These 2 Georgia cities have some of the highest STD rates in the country, study says.

Chelsea Madden
·4 min read
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One would never expect a city of about 200,000 people to report more cases of sexually transmitted diseases (STD) than a city of 3.8 million, but that’s exactly what Columbus, Georgia has done.

According to a new study by Innerbody, Columbus has 906 STD cases per 100,000 residents, beating out metropolitan areas like Los Angeles, California (860 cases per 100,000), Chicago, Illinois (822 cases per 100,000), Nashville, Tennessee (828 cases per 100,000) and Phoenix, Arizona (880 cases per 100,000).

Columbus is the second largest city in Georgia and 112th largest city in the United States. Of the 100 cities included in the survey, Columbus ranked 27.

Cities of a similar size like Knoxville, Tennessee (ranked 71 with 609 cases per 100,000) and Rochester, New York (ranked 23 with 923 cases per 100,000) reported hundreds of cases per 100,000 people, but Columbus dwarfed their statistics for individual diseases.

STD rates in Muscogee County are significantly higher than the state average. Why?

Columbus reported 305 HIV cases compared to Knoxville’s 37 cases and Rochester’s 66. Columbus HIV cases were also higher than the top three cities with the highest STD rates: Memphis, Tennessee with five HIV cases, Jackson, Mississippi with 105 cases and Columbia, South Carolina with 48 HIV cases.

Columbus’ 13,348 cases of chlamydia were more than Knoxville (3,637) and Rochester (6,839) combined.

Little Rock, Arkansas may have ranked eighth overall, but its individual totals for HIV (17 cases), Chlamydia (4,553), Gonorrhea (2,420) and Syphilis (291) were well below Columbus’ numbers.

Reported Columbus cases of gonorrhea and syphilis dwarfed other cities. Where Columbus reported 6,465 gonorrhea cases and 647 syphilis cases, Knoxville had 1,520 gonorrhea cases and 83 syphilis cases. Rochester reported 4,620 and 342 cases, respectively.

Why? That’s a difficult question to answer, although a variety of data and studies give researchers a grasp of potential factors.

Incarceration rates, military bases and the number of residents without health insurance all play a role in increased STD rates, studies and health experts suggest.

Additionally, the study found that southern cities dominate the top 100.

Sixteen of the top 25 U.S. cities with the highest STD rates are all southern cities. Three South Carolina cities — Columbia, Charleston and Greenville — were in the top 25.

In comparison, Atlanta’s population is estimated to be around 490,270 and there are 811 STD cases per 100,000 residents. Atlanta was listed as 42 out of 100 on the list, but improved its ranking from last year. Georgia’s largest city ranked 20 last year.

Another southern city, San Antonio, has a population of 1,479,493 and ranked 37th on Innerbody’s study for the cities with the highest STD infection rates. For every 100k residents in San Antonio, there were 834 STD cases reported.

Here’s what else the study found:

  • Chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis top the list of most commonly reported new STD infections.

  • California contributed 13 cities to our rankings this year — the most from any state.

  • Three of the Top 25 cities are located in Florida

  • 17 of the Top 25 cities with the highest STD rates are located in states with healthcare spending below the national average of $10,191 per capita.

  • New York improved 19 spots; however, cities such as Norfolk, VA and Columbia, SC saw some of the biggest downward movements.

Here’s how the study found the cities with the highest STD rates:

The data from Innerbody’s report comes primarily from the CDC’s latest data releases regarding statistics for HIV, syphilis, gonorrhea and chlamydia. Herpes was not included in the CDC’s data release, so it was not included in Innerbody’s study.

CDC’s data releases can be found online.

Other data relating to population estimates in metropolitan areas and states in the US was found by looking at the US Census Bureau reports.

In Georgia, Columbus ranked 27 in cities with the highest STD rates, surpassing Atlanta (number 42 on the list) of top 100.

Keep in mind

STD transmission rates can be lowered by following these steps outlined by the CDC:

  • Wear a condom correctly every time you have sex

  • Limit sexual partners and discuss exclusivity with your partner

  • Get vaccinated against HPV

  • Have discussions about STDs with partners

  • Get tested

The top 50 U.S cities on the list (southern cities are in bold) are:

  1. Memphis, Tennessee

  2. Jackson, Mississippi

  3. Columbia, South Carolina

  4. Baltimore, Maryland

  5. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

  6. New Orleans, Louisiana

  7. Milwaukee, Wisconsin

  8. Little Rock, Arkansas

  9. Washington, D.C.

  10. Norfolk, Virginia

  11. Cleveland, Ohio

  12. Greensboro, North Carolina

  13. Charlotte, North Carolina

  14. Charleston, South Carolina

  15. San Francisco, California

  16. Jacksonville, Florida

  17. Miami, Florida

  18. St. Louis, Missouri

  19. Fort Lauderdale, Florida

  20. Indianapolis, Indiana

  21. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

  22. Richmond, Virginia

  23. Rochester, New York

  24. Tulsa, Oklahoma

  25. Greenville, South Carolina

  26. New York, New York

  27. Columbus, Georgia

  28. Des Moines, Iowa

  29. Phoenix, Arizona

  30. Mobile, Alabama

  31. Tacoma, Washington

  32. Birmingham, Alabama

  33. Los Angeles, California

  34. Albuquerque, New Mexico

  35. Bakersfield, California

  36. Dayton, Ohio

  37. San Antonio, Texas

  38. Akron, Ohio

  39. Nashville, Tennessee

  40. Omaha, Nebraska

  41. Chicago, Illinois

  42. Atlanta, Georgia

  43. Buffalo, New York

  44. Detroit, Michigan

  45. Fresno, California

  46. Cincinnati, Ohio

  47. Colorado Springs, Colorado

  48. San Diego, California

  49. Austin, Texas

  50. Dallas, Texas

To view the full study, go to Innerbody’s website.

What do you think of this study? Let me know in the comments or email me at cmadden@mcclatchy.com