STD Rates in New Jersey
CDC surveillance data for New Jersey covering chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis, and HIV — with 15-year trends, rate comparisons against national medians, and city-level testing resources.
New Jersey ranks 41st out of 50 states in combined STD burden — meaning most states have higher rates. But that ranking obscures something worth paying attention to: nearly every disease tracked here has been climbing for more than a decade, and the state's combined rate of 501.3 per 100,000 still represents tens of thousands of new diagnoses in a single year. Being below average nationally doesn't mean the trend lines are moving in a reassuring direction.
Chlamydia is the most common STD in New Jersey by a wide margin — 35,689 cases in 2023, with a rate of 384.1 per 100,000. That's about 18% below the national median of 471.3, which puts New Jersey in a relatively better position than most states. But the long view tells a different story: the chlamydia rate has risen 48% since 2008. It dipped slightly in 2022, then climbed back 7.3% in 2023. The state hasn't found a ceiling yet.
Gonorrhea is where the long-run numbers get harder to set aside. The rate nearly doubled from 61.2 in 2008 to 109.1 in 2023 — a 78% rise over 15 years. It's still well below the national median of 152.2, but the trajectory has been consistently upward since 2009, when the rate bottomed out at 54.8. Syphilis tells a different story — the only one that moved in a clearly positive direction in 2023. After peaking at 11.0 in 2022, the rate dropped to 8.1, a 26% single-year decline. It remains below the national median of 14.8, and that drop is the sharpest reversal in the dataset.
HIV data runs through 2022 and shows a state that has hovered in a relatively narrow band — between 991 and 1,083 new cases per year from 2017 to 2019, with a notable drop to 750 cases in 2020 that almost certainly reflects testing disruptions during the pandemic rather than a real change in transmission. By 2022, new diagnoses had climbed back to 1,063, with a rate of 13.5 per 100,000. If you're in Newark, Jersey City, or Paterson — cities that carry a disproportionate share of New Jersey's STD burden — STDTest.com can help you find a testing location nearby.
STD Trends in New Jersey
New Jersey's chlamydia rate sits about 18% below the national median, which might suggest the state is in decent shape — but the trend line argues otherwise. The rate has risen nearly 50% since 2008, and after a slight dip in 2022, it jumped 7.3% in a single year to reach 384.1 in 2023. The rebound suggests any plateau was temporary.
Gonorrhea has nearly doubled in New Jersey since 2008, rising from 61.2 to 109.1 per 100,000 — a 78% increase over 15 years. The rate is still below the national median of 152.2, but the gap has narrowed steadily. After a brief dip to 100.7 in 2022, the rate climbed again in 2023, continuing a pattern that has repeated several times in the dataset.
Syphilis dropped 26% in a single year — from 11.0 in 2022 to 8.1 in 2023 — making it the one disease in New Jersey's data that moved sharply in the right direction. Even at its 2022 peak, the rate was below the national median of 14.8. The long-run picture is less reassuring: the rate has tripled since 2008, when it sat at just 2.6 per 100,000.
New Jersey's HIV data covers 2017 through 2022 and shows a relatively stable pattern — new diagnoses ranged from roughly 991 to 1,083 cases annually before the pandemic. The drop to 750 cases in 2020 is almost certainly a reflection of reduced testing access and healthcare disruption, not a genuine decline in transmission. By 2022, new cases had returned to pre-pandemic levels at 1,063, with a rate of 13.5 per 100,000.
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New Jersey vs National Average
Comparing 2023 rates against the U.S. median across all 50 states.
| Infection | New Jersey | US Median | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chlamydia | 384.1 | 471.3 | 18.5% below |
| Gonorrhea | 109.1 | 152.2 | 28.3% below |
| Syphilis (P&S) | 8.1 | 14.8 | 45.3% below |
STD Rates by County
County-level data from CDC surveillance. Ranked by combined rate per 100,000.
