Hidalgo County has new HIV diagnoses about 12% higher than the US average. If you live in Alamo, Texas, and need testing for a one-time concern or regular check-ups, weigh the immediacy of walk-in clinics against the flexibility of lab testing or at-home kits. Explore your options below.
Available testing centers
9 testing options are listed for Alamo, TX. The nearest, Nuestra Clinica del Valle - Women's Health Center, is about 3.1 miles away. Compare community and public clinics, private labs, and at-home kits below.
Listings tagged Community health center are federally funded health centers and rural clinics that treat everyone regardless of insurance or ability to pay: required to bill on a sliding fee scale and provide confidential care, and in many states minors may consent to their own STI testing. A Title X tag flags centers funded for confidential family-planning services; confirm current participation when you call.
Source: CMS FQHC & Rural Health Clinic enrollment files (data.cms.gov), refreshed quarterly. Title X status reflects the latest OPA grantee list.
Nuestra Clinica del Valle - Women's Health Center, in San Juan, meets patients where they are (whether uninsured, between providers, or paying out of pocket) through federally qualified status that anchors sliding-scale fees to income. Walk-in STI screening covers syphilis, gonorrhea, and chlamydia without requiring an appointment.
Tests offered
Fees & payment
A public STD-testing site about 3 miles from Alamo.
Languages
English, Spanish
Tests offered
Serves
Care services
Prevention services
Fees & payment
Listing verified Mar 2026 · Source: CDC NPIN
Nuestra Clinica Del Valle in Donna structures its fees on a sliding scale tied to income, so cost is not a barrier to care. Walk-ins are welcome for STI screening that covers syphilis, gonorrhea, and chlamydia. No appointment needed to get tested.
Tests offered
Fees & payment
ASAS Health in McAllen grounds STI care inside an established community health framework, folding gonorrhea, chlamydia, syphilis, HIV, hepatitis A, B, and C, and TB screening into a single appointment alongside treatment, HPV and hepatitis vaccines, and sliding-scale fees scaled to income.
Languages
English
Tests offered
Care services
Prevention services
Fees & payment
Listing verified Jul 2025 · Source: CDC NPIN
El Milagro Clinic in McAllen sees patients without an appointment, covering gonorrhea, chlamydia, syphilis, HIV, herpes, hepatitis B and C, and TB on a sliding-scale fee. With bacterial infections treated the same visit and HPV and hepatitis A vaccines available on-site.
Across much of the STI testing landscape, Spanish-speaking patients navigate care through makeshift arrangements that sit outside the clinical conversation itself. At El Milagro Clinic, Spanish is the language the clinical team actually works in: history-taking, results, treatment decisions, and counseling all happen in it directly.
The default STI panel at most walk-in clinics ends at gonorrhea, chlamydia, syphilis, and HIV. Leaving herpes and hepatitis testing as something to arrange elsewhere. El Milagro Clinic folds herpes, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C into the same visit, so a fuller picture of exposure comes back without a second appointment.
Languages
English, Spanish
Tests offered
Serves
Care services
Prevention services
Fees & payment
Listing verified Apr 2026 · Source: CDC NPIN
Free tool · not a clinic
Testing too soon can miss an infection. Enter the date of possible exposure to see the earliest a test can reliably detect each STI.
| Infection | Earliest reliable test | Conclusive after |
|---|---|---|
| Chlamydia | 7 days after exposure | 14 days after exposure |
| Gonorrhea | 7 days after exposure | 14 days after exposure |
| Trichomoniasis | 7 days after exposure | 28 days after exposure |
| HIV (NAT / RNA) | 10 days after exposure | 33 days after exposure |
| HIV (4th-gen Ag/Ab) | 18 days after exposure | 45 days after exposure |
| HIV (antibody) | 21 days after exposure | 84 days after exposure |
| Syphilis | 21 days after exposure | 42 days after exposure |
| Hepatitis B | 21 days after exposure | 42 days after exposure |
| Hepatitis C | 56 days after exposure | 77 days after exposure |
| Herpes (HSV) | 28 days after exposure | 112 days after exposure |
Guidance only, confirm timing with a clinician. A negative result before the conclusive date may need a repeat test.
Typical out-of-pocket ranges by option, actual cost depends on which tests you need.
Public / community clinic
Free HIV testing is common
Private lab (self-pay)
Never billed to insurance
At-home kit
Mailed to your door, private
Doctor / urgent care
Often $0 preventive with insurance
No centers match those filters. Clear the service-type filter or the opening-hours filters to see every center.
Every other option
Beyond the dedicated testing centers above: at-home kits by mail, hospital labs certified for STI testing, local clinicians who can order a panel during a regular visit, pharmacies for self-test kits and prescriptions, and online PrEP & treatment.
