Jackson County reports about 1080 chlamydia cases per 100,000 residents, above the US average. Whether it's your first STI test or a routine screening in Howardton, Illinois, consider whether you prefer the affordability of public clinics, the quick turnaround of private labs, or the convenience of at-home kits.
Available testing centers
7 testing options are listed for Howardton, IL. The nearest, Shawnee Health Service, is about 12.6 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.
Shawnee Health Service in Murphysboro is a community health center, which means STI testing sits within a broader clinical infrastructure: appointments required, sliding-scale fees accepted across all payers, same-visit treatment for bacterial infections like gonorrhea and chlamydia, with care available in Spanish.
Shawnee Health Service carries Spanish as a working clinical language: not a supplemental accommodation but the medium through which providers discuss testing, results, and treatment decisions. That operational fact shapes the precision of every exchange, from symptom history to medication instructions.
Shawnee Health Service runs a dedicated substance abuse treatment program alongside its STI services, a structural pairing that matters because substance use and STI transmission are clinically linked. Both programs are staffed on-site, so addressing one does not require a separate referral pipeline to address the other.
Beyond gonorrhea, chlamydia, syphilis, and HIV, Shawnee Health Service tests for herpes, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C, and carries hepatitis A and B vaccines on-site. Hepatitis C-positive results are managed through the clinic's existing treatment infrastructure rather than handed off externally.
Languages
English, Spanish
Tests offered
Serves
Care services
Prevention services
Fees & payment
Listing verified Nov 2025 · Source: CDC NPIN + HRSA
A community safety-net rural health clinic about 13 miles from Howardton. Sliding-scale STD testing and care are typical here, call ahead to confirm the exact panel and pricing.
Tests offered
Jackson County Health Department, Murphysboro's public health department, brings the full STI testing panel (HIV, syphilis, gonorrhea, chlamydia, and hepatitis C) alongside same-visit bacterial treatment and TB testing, all at no fee, by appointment.
The no-fee structure at Jackson County Health Department extends across the entire panel: HIV testing, hepatitis C, gonorrhea, chlamydia, syphilis, and TB all carry a $0 charge. Sliding-scale fees exist for other services, but testing never reaches that calculation. The cost is fixed at nothing regardless of insurance status.
Without Ryan White funding, a positive HIV result can trigger a gap: diagnosis in one place, a provider search elsewhere, medication adherence support whenever that appointment finally opens. Jackson County Health Department's Ryan White Program closes that gap, funding covers ongoing HIV treatment and medication adherence counseling at the same location where testing happens.
Jackson County Health Department prescribes both PrEP and PEP directly, with dedicated PrEP access for uninsured patients. For anyone without a regular provider or the means to navigate a specialist referral, the clinic functions as the standing source. Not a stopgap, but a consistent prescriber for HIV prevention medication.
Languages
English
Tests offered
Serves
Care services
Prevention services
Fees & payment
Listing verified Jun 2026 · Source: CDC NPIN + HRSA
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 13 miles away; if you'd rather skip the trip, an at-home kit ships to Howardton, 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 Jackson 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.
374 East Grand Avenue, Carbondale, IL 62901
CMS-certified lab Accredited · COLA
405 West Jackson Street, Carbondale, IL 62902
CMS-certified lab Accredited · College of American Pathologists
2 South Hospital Drive, Murphysboro, IL 62966
CMS-certified lab Accredited · College of American Pathologists
Source: CMS CLIA registry (Provider of Services), Q1 2026. Federal public records: active CLIA-certified laboratories near Howardton. 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, 223 primary-care, OB-GYN, infectious-disease and other clinicians have a CMS practice record within 30 miles of Howardton. They may be able to evaluate symptoms or order a confidential STD panel during a regular visit, and 27 offer telehealth.
Evan Belfer
Family medicine · 801 North 14th Street, Murphysboro
Srinivas Rajamahanty, MD
Urology · 2 South Hospital Drive, Murphysboro
Liudmila Vasilets, MD
Internal medicine · 7 South Hospital Drive, Murphysboro
Magid Fahim, MD Telehealth
Family medicine · 120 North Tower Road, Carbondale
Colleen Lawler-Bjornberg, MD
Internal medicine · 1340 Cedar Court, Carbondale
Emily Hanson, DO
Family medicine · 2421 West Main Street, Carbondale
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 Howardton, IL 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.
Altenburg Pharmacy
6.9 miThe Medicine Shoppe
12 mi
12 mi Shawnee Health Care Pharmacy
13 mi
13 mi 
13 mi Showing the 6 closest pharmacies to Howardton, IL.
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 Howardton, 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.
