HIV Statistics by State 2026

Human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV, is a virus that weakens a person’s immune system by attacking cells that fight off infection, specifically a person’s CD4 cells. HIV is spread through body fluids such as blood. If HIV goes untreated and advances, it can lead to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome or AIDS. Unlike most other viruses, when a person contracts HIV, they have it for life because the human body cannot fight off the virus entirely. HIV, however, can be controlled and its progression can be slowed significantly. There are three stages of HIV: acute HIV infection, clinical latency (HIV inactivity or dormancy), and AIDS.

HIV Around the World

For historical context, the World Health Organization estimated that about 37.9 million people worldwide were living with HIV in 2018. HIV is believed to have come from a type of chimpanzee in Central Africa, where the chimpanzee version of the virus, simian immunodeficiency virus or SIV, was transmitted to humans when they hunted the animal and came into contact with the blood. Once the virus was transmitted to humans, it mutated into HIV. It is believed that HIV was first transmitted in the 1800s and spread slowly across Africa and later into the rest of the world, reaching the United States around the mid to late 1970s.

HIV Treatment

Although HIV cannot be cured, it can be controlled and treated through viral load suppression, also known as antiretroviral therapy (ART). ART reduces the viral load (amount of the virus) in the body’s blood and fluids. ART can not only slow the progression of HIV but also reduces the chances of transmitting the virus to other people. ART is recommended for all people diagnosed with HIV and should be started as soon as possible after diagnosis.

In 2018, 23.3 million of the estimated 37.9 million people living with HIV worldwide were receiving ART—about 62%. Receiving treatment is not the same measure as achieving viral suppression. While accessibility to testing and treatment has significantly improved around the world, poverty, gender equality, and HIV stigma and discrimination are major barriers to HIV prevention and treatment in many countries.

UNAIDS, the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS, is the world’s leading advocate for the comprehensive and coordinated global action against the HIV/AIDS pandemic. In 2014, UNAIDS established the 90-90-90 goals, which called for countries around the world to get 90% of people living with HIV diagnosed; 90% of those diagnosed accessing treatment, and 90% of people on treatment to have suppressed viral loads by 2020.

HIV in the United States

According to the CDC’s 2024 HIV Diagnoses, Deaths, and Prevalence data release, 1,142,538 people aged 13 and older were living with diagnosed HIV in the United States at the end of 2024. This figure covers the 50 states and the District of Columbia and does not include people whose HIV had not been diagnosed. The release was published in May 2026 and uses provisional data reported to CDC through December 2025.

In 2024, CDC recorded 38,434 HIV diagnoses among people aged 13 and older in the United States. Of those diagnoses, approximately 39% were among Black/African American people, 33% among Hispanic/Latino people, and 21% among White people. These figures come from the U.S.-only tables in the 2024 data release, rather than the broader totals that also include seven territories and freely associated states.

In the United States, there are five categories of laws pertaining to HIV and other STDs. As of 2018, 26 states have HIV-specific laws that criminalize behaviors that can potentially expose another person to HIV.

States with the Largest Numbers of People Living with Diagnosed HIV

The following figures are from tables 16 and 17 of the CDC’s 2024 HIV surveillance data release. They describe people aged 13 and older living with diagnosed HIV at year-end 2024. Rates are per 100,000 residents aged 13 and older. The states are ranked by total number of people living with diagnosed HIV, not by prevalence rate; the District of Columbia and territories are excluded from this state ranking.

California had the largest number, with 143,488 people aged 13 and older living with diagnosed HIV, a rate of 427.4 per 100,000 residents in that age group. Hispanic/Latino people were the largest racial or ethnic group, with 62,953 people, followed by White people, with 44,812.

New York had the second-largest number, with 127,661 people aged 13 and older living with diagnosed HIV, a rate of 748.9 per 100,000 residents in that age group. Hispanic/Latino people were the largest racial or ethnic group, with 48,072 people, followed by Black/African American people, with 46,125.

Florida had the third-largest number, with 126,256 people aged 13 and older living with diagnosed HIV, a rate of 624.8 per 100,000 residents in that age group. Black/African American people were the largest racial or ethnic group, with 52,995 people.

Texas had the fourth-largest number, with 114,212 people aged 13 and older living with diagnosed HIV, a rate of 441.2 per 100,000 residents in that age group. Hispanic/Latino people were the largest racial or ethnic group, with 44,869 people, followed by Black/African American people, with 38,207.

Georgia had the fifth-largest number, with 63,219 people aged 13 and older living with diagnosed HIV, a rate of 671.4 per 100,000 residents in that age group. Black/African American people accounted for 42,259 of those living with diagnosed HIV, or about 67%.