Test from home
The nearest testing center is about 3 miles away; if you'd rather skip the trip, an at-home kit ships to Alamo, you collect the sample privately, and mail it back to a CLIA-certified lab. Results come online in days, with a clinician available if anything is positive. Same labs as a clinic, no waiting room, and you can read how accurate at-home STD tests are before you order.
Want a free option first? The CDC-supported TakeMeHome (opens in a new tab) program mails free at-home HIV self-test kits, and, in many areas, free STI kits, to your door, with no insurance or payment needed. The paid kits below add broader panels and faster turnaround.
In-home collection
$79 & up
Best range: couples & full panels
$79 & up
Best for simplicity & support
$89 & up
Every kit uses CLIA-certified labs. At-home testing is for screening; a reactive result should be confirmed and treated by a clinician. Prices and panels shown are illustrative and change often, confirm current details on the provider's site.
Also in the area
Beyond the public testing sites above, these federally certified (CLIA) labs serve Hidalgo County, each lab's town is shown on its card below. Many test through a doctor's order or by appointment rather than walk-in, so call ahead to confirm STD/STI testing and availability before visiting.
140 East Frontage Road, Alamo, TX 78516
CMS-certified lab Accredited · College of American Pathologists
401 South Alamo, Alamo, TX 78516
CMS-certified lab
115 South Alamo Road, Alamo, TX 78516
CMS-certified lab Accredited · COLA
1003 East Frontage Road, Alamo, TX 78516
CMS-certified lab Accredited · COLA
427 East Duranta Suite 103, Alamo, TX 78516
CMS-certified lab Accredited · COLA
Showing the nearest 5 CLIA-certified labs.
Source: CMS CLIA registry (Provider of Services), Q1 2026. Federal public records: active CLIA-certified laboratories near Alamo. A CLIA certificate records only that a laboratory is federally certified — it does not confirm the site performs STD testing, nor its hours, price or access. Inclusion is not an endorsement; always call to verify.
Local clinicians
Beyond dedicated clinics, 448 primary-care, OB-GYN, infectious-disease and other clinicians have a CMS practice record within 30 miles of Alamo. They may be able to evaluate symptoms or order a confidential STD panel during a regular visit, and 96 offer telehealth.
Audrey Jones, DO Telehealth
Family medicine · 803 Main Street, Alamo
Rene Vela, MD Telehealth
Family medicine · 427 East Duranta, Alamo
Donna Joule, MD Telehealth
Family medicine · 1214 South Alamo Road, Alamo
Jean Rochelin, MD
Family medicine · 140 Frontage Road, Alamo
Mario Vasquez Aguilar, MD
Family medicine · 417 West Fm, San Juan
Nelson Mata, MD
Internal medicine · 603 South Nebraska Avenue, San Juan
These are registry-listed clinicians, not dedicated STD-testing clinics. CMS records do not independently verify current licensure, testing services, availability, price, or new-patient status. Confirm each detail before booking. Source: CMS Doctors & Clinicians.
Nearby pharmacies
No pharmacy near Alamo, TX publishes an STD-related service or holds a current CLIA testing certificate, so these are simply the closest. Contact a location directly to confirm counter hours, services, prices, and availability before visiting.
Medinas Pharmacy
0.4 miHamarsyl Pharmacy
0.4 miLifechek Drug
0.4 miAbc-Alamo Pharmacy
0.4 mi
0.6 mi Divine Pharmacy
0.8 miShowing the 6 closest pharmacies to Alamo, TX.
Directory records identify nearby pharmacies. Service, stock, price, and hours information is shown only when supported by current location-specific evidence.
Prevention & treatment
Testing is one step. For residents of Alamo, telehealth covers the rest: HIV-prevention medication (PrEP) and DoxyPEP to lower future risk, and discreet online treatment if a result comes back positive. All prescribed by licensed U.S. clinicians.
Visit from $0 insured
Telehealth STI treatment and sexual-health care, delivered or to your pharmacy
$0 with most insurance
Free online PrEP & DoxyPEP: HIV prevention, home lab kits, no in-person visit
From $0 insured
Telehealth PrEP & DoxyPEP with at-home testing and ongoing monitoring
Visit from $39
Online STI treatment & DoxyPEP: same-day prescriptions to your pharmacy
Pricing varies by insurance and changes often, confirm on the provider's site. These services are not a substitute for emergency care.
STD stats & rates
How reported STI rates in Hidalgo County, the county that includes Alamo, compare with Texas and U.S. averages, based on the most recent 2023 surveillance data. An estimated ~29% of residents are aged 15–34 (ACS), the age group with the highest reported chlamydia and gonorrhea rates nationally.
