Gonorrhea rates in Allamakee County run about 96% lower than the US average. Whether it is your first STI test or a routine screening in Waukon, Iowa, clinics may bill insurance or offer a sliding-scale fee, while many private labs let you pay a flat self-pay price. Below are your options for STI testing.
Available testing centers
8 testing options are listed for Waukon, IA. The nearest, Veterans Memorial Hospital City of Waukon Ia, is about 0.3 miles away. Compare 5 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.
A safety-net rural health clinic in Waukon. Sliding-scale STD testing and care are typical here, call ahead to confirm the exact panel and pricing.
Tests offered
A community safety-net rural health clinic about 14 miles from Waukon. Sliding-scale STD testing and care are typical here, call ahead to confirm the exact panel and pricing.
Tests offered
A community safety-net rural health clinic about 15 miles from Waukon. Sliding-scale STD testing and care are typical here, call ahead to confirm the exact panel and pricing.
Tests offered
Winneshiek County Public Health in Decorah delivers rapid HIV, gonorrhea, chlamydia, and TB testing entirely free of charge. No sliding scale, no billing, simply no fee for any service. Walk-in care requires an appointment, and same-visit treatment covers bacterial STIs.
When cost is the reason a person delays a test or stops short of treatment, the gap between diagnosis and care widens fast. At Winneshiek County Public Health, every test, every STI treatment, and every vaccine visit carries no fee, so the appointment that gets made is the one that gets finished.
Winneshiek County Public Health extends interpretation services to all non-English speakers, which means someone without a regular provider and without English as a first language can access testing, counseling, and treatment through a direct conversation. Not a filtered one.
Languages
English, Interpretation Services Available for Non-English Languages
Tests offered
Serves
Care services
Prevention services
Fees & payment
Listing verified Apr 2026 · Source: CDC NPIN
A public safety-net rural health clinic about 15 miles from Waukon. 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 less than a mile away; if you'd rather skip the trip, an at-home kit ships to Waukon, 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 value: single tests
$49 & 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 Allamakee 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.
40 First Street Southeast, Waukon, IA 52172
CMS-certified lab
Source: CMS CLIA registry (Provider of Services), Q1 2026. Federal public records: active CLIA-certified laboratories near Waukon. 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, 111 primary-care, OB-GYN, infectious-disease and other clinicians have a CMS practice record within 30 miles of Waukon. They may be able to evaluate symptoms or order a confidential STD panel during a regular visit, and 47 offer telehealth.
Devin Wenrich, MD Telehealth
Family medicine · 40 1st Street Southeast, Waukon
David Schwartz, MD
Family medicine · 40 1st Street Southeast, Waukon
Kurt Swanson, DO Telehealth
Family medicine · 120 2nd Avenue Southeast, Waukon
Heather Stief, MD
OB-GYN · 1830 State Hwy 9, Decorah
Paul Wenner, MD
Family medicine · 901 Montgomery Street, Decorah
Donna Lawlor, MD
Family medicine · 101 Franklin Street, Monona
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 Waukon, IA 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.
Hartig Drug
0.1 miNightingale Drug
0.4 miShopko Pharmacy 671
0.9 miPrescription Shoppe Telepharmacy
13 mi
14 mi Showing the 5 closest pharmacies to Waukon, IA.
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 Waukon, 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
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
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 Allamakee County, the county that includes Waukon, compare with Iowa and U.S. averages, based on the most recent 2023 surveillance data. An estimated ~21% of residents are aged 15–34 (ACS), the age group with the highest reported chlamydia and gonorrhea rates nationally.
#79 of 99 Iowa counties for chlamydia, a higher rate than 20% of the state
| Infection | Allamakee County | Iowa | United States |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chlamydia | 170.5 24 cases ▼ 60% | 426.8 | 492.2 |
| Gonorrhea | 7.1 1 cases ▼ 94% | 116.8 | 179.5 |
| Syphilis (P&S) | — no data | 10.3 | 15.8 |
| Syphilis (early) | — no data | 9.2 | 16 |
| Syphilis (late/unknown) | — no data | 9.9 | 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 Allamakee County, chlamydia has fallen from 220.5 to 170.5 per 100,000 (23%), gonorrhea has fallen from 14.2 to 7.1 per 100,000 (50%), and P&S syphilis has held roughly steady from 7.1 to 7.1 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 Allamakee County.
Local HIV snapshot
Allamakee County HIV care continuum (2023)
Allamakee County recorded 0 new HIV diagnoses per 100,000 (2023), against 5.1 statewide and 13.7 nationally. Among Allamakee County residents living with HIV, 100% are in care · 100% 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 Allamakee County tests for syphilis.
Source: CDC NCHHSTP AtlasPlus, 2023 (county-level congenital syphilis is not published).
Local resources & officials
Data & references
Local context
Spring Avenue and the streets fanning out toward Waukon City Park draw many of the younger adults in town, people navigating early-career jobs, new relationships, and a first real household on their own terms. That life stage lines up with the years when STI rates run highest nationally, and Waukon's under-35 population, while a smaller share of the overall headcount, carries that same elevated exposure window.
The town's ownership picture is striking: more than three in four households own their home, and the typical rent sits low enough that even renters here aren't stretched the way people in larger cities are. Still, with fewer than one in six households clearing six figures and a labor-force participation rate that reflects a working, time-constrained community, cost and schedule matter. A $30 copay or a mid-afternoon appointment slot isn't a trivial ask when most earners are clocking regular hours and managing a household of nearly three people on average.
Getting to a clinic listed on this page means a drive out along IA 76 or IA 9, Waukon's main east-west corridors, since the nearest options sit outside town rather than on a corner of West Main Street. That drive is the practical reality here: whoever holds the appointment has to plan for travel time, not just the visit itself, which is exactly the kind of thing that separates testing that gets scheduled from testing that stays vague.
Getting there
At 6.51/20 on the EPA walkability index, day-to-day errands in Waukon 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 52172 snapshot
ZIP-level Census figures for the wider 52172 area around Waukon: a single ZIP can span several communities, so they describe the area, not Waukon alone.
Waukon sits in Allamakee County, ZIP 52172. Local context that shapes where residents test:
Local landmarks
Major routes
Nearby cities & towns
Just outside Waukon? 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 Allamakee County: the CDC's screening guidelines, each infection's detection window, per-test reference prices, and your privacy rights under Iowa 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 Waukon-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 Waukon 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 Iowa 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 Iowa, a minor of any age can consent to confidential STI testing and treatment on their own; a parent may be notified only in the case of a positive HIV test result.
Iowa 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 IowaSource: 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.
Possibly, Decorah, IA is close; compare it by distance against Veterans Memorial Hospital City of Waukon Ia.
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 171 cases per 100,000 residents (2023), below the Iowa average.
Yes, at-home kits ship to 52172; you collect a sample, mail it back, and get results in about 2–5 days.
In Iowa, people under 18 can consent to confidential STD testing and treatment on their own.
Yes, test after the window period, and if HIV exposure is a concern, ask about PEP within 72 hours.
The gap between exposure and when a test can reliably detect the infection; testing inside it can miss a real infection.
It depends: a blood draw covers HIV, syphilis, and hepatitis, while urine or a swab covers chlamydia and gonorrhea.
Have a different question? Browse the full STD & STI FAQ library, every question we answer, in one place.