Southern states can regularly exceed these figures, such as in Louisiana, where 30% of the black population lives in poverty.
In 2018, the poverty rate among black Americans was 22% versus 9% in whites. The CDC reports that syphilis, chlamydia, and gonorrhea in black men occur at 4.5, 6.6, and 8.9 times the rate, respectively, of white men in the U.S. Higher rates of co-occurring sexually transmitted diseases only increase the risk.
Anal sex remains among the highest risk factors associated with HIV infection, carrying an 18-fold greater risk of transmission when compared to vaginal sex.
