These are the American cities with the highest rates of STDs

By Fusion Staff  |  July 23, 2015 | 6:32pm
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There’s a lot to like about Montgomery, Alabama: its rich history in the civil rights movement, its ties to legendary musicians like Hank Williams and Nat King Cole, and a nationally recognized downtown revitalization campaign.

Unfortunately, it also has the distinction of having the highest rate of sexually transmitted diseases in America, according to a new study by RentApplication.com: Nearly one in 50 Montgomery residents has syphilis, gonorrhea or chlamydia, the study’s data show (the exact rate is 1899.20 per 100,000). The site looked at 2013 data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for metro areas to come up with the interactive map above.

Here’s rest of the top 10 (rates are per 100,000):

2.  St. Louis (Rate: 1867.54)

3.  West Memphis/Memphis (Rate: 1717.29)

4.  Philadelphia (Rate: 1689.77)

5.  Norfolk, Va. [Norfolk Naval Base] (Rate: 1632.74)

6.  Baltimore, Md. (Rate: 1630.98)

7.  Richmond, Va. (Rate: 1544.39)

8.  New Orleans, La. (Rate: 1520.37)

9.  Killeen, Texas [Ft. Hood] (Rate: 1512.83)

10.  Fayetteville, N.C. [Ft. Bragg] (Rate: 1489.2)

The results come even as the growth rate of sexually transmitted diseases has been leveling off in the U.S. for several years.

Alabama is aware of the problem.

“STD rates have always been high in the south,” Lawrence Robey, health officer of Madison County in the state’s north, told AL.com’s Casey Toner last year. “It continues to feed from one generation to the next.”

“I hate to sit here and put everything off on [income],” Robey added. “It’s often a common denominator.”

At nearly 1,000 cases per 100,000 people, the state’s rate is nearly twice the national average (577 per 100,000).

“I hate to sit here and put everything off on money,” Robey said. “It’s often a common denominator.”

Another contributor may be the presence of several Air Force facilities near the city: RentApplication also found that three military installations helped push their cities into the top-10 list of metros with most STDs.

Rob covers business, economics and the environment for Fusion. He previously worked at Business Insider. He grew up in Chicago.

 
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