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.

Numbers about sexually transmitted infections can feel heavy. They are also useful. They show where testing matters most, how Dallas compares with the rest of Texas, and why a routine test is a normal part of health care.

This guide walks through the latest published figures for Dallas County and Texas. Every number comes with its year and its source. Where a figure is not published, the guide says so plainly.

Key takeaways

Texas DSHS reported 22,073 chlamydia cases and 10,696 gonorrhea cases in Dallas County in 2022.
For both infections, the Dallas County rate per 100,000 people was higher than the Texas rate for the same year.
Texas DSHS reported 4,223 syphilis cases of all stages in Dallas County in 2022. Primary and secondary syphilis was lower than the state rate, while total syphilis was higher.
CDC reported 898 new HIV diagnoses in Dallas County in 2024.
Reported cases reflect how much testing is done as well as how many infections occur, so rates are a guide and not a verdict on any person or neighborhood.
Free and low-cost testing exists across Dallas, and Texas offers a free mailed testing kit for people aged 13 and older.

In this guide

The latest numbers for Dallas County
How Dallas County compares with Texas
STD rates by state and by city: how to read them
What shapes the numbers
Syphilis, pregnancy and congenital syphilis
Free and low-cost testing in Dallas
Your rights, privacy and reporting in Texas

The latest numbers for Dallas County

The most recent county-level STD figures published by the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) cover 2022. They appear in its report Sexually Transmitted Diseases in Texas in 2022. The latest published DSHS HIV surveillance report covers 2021.

DSHS notes that the Dallas surveillance figures match the county figures in its ranking tables. That means the numbers describe all of Dallas County, not only the city limits.

Chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis, 2022

Infection	Cases	Rate per 100,000 people	Year	Source
Chlamydia	22,073	848.7	2022	Texas DSHS
Gonorrhea	10,696	411.3	2022	Texas DSHS
Syphilis, primary and secondary	307	11.8	2022	Texas DSHS
Syphilis, all stages	4,223	162.4	2022	Texas DSHS

Chlamydia and gonorrhea are bacterial infections. The CDC STI Treatment Guidelines (2021) say both are curable with treatment from a clinician. Many people who have them notice no symptoms, which is one reason testing matters.

Syphilis is also a bacterial infection and is curable with treatment from a clinician. Primary and secondary syphilis are the early stages. The all-stages figure also includes later and latent stages, which are found mostly through blood tests.

HIV

Texas DSHS reported 795 new HIV diagnoses in Dallas County in 2021, a rate of 30.7 per 100,000 people, in its Texas HIV Surveillance Report 2021 Annual Report.

CDC's HIV Surveillance Data Release Tables for 2024 list 898 new HIV diagnoses in Dallas County. The CDC rate is 41.0 per 100,000 people aged 13 and older.

These two HIV figures are not a trend line. They come from different sources, different years and different age bases. Please do not subtract one from the other. HIV is not curable, but the CDC describes it as treatable, and people who take HIV treatment as prescribed can stay healthy.

What about year-on-year change?

This is the question readers ask most, and the honest answer is that a clean county trend is not available from the sources used here. DSHS has not published county STD or HIV surveillance reports newer than the ones above on its program reports page. Its online dashboards may carry more recent data, so check the DSHS HIV/STD program pages for updates.

Rather than stitch together numbers from different reports, this guide compares like with like. The next section does that.

How Dallas County compares with Texas

To compare fairly, use the same source and the same year. The table below sets Dallas County next to Texas using Texas DSHS figures for 2022. HIV uses the DSHS 2021 report, which is the latest DSHS HIV report.

Measure (rate per 100,000)	Dallas County	Texas	Year and source
Chlamydia	848.7	519.9	2022, Texas DSHS
Gonorrhea	411.3	207.0	2022, Texas DSHS
Syphilis, primary and secondary	11.8	15.5	2022, Texas DSHS
Syphilis, all stages	162.4	86.6	2022, Texas DSHS
New HIV diagnoses	30.7	14.8	2021, Texas DSHS

A few patterns stand out.

