STD Rates in Maryland
CDC surveillance data for Maryland covering chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis, and HIV — with 15-year trends, state comparisons, and national rankings.
Maryland sits in the top quarter of all states for STD burden, ranking 11th out of 50 in 2023 with a combined rate of 801.1 per 100,000 people — about 26% above the national median. That alone puts Maryland in a different category from most states. But the more telling detail is what happened in a single year: chlamydia and gonorrhea each rose 14.4% from 2022 to 2023, one of the sharper single-year jumps in recent state history.
Chlamydia is Maryland's highest-volume disease, with nearly 36,000 cases diagnosed in 2023 at a rate of 579.8 per 100,000 — roughly 23% above the national median of 471.3. The rate has been climbing since the mid-2000s, dipped during the pandemic years, and then bounced back hard. The 14.4% jump from 2022 to 2023 erased most of what looked like a modest post-COVID correction and pushed rates close to the 2019 peak of 624.9.
Gonorrhea is where Maryland's long-run trajectory becomes harder to dismiss. The rate has risen more than 75% since 2008 — from 118.0 to 207.1 per 100,000 — and now sits 36% above the national median of 152.2. Syphilis tells a slightly different story: at 14.2 per 100,000, it's fractionally below the national median of 14.8, though it has more than doubled since 2008 and jumped nearly 12% in 2023 alone. Both diseases are moving in the same direction at the same time.
Maryland's HIV picture has been shifting more slowly. New diagnoses fell from just over 1,000 in 2017 to 746 in 2022 — a rate of 14.3 per 100,000 — though the 2020 low of 707 cases likely reflects pandemic-related disruptions to testing and diagnosis rather than a true decline. HIV data lags by two years, so 2022 is the most recent available. If you're in Baltimore, Columbia, or Germantown, STDTest.com can help you find a testing location nearby — because the gap between exposure and diagnosis is where these numbers grow.
STD Trends in Maryland
Maryland's chlamydia rate climbed 14.4% in a single year, from 506.7 in 2022 to 579.8 in 2023 — one of the largest single-year increases the state has seen outside of the general upward trend. The long-run rise since 2008 is 32.8%, but the recent acceleration suggests the post-pandemic dip was temporary. At 23% above the national median, Maryland's chlamydia burden isn't just elevated — it's moving away from the middle, not toward it.
Gonorrhea has more than doubled in Maryland over the past 15 years, rising 75.5% since 2008 and landing 36% above the national median in 2023. After a brief plateau around 2022, the rate jumped another 14.4% in a single year to reach 207.1 per 100,000. That combination — a long climb followed by a sharp recent spike — makes gonorrhea the most notable trend in Maryland's current STD data.
Syphilis in Maryland has more than doubled since 2008, rising 111.9% over the long run — the steepest proportional increase of any of the three diseases tracked here. Despite that trajectory, the 2023 rate of 14.2 per 100,000 sits just below the national median of 14.8, meaning Maryland is near the middle of the pack nationally even after years of growth. The 11.8% year-over-year increase in 2023 keeps the trend pointed upward.
Maryland's HIV data covers 2017 through 2022 — the most recent year available given standard surveillance lag. New diagnoses declined from 1,007 in 2017 to 746 in 2022, a rate of 14.3 per 100,000. The 2020 drop to 707 cases almost certainly reflects reduced testing access during the pandemic rather than an actual decline in transmission, and the modest uptick in 2021 and 2022 is consistent with that pattern.
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Maryland vs National Average
Comparing 2023 rates against the U.S. median across all 50 states.
| Infection | Maryland | US Median | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chlamydia | 579.8 | 471.3 | 23% above |
| Gonorrhea | 207.1 | 152.2 | 36.1% above |
| Syphilis (P&S) | 14.2 | 14.8 | 4.1% below |
What the numbers mean — and what to do about them
Maryland's combined STD rate of 801.1 per 100,000 translates to roughly 49,500 diagnosed cases of chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis in a single year — in a state of about 6.2 million people. That's one of the higher per-capita burdens in the country, placing Maryland 11th out of 50 states. The number of undiagnosed cases is, by definition, unknown, but given how frequently these infections produce no symptoms, the diagnosed count is almost certainly an undercount.
The trend that warrants the most attention is gonorrhea. A 75% rise over 15 years, followed by a 14.4% single-year jump, points to sustained transmission in communities where testing and treatment aren't keeping pace with spread. Gonorrhea is asymptomatic in a large share of cases — particularly in women — which means people carry and transmit the infection without ever feeling sick. The same dynamic applies to chlamydia, where Maryland's rate sits 23% above the national median and accelerated sharply in 2023 after a brief post-pandemic dip. These diseases spread quietly, and the data reflects only the people who got tested.
If you live in Baltimore, Columbia, or Germantown, the case for routine testing isn't abstract — Maryland's numbers put you in one of the higher-burden states in the country, and the trends in 2023 moved in the wrong direction. Annual testing is a reasonable floor for sexually active adults; more frequent testing makes sense if you have multiple partners or haven't been tested recently. Maryland's gonorrhea rate has more than doubled in a generation largely without most people noticing. STDTest.com can show you where to get tested today.
WHO SHOULD GET TESTED
Sexually active adults in Maryland, particularly those in or near Baltimore where disease burden is concentrated. Maryland's gonorrhea rate is 36% above the national median and its chlamydia rate is 23% above — both infections disproportionately affect people under 35 and are overwhelmingly asymptomatic, meaning the only way to know your status is to test.
HOW OFTEN
At least once a year if you're sexually active — and every three to six months if you have multiple partners. Maryland's chlamydia and gonorrhea rates both jumped 14.4% in 2023 after appearing to stabilize, which means the risk environment shifted. Waiting for symptoms is not a reliable strategy when most infections produce none.
WHAT TO EXPECT
Most STD tests involve a urine sample or swab and take only a few minutes. Results typically come back within one to three days. Many clinics in Maryland offer confidential or anonymous testing, and treatment for chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis is straightforward when caught early. The test itself is the hardest part for most people — and it's not very hard.
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