Which US City has the Most STDs?

Tourism boards love to brag about how great their cities are, whether they're the choicest foodie destinations or the best places to start a career. One statistic they're not as keen on spreading, ironically enough, is the prevalence of sexually-transmitted diseases among its citizens, for reasons that should be obvious if you've ever Googled the term "Blue Waffle." (Ed note: do not Google the term "Blue Waffle.")

In an attempt to peel off the bandages and expose America's filthy side to the light of day/antibiotics, RentApplication.com used CDC data from 2013 to make an interactive map reflecting reports of syphilis, gonorrhea, and chlamydia across the country -- herpes data isn't collected, which is lucky since herpes is for life, bro. Check it out below:


This map about STD statistics was created and produced by RentApplication.com .

The resulting data's organized into two rankings -- cases per capita, and cases in total -- and as a result tell two very different tales. In the per capita ranking, Montgomery, AL comes out on top with 4,371 total STDs reported (1,899.20 per 100k). St Louis, MO lands in second place, meanwhile, with 5,942 reported infections (1,867.54 per 100k), and West Memphis, AR arrives in third with 859 cases (1717.29 per 100k).

If we're looking at total cases overall, though, New York City takes the number one spot pretty handily with a staggering 72,499 STD reports. Los Angeles follows close by with 64,867 total cases, and Chicago comes from behind in third place with 45,834. Unsurprisingly, this version of the top 10 is nearly identical to the list of the 10 most populous cities in the nation, although Dallas and San Diego are flipped. Also, Detroit sneaks into seventh place despite being 18th in population size, because the Motor City's apparently an overachiever when it comes to awful sex diseases.

Fun fact: if NYC's five boroughs were broken out individually, Brooklyn would actually come in sixth place with 21,987 cases (the most in the city).

Here are both top 10 rankings, in full:

Total Cases:

10. San Antonio, TX (15,193)
9. San Diego, CA (15,706)
8. Dallas, TX (19,847)
7. Detroit, MI (21,056)
6. Phoenix, AZ (23,809)
5. Philadelphia, PA (26,151)
4. Houston, TX (30,578)
3. Chicago, IL (45,834)
2. Los Angeles, CA (64,867)
1. New York, NY (72,499)

Cases Per Capita:

10. Fayetteville, NC (4,826, or 1,489.2 per 100k)
9. Killeen, TX (4,887, or 1,512.83 per 100k)
8. New Orleans, LA (5,614, or 1,520.37 per 100k)
7. Richmond, VA (3,248, or 1,544.39 per 100k)
6. Baltimore, MD (10,134, or 1,630.98 per 100k)
5. Norfolk, VA (4,013, or 1,632.74 per 100k)
4. Philadelphia, PA (26,151, or 1,689.77 per 100k)
3. West Memphis, AR (859, or 1,717.29 per 100k)
2. St Louis, MO (5,942, or 1,867.54 per 100k)
1. Montgomery, AL (4,371, or 1,899.2)

Gianni Jaccoma is a staff writer for Thrillist, and while he's never had an STD, he still loves a good waffle. Follow his disease-free tweets @gjaccoma, and send your news tips to news@thrillist.com