Dallas County's chlamydia rate was about 1.6 times the Texas rate in 2022.
Its gonorrhea rate was about twice the Texas rate.
Its primary and secondary syphilis rate was lower than the state rate, while its all-stage syphilis rate was higher.
Its 2021 HIV diagnosis rate was about twice the Texas rate.

Why would early syphilis be lower while total syphilis is higher? The all-stage count includes cases found by blood test in later stages. A county with a lot of testing can find more of those. That is a reminder that these numbers measure what was found and reported.

Where Texas stands in the latest CDC data

CDC publishes newer state figures than the county reports. In Sexually Transmitted Infections Surveillance 2023, CDC lists these Texas numbers for 2023:

Chlamydia: 150,056 cases, 491.9 per 100,000 people.
Gonorrhea: 53,793 cases, 176.4 per 100,000 people.
Primary and secondary syphilis: 4,562 cases, 15.0 per 100,000 people.
Congenital syphilis: 930 cases, 238.6 per 100,000 live births.

CDC's 2024 HIV surveillance tables list 5,016 new HIV diagnoses in Texas, a rate of 16.0 per 100,000 people of all ages.

Please do not set the 2022 county rates against these 2023 CDC state rates. Years and methods differ, and the result would mislead. Likewise, the 2024 Dallas County HIV rate counts people aged 13 and older, while the Texas 2024 rate counts all ages, so the two are not directly comparable.

STD rates by state and by city: how to read them

People often look up STD rates by state or STD rates by city to see where they fall. Both views are useful, and both have limits.

Rates by state

CDC publishes state-by-state tables each year in its STI Surveillance reports, including a State Ranking Tables file. It lists cases and rates per 100,000 people for chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis in every state. The Texas figures above come from that file.

When you compare states, remember three things:

Rates adjust for population size, so a large state can have many cases and a modest rate.
States differ in how much screening they do and how fully they report.
A rank is not a risk score for any one person.

Rates by city

City-level numbers are harder to find. Many health departments report by county, not by city. In Texas, DSHS reports Dallas figures at the county level. That is why this guide says Dallas County and not the city of Dallas.

A county includes suburbs, rural edges and neighborhoods with very different access to care. A county rate cannot describe any one neighborhood, workplace or group of friends. It describes the county as a whole.

Why your own situation matters more than a ranking

Whether a test makes sense for you depends on your own history and your clinician's advice, not on a map. CDC and the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) set screening advice by age, sex, pregnancy and circumstances. For example:

USPSTF recommends chlamydia and gonorrhea screening for sexually active women aged 24 and younger, and for older women at increased risk.
USPSTF recommends HIV screening for people aged 15 to 65, and for younger and older people at increased risk.
USPSTF recommends syphilis screening for people at increased risk.
CDC's guidelines give additional advice for gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men, for transgender and gender diverse people, and for people who are pregnant.

A clinician can tell you which of these apply to you. Testing is routine health care, and it is for everyone, whatever their gender, orientation or relationship status.

What shapes the numbers

No single cause explains why rates differ between places or years. Public health agencies point to several factors that work together.

How much testing is done

CDC notes that chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis often cause no symptoms, especially early on. An infection that is never tested for is never counted. More testing can raise reported cases even when the true number of infections has not changed. Less testing can hide them.

Access to care

Cost, insurance, clinic hours, transportation and trust in the health system all affect who gets tested and treated. The CDC identifies these access issues as a major part of the picture. They are circumstances, not personal failings.

Treatment and partner care

Untreated bacterial infections can continue to spread, and people can be reinfected if a partner is not treated. Texas has an approach to this. According to CDC's page on the legal status of expedited partner therapy in Texas, Texas Medical Board rules allow a physician to prescribe STD medication for the partner of an established patient without seeing that partner first. Pharmacists may dispense those prescriptions. Ask your clinician whether this applies to your situation.

