Gonorrhea is about 68% less common in Colorado County than national averages. Many in Columbus, Texas, consider STI tests before starting a new relationship or as part of ongoing care. Choosing between a clinic visit and an at-home kit depends on whether you prefer personal guidance and immediate treatment or the convenience of mailing in a self-collected sample. See your options below.
Available testing centers
8 testing options are listed for Columbus, TX. The nearest, Tejas Health Care Medical Center, is about 23.4 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.
Tejas Health Care Medical Center in La Grange meets people where they are (uninsured, between providers, or paying cash) through federally qualified standing that ties fees to income. Walk-ins can access sliding-scale STI screening for syphilis, gonorrhea, and chlamydia without an appointment.
Tests offered
Fees & payment
Tejas Health Care in La Grange structures its fees on a sliding scale tied to income, so cost is never a barrier to care. Federal qualification backs that commitment. Walk-ins are welcome for STI screening covering syphilis, gonorrhea, and chlamydia.
Tests offered
Fees & payment
Texas Department of State Health Services in Bellville runs STI care through a state public health infrastructure, covering gonorrhea, chlamydia, and rapid HIV testing on a sliding-scale fee open to all. Appointments are required; bacterial STIs are treated the same visit, and HPV, hepatitis A, and hepatitis B vaccines are on-site. Spanish and interpretation services are available.
Spanish-speaking staff and interpretation services for other languages are part of how appointments run here, not arranged separately afterward. For anyone navigating a sensitive health concern, being able to ask follow-up questions and understand next steps in real time shapes whether a visit actually sticks.
DoxyPEP, doxycycline taken after potential bacterial STI exposure, is available as a standing prevention service at this clinic. That means patients with an ongoing exposure risk can establish care, discuss the protocol, and leave with access to it without coordinating a separate prescriber.
Languages
English, Interpretation Services Available for Non-English Languages, Spanish
Tests offered
Serves
Care services
Prevention services
Fees & payment
Listing verified Mar 2026 · Source: CDC NPIN
A public safety-net rural health clinic about 25 miles from Columbus. Sliding-scale STD testing and care are typical here, call ahead to confirm the exact panel and pricing.
Tests offered
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 23 miles away; if you'd rather skip the trip, an at-home kit ships to Columbus, 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 for simplicity & support
$89 & up
Best range: couples & full panels
$79 & 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 Colorado 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.
110 Shult Drive, Columbus, TX 78934
CMS-certified lab Accredited · COLA
402 Youens Drive, Weimar, TX 78962
CMS-certified lab Accredited · COLA
600 South Austin Road, Eagle Lake, TX 77434
CMS-certified lab Accredited · COLA
Source: CMS CLIA registry (Provider of Services), Q1 2026. Federal public records: active CLIA-certified laboratories near Columbus. 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, 44 primary-care, OB-GYN, infectious-disease and other clinicians have a CMS practice record within 30 miles of Columbus. They may be able to evaluate symptoms or order a confidential STD panel during a regular visit, and 17 offer telehealth.
Anas Mouchli, MD
Internal medicine · 110 Shult Drive, Columbus
Robert Katz, MD Telehealth
Family medicine · 4582 Hwy 71, Columbus
Troy Millican, MD
Family medicine · 2122 Hwy 71 South, Columbus
Curtis Vanhouten, DO
Family medicine · 206 East Jackson Street, Weimar
Leah Mikesky, MD Telehealth
Internal medicine · 402 Youens Drive, Weimar
Robert Youens, MD
Family medicine · 402 Youens Drive, Weimar
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 Columbus, 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.
Your Hometown Pharmacy
0.6 miLifechek
1.1 mi
1.2 mi Lifechek Rosenberg
14 miThe Pharmacy Shop of Weimar
14 miShowing the 5 closest pharmacies to Columbus, 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 Columbus, 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 $39
Online STI treatment & DoxyPEP: same-day prescriptions 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 $0 insured
Telehealth STI treatment and sexual-health care, delivered or 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 Colorado County, the county that includes Columbus, compare with Texas and U.S. averages, based on the most recent 2023 surveillance data. An estimated ~31% of residents are aged 15–34 (ACS), the age group with the highest reported chlamydia and gonorrhea rates nationally.
#141 of 254 Texas counties for chlamydia, a higher rate than 44% of the state
| Infection | Colorado County | Texas | United States |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chlamydia | 274.7 58 cases ▼ 44% | 491.9 | 492.2 |
| Gonorrhea | 56.8 12 cases ▼ 68% | 176.4 | 179.5 |
| Syphilis (P&S) | — no data | 15 | 15.8 |
| Syphilis (early) | 9.5 2 cases ▼ 64% | 26.4 | 16 |
| Syphilis (late/unknown) | 14.2 3 cases ▼ 68% | 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 Colorado County, chlamydia has risen from 248.1 to 274.7 per 100,000 (11%), gonorrhea has fallen from 116.7 to 56.8 per 100,000 (51%), and P&S syphilis has held roughly steady from 4.8 to 4.8 per 100,000.
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 Colorado County.
Local HIV snapshot
Colorado County HIV care continuum (2021)
Colorado County recorded 29.1 new HIV diagnoses per 100,000 (2021), against 20.2 statewide and 13.7 nationally. Among Colorado County residents living with HIV, 80% are in care · 57.8% 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 Colorado County tests for syphilis.
Source: CDC NCHHSTP AtlasPlus, 2023 (county-level congenital syphilis is not published).
Local resources & officials
Data & references
Local context
US 90 through the middle of Columbus sets the pace for most errands here, a stretch where the nearest clinic listed on this page means a real drive east or west before you're sitting in a waiting room. That distance lands differently when nearly three in ten households are renting at rates well below the state average, leaving little budget margin for an unplanned trip, and when the majority of adults own their homes outright and have simply built their lives around driving wherever they need to go. What makes screening worth planning around in Columbus is that young adults in their late teens and twenties, the years when STI rates run highest and relationships are still taking shape, are embedded in households that skew large and often multigenerational.
An average household here is closer to three and a half people than two, which means a positive result, or a missed one, doesn't stay private for long and rarely affects only one person. More than half the working-age population isn't in the labor force at all, which can mean more schedule flexibility than a commuter city offers, but it also means fewer employer-sponsored checkups prompting the visit. For the roughly four in ten adults who are married, routine screening is a practical act of household maintenance, as ordinary as keeping up with TX 71 road conditions before a drive out of town.
Getting there
At 6.27/20 on the EPA walkability index, day-to-day errands in Columbus 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 78934 snapshot
ZIP-level Census figures for the wider 78934 area around Columbus: a single ZIP can span several communities, so they describe the area, not Columbus alone.
Columbus sits in Colorado County, ZIP 78934. Local context that shapes where residents test:
Local landmarks
Major routes
Nearby cities & towns
Just outside Columbus? 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 Colorado 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 a Columbus-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 Columbus 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.
There are 4 options within a 30-mile drive.
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.
Colorado County reported ~275 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.
A positive means treatment is the next step; many STIs are cured with antibiotics, and all are treatable.
Your results are part of your HIPAA-protected medical record; you can ask any clinic about its own privacy practices.
It's a common STI symptom; test for chlamydia and gonorrhea and have a provider check you.
Use condoms, test regularly, get the HPV and hep B vaccines, and ask about PrEP for HIV.
Have a different question? Browse the full STD & STI FAQ library, every question we answer, in one place.