STD Rates in Utah
CDC surveillance data for Utah covering chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis, and HIV — with trends since 2000, city-level context, and national comparisons.
Utah sits near the bottom of national STD rankings — 44th out of 50 states, with a combined rate of 409.6 per 100,000 people. That puts it well below the national median across all three major STDs. The complication is syphilis, which rose 39% in a single year and has climbed nearly 1,000% since 2008. A state with otherwise modest STD numbers is watching one disease move in a very different direction.
Chlamydia is Utah's most common STD by volume — 11,004 cases in 2023, at a rate of 322 per 100,000. That's about 32% below the national median of 471.3, and it's actually been drifting downward since peaking around 2019. The long-run picture is still a climb — up 46% since 2008 — but the recent trend suggests a plateau, possibly a slow decline. Of the three diseases, chlamydia is where Utah's numbers look most stable.
Gonorrhea is where the last decade gets harder to explain away. From a rate of 17.5 in 2008, Utah hit 108.5 in 2021 — a rise of more than 500%. Since then it's pulled back, dropping 17% in 2023 alone to 77.9 per 100,000. That's still well below the national median of 152.2, but the trajectory over fifteen years is steep. Syphilis tells the opposite story in terms of where it's heading right now: 330 cases in 2023, a rate of 9.7 — below the national median of 14.8, but up sharply, and rising faster than either of the other two diseases.
Utah's HIV data runs through 2022, when the state recorded 152 new diagnoses at a rate of 5.6 per 100,000 — the highest in the dataset. The trend has moved mostly upward since 2017, with a brief dip in 2020 that likely reflects pandemic-related disruptions to testing rather than a real change in transmission. If you're in Salt Lake City, West Valley City, or Provo, STDTest.com can help you find a testing location nearby.
STD Trends in Utah
Utah's chlamydia rate has been easing down from its 2019 peak of 345.5, landing at 322 per 100,000 in 2023 — a modest but consistent pullback over four years. The rate sits about 32% below the national median of 471.3, which makes chlamydia the one area where Utah's numbers look genuinely contained. The long-run rise since 2008 is still 46%, but the recent trend suggests the curve has flattened rather than continued climbing.
Gonorrhea in Utah has had one of the more striking arcs in the state's STD data — rising more than 500% between 2008 and its 2021 peak of 108.5 per 100,000. The good news is it's been falling since: down 17% in 2023 to 77.9, which puts it about half the national median of 152.2. Whether that decline holds or reverses is the question — the long-run climb was steep enough that a single year of improvement doesn't erase the trend.
Syphilis is the fastest-moving number in Utah's STD data right now — up 39% in a single year, from 7.0 per 100,000 in 2022 to 9.7 in 2023. The rate is still below the national median of 14.8, but the direction has been consistently upward since 2011, when the rate was just 0.5. Since 2008, syphilis in Utah has risen nearly 1,000% — a figure that stands out sharply against the state's otherwise below-median profile.
Utah's HIV data covers 2017 through 2022, the most recent year available. New diagnoses rose from 115 in 2017 to 152 in 2022, with the rate climbing from 4.7 to 5.6 per 100,000 over that span. The dip in 2020 — down to 132 cases — almost certainly reflects reduced testing access during the pandemic rather than a real slowdown in transmission, as the numbers rebounded the following year.
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Utah vs National Average
Comparing 2023 rates against the U.S. median across all 50 states.
| Infection | Utah | US Median | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chlamydia | 322 | 471.3 | 31.7% below |
| Gonorrhea | 77.9 | 152.2 | 48.8% below |
| Syphilis (P&S) | 9.7 | 14.8 | 34.5% below |
What the numbers mean — and what to do about them
Utah's combined STD rate of 409.6 per 100,000 translates to roughly 14,000 new diagnoses in 2023 across chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis. For a state of 3.4 million people, that puts Utah in the bottom quarter nationally — most states are dealing with significantly higher case volumes. But averages flatten what's actually happening: nearly 11,000 of those cases are chlamydia, a disease that rarely causes symptoms and often goes undetected without deliberate testing.
The trend worth watching is syphilis. It was nearly absent in Utah at the start of the century — a rate of 0.1 in 2000 — and has been climbing steadily for over a decade. A 39% year-over-year jump in 2023 is the kind of move that suggests the disease is finding new transmission networks, not just being counted more carefully. Gonorrhea, meanwhile, quintupled between 2008 and its 2021 peak before pulling back — a reminder that below-median rates can still represent significant underlying spread when the long-run trend is that steep.
If you live in Salt Lake City, West Valley City, or Provo and haven't tested recently, Utah's data makes a reasonable case for doing so — especially given how quietly chlamydia and syphilis move through a population. Utah's syphilis rate nearly tripled in the last five years without most people noticing. STDTest.com can show you where to get tested today.
WHO SHOULD GET TESTED
Sexually active adults in Utah, particularly those in Salt Lake City and Provo where population density drives a disproportionate share of cases. Given Utah's syphilis trajectory — up nearly 1,000% since 2008 — anyone who hasn't been tested in the past year should prioritize it, especially if they've had new or multiple partners. Gonorrhea and chlamydia remain largely asymptomatic, so risk isn't always visible.
HOW OFTEN
Once a year is a reasonable floor for sexually active adults. Given that Utah's gonorrhea rate rose more than 500% over a decade and syphilis jumped 39% in a single year, people with multiple partners or inconsistent condom use may want to test every three to six months. Chlamydia rates have stabilized, but they remain elevated enough that routine screening still makes sense.
WHAT TO EXPECT
Most STD tests involve a urine sample, a blood draw, or a swab — the process is quick, typically takes under 15 minutes, and results are confidential. Many clinics in Salt Lake City, West Valley City, and Provo offer walk-in or same-day appointments. If a result comes back positive, treatment for chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis is straightforward with antibiotics.
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