| County | State Rank | Combined | Chlamydia | Gonorrhea | Syphilis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cumberland County | #1 of 21 | 1049.1 | 823.9 | 214.0 | 11.2 |
| Essex County | #2 of 21 | 1007.9 | 743.6 | 246.7 | 17.6 |
| Camden County | #3 of 21 | 871.0 | 631.6 | 228.2 | 11.2 |
| Hudson County | #4 of 21 | 666.6 | 487.6 | 167.7 | 11.3 |
| Mercer County | #5 of 21 | 655.0 | 505.4 | 139.4 | 10.2 |
| Atlantic County | #6 of 21 | 653.0 | 491.3 | 147.5 | 14.2 |
| Passaic County | #7 of 21 | 624.5 | 492.8 | 115.3 | 16.4 |
| Salem County | #8 of 21 | 595.4 | 422.4 | 163.8 | 9.2 |
| Union County | #9 of 21 | 594.6 | 452.7 | 131.8 | 10.1 |
| Burlington County | #10 of 21 | 448.2 | 333.8 | 109.3 | 5.1 |
| Gloucester County | #11 of 21 | 437.4 | 329.7 | 103.8 | 3.9 |
| Middlesex County | #12 of 21 | 360.4 | 289.5 | 66.0 | 4.9 |
| Bergen County | #13 of 21 | 298.4 | 236.3 | 57.5 | 4.6 |
| Monmouth County | #14 of 21 | 292.5 | 240.7 | 45.4 | 6.4 |
| Cape May County | #15 of 21 | 267.4 | 225.1 | 41.2 | 1.1 |
| Somerset County | #16 of 21 | 258.3 | 202.1 | 51.0 | 5.2 |
| Warren County | #17 of 21 | 248.0 | 203.1 | 42.2 | 2.7 |
| Morris County | #18 of 21 | 227.6 | 193.2 | 32.3 | 2.1 |
| Ocean County | #19 of 21 | 200.0 | 174.0 | 23.7 | 2.3 |
| Hunterdon County | #20 of 21 | 175.9 | 141.3 | 33.8 | 0.8 |
| Sussex County | #21 of 21 | 166.3 | 134.8 | 27.4 | 4.1 |
What the numbers mean — and what to do about them
New Jersey's combined STD rate of 501.3 per 100,000 sits about 21% below the national median — which sounds reassuring until you translate it into raw numbers. Nearly 46,600 residents were diagnosed with chlamydia, gonorrhea, or syphilis in 2023 alone. In a state of 9.3 million people, those cases are spread across a dense, highly connected population — and the rates have been rising, not falling, for most of the last decade and a half.
The trend that deserves the most attention is gonorrhea's 78% climb since 2008. Gonorrhea is frequently asymptomatic, particularly in women, which means a large share of infections circulate undetected until tested. That's how rates sustain an upward climb over 15 years without a corresponding spike in people seeking care — most don't know they're infected. Chlamydia operates the same way: New Jersey's 7.3% increase in a single year happened largely among people who felt nothing unusual at all.
If you live in New Jersey — especially in or near Newark, Jersey City, or Paterson — the data suggests testing should be a regular part of your healthcare, not something prompted by symptoms. Annual testing is a reasonable floor for anyone sexually active; more often if your situation involves multiple or new partners. New Jersey's gonorrhea rate has nearly doubled since 2008 without most people noticing. STDTest.com can show you exactly where to get tested today.
WHO SHOULD GET TESTED
Anyone sexually active in New Jersey should consider routine testing, but particularly those in urban areas like Newark, Jersey City, and Paterson where STD rates tend to be higher than state averages. Given that gonorrhea rates have nearly doubled since 2008 and chlamydia affects more than 35,000 residents annually, people with new or multiple partners face real exposure — often with no symptoms to prompt them to act.
HOW OFTEN
At least once a year is a reasonable baseline given New Jersey's rising chlamydia and gonorrhea trends. If you have multiple partners, consider testing every three to six months. Syphilis dropped sharply in 2023, but its rate has still tripled since 2008 — it belongs on your testing panel, not just the more common infections.
WHAT TO EXPECT
STD testing is typically quick and straightforward — urine samples or swabs for chlamydia and gonorrhea, a blood draw for syphilis and HIV. Most results come back within a few days. Many clinics in New Jersey offer confidential testing, and some provide same-day appointments. Finding out where you stand is the only way to know.
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