#78 of 254 Texas counties for chlamydia, a higher rate than 69% of the state
| Infection | Hidalgo County | Texas | United States |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chlamydia | 392.2 3,524 cases ▼ 20% | 491.9 | 492.2 |
| Gonorrhea | 82.8 744 cases ▼ 53% | 176.4 | 179.5 |
| Syphilis (P&S) | 9.3 84 cases ▼ 38% | 15 | 15.8 |
| Syphilis (early) | 13.5 121 cases ▼ 49% | 26.4 | 16 |
| Syphilis (late/unknown) | 32.7 294 cases ▼ 26% | 44.3 | 29.5 |
Rates per 100,000 population, 2023. Source: CDC NCHHSTP AtlasPlus (county, state & U.S., all-ages basis). Population figures: U.S. Census Bureau ACS. These figures are the latest available surveillance estimates. Bars are scaled to the highest rate shown.
Reading these numbers: reported case rates only count infections that were actually tested for and diagnosed, so they track local screening effort as much as true spread: a higher rate can reflect more testing, a lower one less. Either way, most STIs cause no symptoms, so treat the figures above as context rather than a verdict, and test on the CDC's schedule regardless of how your area looks.
Between 2020 and 2023 in Hidalgo County, chlamydia has risen from 358.4 to 392.2 per 100,000 (9%), gonorrhea has risen from 71.1 to 82.8 per 100,000 (16%), and P&S syphilis has risen from 3.8 to 9.3 per 100,000 (145%).
The 2020 dip reflects reduced pandemic-era screening, not lower transmission. Source: CDC NCHHSTP AtlasPlus (county, state & U.S., all-ages basis).
Community health context
Sources: CDC PLACES (ZIP), County Health Rankings, CDC/ATSDR SVI, HRSA HPSA, HRSA MUA/P, Neighborhood Atlas ADI. Lower insurance coverage, fewer routine checkups, and a thin primary-care ratio all raise the value of low-cost public clinics and at-home testing in Hidalgo County.
Local HIV snapshot
Hidalgo County HIV care continuum (2023)
Hidalgo County recorded 15.3 new HIV diagnoses per 100,000 (2023), against 20.2 statewide and 13.7 nationally. Among Hidalgo County residents living with HIV, 77.3% are in care · 71.4% are virally suppressed. Early, routine testing is what moves these numbers: it is the entry point to PrEP, treatment, and viral suppression.
Sources: AIDSVu (Emory/Gilead) · CDC AHEAD · CDC AtlasPlus · CDC NCHHSTP AtlasPlus (county care continuum). The CDC recommends everyone aged 13–64 test for HIV at least once: every lab and clinic listed above offers HIV testing, and free rapid HIV testing is available at a local health department.
Congenital syphilis, passed from parent to baby in pregnancy, is the fastest-rising STI in the country. U.S. cases climbed from 2,163 in 2020 to 3,882 in 2023. It is almost entirely preventable: the CDC recommends a syphilis test at the first prenatal visit, and every clinic and lab listed for Hidalgo County tests for syphilis.
Source: CDC NCHHSTP AtlasPlus, 2023 (county-level congenital syphilis is not published).
Local resources & officials
Data & references
Local context
East 5th Street stretches through the middle of Alamo with the kind of flat, sun-bleached calm that makes a clinic errand feel manageable. Until the afternoon heat or a single-car household turns a ten-minute drive into a genuine calculation. That calculation matters here because a substantial share of Alamo residents are in the years, late teens through early thirties, when STIs circulate most actively and when people are least likely to schedule anything that feels like an obstacle. Most households in Alamo are owner-occupied and multigenerational, averaging nearly four people under one roof, which means privacy, scheduling around shared vehicles, and the rhythms of a 50-percent labor-force participation rate all factor into whether someone actually follows through.
With more than half of adults married and household budgets often stretched (typical rents sit low, but so do typical home values, and high earners are scarce) even a modest out-of-pocket cost can quietly become a reason to wait. The clinics listed on this page address that directly, with fee structures built for a community where most income stays close to the ground. Hidalgo County's STI rates give real urgency to the options here. Whether someone lives near Lions Park or closer to San Juan, the practical question is the same: which of these locations fits the car situation, the work schedule, and the copay reality of an actual Alamo household.
Getting there
At 7.86/20 on the EPA walkability index, day-to-day errands in Alamo generally mean driving: plan on a car or rideshare to reach a clinic, and check each listing's hours and phone before you go.
Source: EPA National Walkability Index 2021.
ZIP 78516 snapshot
ZIP-level Census figures for the wider 78516 area around Alamo: a single ZIP can span several communities, so they describe the area, not Alamo alone.
Alamo sits in Hidalgo County, ZIP 78516. Local context that shapes where residents test:
Local landmarks
Neighborhoods & communities
Major routes
Nearby cities & towns
Just outside Alamo? These nearby communities have their own testing guides: clinics, at-home kits, and free screening close to home.
