appointments.

Central Outreach Wellness Center

Central Outreach is an LGBTQ-focused community health center at 127 Anderson Street, Suite 101, Pittsburgh, PA 15212. Its website says it serves patients with or without insurance and offers sliding-scale options. The CDC GetTested directory lists no appointment required. Phone numbers differ between sources, (412) 322-4151 on its own site and (412) 515-0000 on the CDC directory, and so do Friday hours, so call ahead.

Planned Parenthood of Western Pennsylvania

The Pittsburgh center at 933 Liberty Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15222 is listed in the CDC GetTested directory with a sliding scale and insurance, Medicaid and Medicare accepted. An appointment is required. Call (412) 434-8971. The directory does not list hours.

University Family Medicine UPMC (Squirrel Hill)

This UPMC practice at 5608 Wilkin Ave, Suite 100, Pittsburgh, PA 15217 is listed in the CDC GetTested directory. It accepts insurance and Medicaid, and an appointment is required. Call (412) 422-8762. The directory does not list a price, so ask the office.

Paying for PrEP

The Pennsylvania Department of Health notes that the Affordable Care Act requires HIV PrEP coverage with no cost-sharing for insured people, and that its Special Pharmaceutical Benefits Program helps residents with medication costs. A clinician decides whether PrEP is appropriate and prescribes it.

Find more options

The CDC's GetTested directory lets you look up testing sites by ZIP code. The ACHD Sexual Health Clinic page has the latest on hours and services.

Common Questions

What are the latest STD rates in Pittsburgh?

The most recent complete county figures from ACHD are for 2024: chlamydia 421.3, gonorrhea 209.0 and early syphilis 15.5 per 100,000 people, and 7.5 new HIV diagnoses per 100,000 people ages 15 and older. ACHD also lists preliminary 2025 counts that are lower for each infection.

Is Pittsburgh's rate higher than Pennsylvania's?

We cannot say from the data we have. The county figures are for 2024 and the CDC state tables we confirmed are for 2023, so the years do not match. Ask ACHD about same-year comparisons.

Do these numbers mean I should be worried?

No. They are population statistics, and they describe the community. They do not predict any one person's health. If you have questions about your own situation, a clinician can help.

Does a high or low rate change when I should get tested?

Testing recommendations depend on your own circumstances, such as partners, symptoms and age, not on a county rate. The CDC STI Treatment Guidelines (2021) and the USPSTF describe who should be screened. A clinician can apply them to you.

Where can I find an STD rates by state comparison?

The CDC's annual STI Surveillance report includes ranked state tables for chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis. It is the standard source for comparing states.

STD Rates in Pittsburgh: What the Latest Data Shows