New prevention tools

HIV prevention has changed. Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) are prescribed by clinicians. In 2024, CDC issued guidance on doxycycline post-exposure prophylaxis (doxy-PEP) for certain groups, to be used under a clinician's care. Only a clinician can say whether any of these fit your health history. The Dallas County Sexual Health Clinic's page does not list doxy-PEP, so ask a clinic directly if you want to know where it is offered.

Data limits

Reports lag behind real life. The numbers in this guide are one to several years old by the time they are published. Keep that in mind before drawing conclusions about today.

Syphilis, pregnancy and congenital syphilis

One of the most important numbers in the CDC's Texas data is congenital syphilis. This is syphilis passed from a pregnant person to a baby. CDC reported 930 cases in Texas in 2023, or 238.6 per 100,000 live births.

Syphilis is curable, and treatment during pregnancy from a clinician can protect a baby. That is why timely testing is built into prenatal care.

Under Texas Health and Safety Code Section 81.090, Texas sets out these testing steps in pregnancy:

Syphilis, HIV and hepatitis B tests at the first prenatal visit.
Syphilis and HIV tests in the third trimester, not earlier than the 28th week.
Syphilis and hepatitis B tests on admission for delivery.
If no third-trimester result is in the record, syphilis and expedited HIV testing at delivery, or testing of the newborn.

The statute says a woman may object to the HIV tests, but not to the syphilis tests. Texas DSHS summarizes the same schedule in its publication HIV and Texas Law.

If you are pregnant or planning a pregnancy, you can ask your prenatal clinician about this schedule. If you are not in care yet, the clinics below can help you start.

Free and low-cost testing in Dallas

Dallas has public, nonprofit and community options. The full list of Dallas testing locations and what they cost has more detail. Here is a summary of what each organization publishes.

Dallas County Health and Human Services Sexual Health Clinic

The clinic is at 2377 N. Stemmons Freeway, 1st Floor, Suite 100, Dallas, TX 75207. The phone number is (214) 819-1819.

Hours listed by the county: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., and Wednesday 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. The phone line opens at 7:45 a.m. and closes at 3:30 p.m. on the second Thursday of each month.
The county page lists testing for HIV, hepatitis C, syphilis, gonorrhea, chlamydia, trichomoniasis and mpox. It also lists treatment for syphilis, gonorrhea, chlamydia, trichomoniasis and genital herpes outbreaks, plus PrEP and nPEP.
Appointments are required. The county says same-day or next-day appointments are offered, and that routine testing without symptoms is directed to the DCHHS Mobile Medical Unit.
The county page lists no fees. CDC's GetTested listing says Medicaid is accepted and PrEP is available for uninsured people, and tells readers to contact the organization about eligibility.

Resource Center Health (Nelson-Tebedo clinic)

The Resource Center, Dallas's LGBTQ+ community center, is at 2603 Inwood Rd., Dallas, TX 75235. The phone number is 214.528.2336. Its testing page lists these prices:

Confidential rapid HIV antibody test, early HIV RNA test and syphilis test: free.
Gonorrhea and chlamydia test: free with a $40 office visit.
Anonymous HIV antibody screening: $90.
Hepatitis A, B and C panel: $100.

The page does not mention a sliding scale or insurance. Call to ask. The center's PrEP Care Program can be reached at 214.540.4469.

Prism Health North Texas

The Oak Lawn Health Center is at 2801 Lemmon Ave, Suite 200, Dallas, TX 75204. The phone number for its Dallas health centers is 214-521-5191. Prism says its sliding fee rates are based on household income and size. It also says it accepts Medicaid, Medicare, CHIP and most private insurance, and does not deny care based on ability to pay.

Prism lists HIV and STI testing and treatment at several Dallas locations, including Oak Cliff, South Dallas and Worth Street. It advises scheduling appointments in advance, with same-day and walk-in visits for urgent issues depending on availability.