Reference
Everything to know before you test in Hidalgo County: the CDC's screening guidelines, each infection's detection window, per-test reference prices, and your privacy rights under Texas law. If you have symptoms right now, our confidential symptom checker maps them to the tests worth considering.
Based on current CDC screening recommendations.
| Group | Tests | How often |
|---|---|---|
| Everyone aged 13–64 | HIV | At least once |
| Sexually active women under 25 | Chlamydia, gonorrhea | Every year |
| Women 25+ with new or multiple partners | Chlamydia, gonorrhea | Every year |
| Pregnant people | HIV, syphilis, hepatitis B & C, chlamydia | Early in pregnancy |
| Gay & bisexual men (MSM) | Chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis, HIV | Every 3–6 months |
| Anyone who shares injection equipment | HIV, hepatitis B & C | At least yearly |
| All adults at least once | Hepatitis C | At least once |
Testing too early can return a false negative, confirm timing with an Alamo-area provider.
| Infection | Earliest reliable test | Sample |
|---|---|---|
| Chlamydia | 1–2 weeks | Urine or swab |
| Gonorrhea | 1–2 weeks | Urine or swab |
| Trichomoniasis | 1–4 weeks | Urine or swab |
| HIV (NAT / RNA) | 10–33 days | Blood |
| HIV (4th-gen Ag/Ab) | 18–45 days | Blood |
| HIV (antibody) | 3–12 weeks | Blood / oral |
| Syphilis | 3–6 weeks | Blood |
| Hepatitis B | 3–6 weeks | Blood |
| Hepatitis C | 8–11 weeks | Blood |
| Herpes (HSV) | 4–16 weeks (antibody); swab a sore | Blood / swab |
These are the federal Medicare reference prices for processing each lab test. Public clinics and the community health centers serving Alamo often test free or on a sliding scale; private labs and at-home kits bundle several tests into one fee. Use this as a per-test benchmark before you pay out of pocket, or see the full guide to STD test costs for insurance, free, and at-home options.
| Test | Reference price | CPT / HCPCS |
|---|---|---|
| Chlamydia (NAAT) | $47.80 | 87491 |
| Gonorrhea (NAAT) | $47.80 | 87591 |
| Trichomoniasis (NAAT) | $47.76 | 87661 |
| HIV-1/2 antigen/antibody | $26.87 | 87389 |
| HIV-1/2 antibody | $22.44 | 86703 |
| Syphilis (RPR/VDRL) | $5.61 | 86592 |
| Syphilis (treponemal antibody) | $17.49 | 86780 |
| Herpes (HSV NAAT) | $47.76 | 87529 |
| Hepatitis B surface antigen | $15.33 | 87340 |
| Hepatitis C antibody | $29.16 | 86803 |
Source: Medicare Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule, CMS, 2025 rates (data.cms.gov). Reference rate for the lab assay only: a clinic visit, sample collection, or a bundled multi-test panel may cost more. Medicaid and most insurers cover STD screening at no out-of-pocket cost.
Two things that actually depend on Texas law: who can consent, and whether partners can be treated without their own visit. Everything else about testing privately is the same nationwide (see below).
In Texas, a minor of any age can consent to confidential STI testing and treatment on their own, no parental permission is required.
Texas permits Expedited Partner Therapy (EPT): if you test positive for chlamydia or gonorrhea, your provider can give you medication (or a prescription) to pass to your partner, no separate exam or appointment needed for them.
Keeping a test private works the same in every state. Whether an STD test shows on insurance (the EOB), how to test anonymously, and self-pay options that leave no insurance trail don’t change by location.
Learn more about confidential STD testing in TexasSource: Guttmacher Institute, Minors' Access to STI Services; CDC, Legal Status of Expedited Partner Therapy. General information, not legal advice.
Good to Know
Answers to the questions people ask most before getting tested.
Yes, several local labs offer same-day walk-in testing; best to call first.
Usually yes, it can be billed to insurance, or paid out of pocket at a flat rate.
Public health clinics nearby provide free testing.
A full panel typically covers chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis, HIV, and hepatitis B and C.
Hidalgo County reported ~392 chlamydia cases per 100,000 in 2023, below the Texas average.
In Texas, people under 18 can consent to confidential STD testing and treatment on their own.
Most results are ready in about 1–2 days.
Clinics give immediate care and treatment; home kits win on convenience and discretion. Either works.
Pregnancy screening is standard; ask about an early-pregnancy STI panel.
Telling recent partners lets them test and treat; many health departments offer confidential partner-notification help.
Have a different question? Browse the full STD & STI FAQ library, every question we answer, in one place.