From $0 insured
Telehealth PrEP & DoxyPEP with at-home testing and ongoing monitoring
$0 with most insurance
Free online PrEP & DoxyPEP: HIV prevention, home lab kits, no in-person visit
Visit from $39
Online STI treatment & DoxyPEP: same-day prescriptions to your pharmacy
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 Jackson County, the county that includes Howardton, compare with Illinois and U.S. averages, based on the most recent 2023 surveillance data. An estimated ~37% of residents are aged 15–34 (ACS), the age group with the highest reported chlamydia and gonorrhea rates nationally.
#1 of 102 Illinois counties for chlamydia, among the very highest in the state
| Infection | Jackson County | Illinois | United States |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chlamydia | 1079.8 563 cases ▲ 94% | 557.7 | 492.2 |
| Gonorrhea | 406.6 212 cases ▲ 101% | 202.3 | 179.5 |
| Syphilis (P&S) | 40.3 21 cases ▲ 247% | 11.6 | 15.8 |
| Syphilis (early) | 21.1 11 cases ▲ 94% | 10.9 | 16 |
| Syphilis (late/unknown) | 26.9 14 cases ▲ 3% | 26 | 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 Jackson County, chlamydia has risen from 919.3 to 1079.8 per 100,000 (17%), gonorrhea has fallen from 587.1 to 406.6 per 100,000 (31%), and P&S syphilis has risen from 7.6 to 40.3 per 100,000 (430%).
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 Jackson County.
Local HIV snapshot
Jackson County HIV care continuum (2022)
Jackson County recorded 11.1 new HIV diagnoses per 100,000 (2022), against 14.7 statewide and 13.7 nationally. Among Jackson County residents living with HIV, 82% are in care · 64% 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 Jackson County tests for syphilis.
Source: CDC NCHHSTP AtlasPlus, 2023 (county-level congenital syphilis is not published).
Local resources & officials
Data & references
Local context
Route 13 out of Howardton takes you past the Devil's Backbone Park turnoff before the landscape opens toward the nearest listed clinics, a drive that rewards planning ahead rather than deciding to go on a short-notice afternoon. That kind of advance thinking aligns naturally with how this community is structured: nearly three quarters of residents own their homes, many of them carrying mortgages on properties whose modest values leave little financial cushion, and a significant share of households still clear six figures, which means economic life here is more varied than the home-value figures alone suggest.
Nearly one in ten working-age adults is between jobs, and that gap in coverage or income can quietly shift health spending toward whatever feels most urgent. For younger adults in their late teens and twenties, who represent a substantial slice of Howardton's population and account for the years when STI transmission runs highest, cost and schedule tend to be the real obstacles. Clinics with sliding-scale fees and same-week appointments, several of which appear in the listings here, reduce the distance between Inspiration Point on a Sunday and a test booked for Tuesday.
Most households here are small, averaging just over two people, and fewer than one in four adults is married, so relationship patterns tend to be more fluid and transitional. Routine screening fits into that life stage less as a medical errand and more as ordinary upkeep, the same steady habit that keeps everything else running in a town where most people put down roots for the long haul.
Getting there
At 2.71/20 on the EPA walkability index, day-to-day errands in Howardton 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 62942 snapshot
ZIP-level Census figures for the wider 62942 area around Howardton: a single ZIP can span several communities, so they describe the area, not Howardton alone.
Howardton sits in Jackson County, ZIP 62942. Local context that shapes where residents test:
Local landmarks
Nearby cities & towns
Just outside Howardton? 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 Jackson County: the CDC's screening guidelines, each infection's detection window, per-test reference prices, and your privacy rights under Illinois 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 Howardton-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 Howardton 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 Illinois 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 Illinois, a minor aged 12 or older can consent to confidential STI testing and treatment on their own, no parental permission is required.
Illinois 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 IllinoisSource: 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.
The closest is Shawnee Health Service (12.6 mi); 6 options are within 30 miles.
Public clinics are free; private labs ~$24–$139, at-home kits $49+.
Public clinics nearby offer free HIV testing.
Local options test for Chlamydia, Gonorrhea, Syphilis, Herpes, Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, Rapid HIV, a full panel covers the common ones.
About 1,080 cases per 100,000 residents (2023), above the Illinois average.
Yes, at-home kits ship to 62942; you collect a sample, mail it back, and get results in about 2–5 days.
PrEP (HIV-prevention medicine for HIV-negative people) is available locally, any provider can prescribe it.
In Illinois, people under 18 can consent to confidential STD testing and treatment on their own.
Yes, most chlamydia infections cause no symptoms, so screening is the only reliable way to catch it.
A urine sample or a swab (genital, throat, or rectal) detects gonorrhea, often tested alongside chlamydia.
Have a different question? Browse the full STD & STI FAQ library, every question we answer, in one place.