Other community clinics

Parkland Health, Southeast Dallas Health Center, 9202 Elam Rd, Dallas, TX 75217, (214) 266-1600. CDC's GetTested listing shows a free HIV test and says insurance, Medicaid and a sliding scale are accepted.
Foremost Family Health Centers, Martin Luther King Jr Family Clinic, 2922-B MLK Jr Blvd, Dallas, TX 75215, (214) 426-3645. GetTested lists insurance, Medicaid, Medicare and a sliding scale.
AIDS Healthcare Foundation, Dallas, 7777 Forest Ln Ste B 122, Dallas, TX 75230, (972) 383-1060. GetTested lists a sliding scale and says no appointment is required.
Neighborhood Medical Center, 5917 Belt Line Rd, Dallas, TX 75254, (972) 726-6464. GetTested lists insurance and a sliding scale, and says no appointment is required.
Children's Health Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine Clinic, 2350 N Stemmons Fwy, Ste F5200, Dallas, TX 75207, (214) 456-9099. The clinic's page says a parent or guardian must give general consent for a minor to be treated there.

Hours and fees can change. Call the clinic before you go, especially if you are counting on a free or walk-in visit. Several of the details above come from CDC's GetTested locator, so confirm them with the clinic.

Free testing you can do at home

Texas DSHS lists a free mailed self-testing kit through Test for Texas. It covers HIV, syphilis, gonorrhea and chlamydia. It is for anyone in Texas aged 13 or older, and no insurance is needed. You order at testfortexas.org.

The CDC-funded Together TakeMeHome program mails free HIV self-tests to anyone aged 17 or older in the U.S. who has not been diagnosed with HIV. Each package has two tests, and you can reorder every 90 days.

To find other options, CDC's GetTested locator at gettested.cdc.gov lets you look up testing sites by ZIP code.

PrEP and PEP in Dallas

Texas DSHS lists 22 Dallas PrEP providers in its PrEP directory. They include Prism Health North Texas, Parkland, AHF, Planned Parenthood of Greater Texas, the Children's Health Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine Clinic and the Dallas County program. DSHS says PrEP is free for many insured people and that manufacturer and other programs help people who are uninsured or underinsured. It also says PrEP navigators work across Texas. DSHS names no state-run PrEP assistance program.

PrEP and PEP are prescribed by a clinician after an evaluation. PEP is time-sensitive after a possible HIV exposure, so call a clinic or urgent care promptly if that applies to you.

Your rights, privacy and reporting in Texas

Minors and consent

Texas Family Code Section 32.003 lets a minor of any age consent to diagnosis and treatment of a reportable infectious, contagious or communicable disease. Parent or guardian consent is not necessary. Texas DSHS says this includes HIV.

The same section lets a physician tell a parent or guardian about the treatment, with or without the minor's consent. It is permitted, not required. So the law does not promise that a provider will never tell a parent. If privacy is a concern, ask the clinic about its practice before the visit.

Reporting to the health department

Texas DSHS lists chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis at every stage, HIV and AIDS as notifiable conditions in its Texas Notifiable Conditions 2026 list. That means labs and clinicians report positive results to public health. This reporting is how the numbers in this guide exist. Reporting deadlines range from within one work day to within one week, depending on the condition.

HIV and the law

CDC's 2023 review of HIV and STD criminalization laws placed Texas in its category of states with no HIV-specific or STD-specific criminal exposure law. General criminal laws can still apply. If you have legal questions, a legal aid organization can give advice for your situation.

Putting the numbers to use

The data tell a clear story about Dallas County. Chlamydia and gonorrhea rates were higher than the Texas rates in 2022, and syphilis and HIV are active public health priorities. They also tell you that most of these infections can be found with a simple test and that bacterial infections can be cured with treatment from a clinician.

A rate is about a community. Your health is about you. If you have questions about whether and when to test, a clinician can help you decide. If you are ready to test, call one of the Dallas clinics above, check gettested.cdc.gov, or order a free kit through Test for Texas.

STD Rates in Dallas: What the Latest Data Shows