Who Is at Risk for HIV?
HIV can affect anyone, but certain behaviors and circumstances increase the risk of HIV infection. Learn who is most at risk and how to protect yourself.
HIV can affect anyone, but certain behaviors and circumstances increase the risk of HIV infection. Learn who is most at risk and how to protect yourself.
HIV does not discriminate — it can infect anyone who is exposed to the virus. However, according to the CDC, certain behaviors and social factors significantly increase the likelihood of HIV transmission. Understanding these risk factors is the first step toward protecting yourself and your community.
HIV is transmitted through specific body fluids — blood, semen, pre-seminal fluid, rectal fluids, vaginal fluids, and breast milk. The following behaviors carry the highest risk:
Receptive anal sex (being the 'bottom') carries the highest per-act risk of HIV transmission — approximately 138 per 10,000 exposures without a condom. The rectal lining is thin and easily damaged, allowing HIV to enter the bloodstream.
Insertive anal sex (being the 'top') carries a lower but still significant risk — approximately 11 per 10,000 exposures. Circumcision reduces this risk by about 60%.
Sharing injection drug equipment is a major route of HIV transmission. Approximately 63 per 10,000 exposures result in HIV infection when sharing needles with a person who has HIV.
Receptive vaginal sex carries a risk of approximately 8 per 10,000 exposures. The risk is higher if there are other STIs present, which can cause sores or inflammation.
Insertive vaginal sex carries a risk of approximately 4 per 10,000 exposures. Risk is higher if the partner has a high viral load or if other STIs are present.
While HIV can affect anyone, certain groups bear a disproportionate burden of new HIV diagnoses in the United States. This is largely due to social determinants of health — including poverty, limited access to healthcare, stigma, and discrimination — rather than inherent biological differences.
| Population Group | % of New Diagnoses (2022) | Key Risk Factors |
|---|---|---|
| Gay & Bisexual Men (MSM) | ~67% | Anal sex, multiple partners, STI co-infection |
| Black/African American | ~42% | Systemic inequities, limited healthcare access, higher community prevalence |
| Hispanic/Latino | ~29% | Language barriers, immigration concerns, limited PrEP access |
| People Who Inject Drugs | ~7% | Needle sharing, sex work, limited harm reduction services |
| Transgender Women | ~2% | Sex work, discrimination, limited healthcare access |
| Youth (13–24) | ~20% | Low testing rates, limited sex education, peer pressure |
Individual behavior is only part of the picture. Social determinants of health — including poverty, housing instability, incarceration, and lack of access to healthcare — significantly increase HIV risk by limiting people's ability to access prevention, testing, and treatment services.
Stigma and discrimination related to HIV status, sexual orientation, gender identity, race, and drug use also drive the epidemic by discouraging people from seeking testing and care. Addressing these structural factors is essential to ending the HIV epidemic.
Other STIs — particularly syphilis, gonorrhea, and herpes — increase the risk of HIV transmission by causing sores or inflammation that make it easier for HIV to enter the body. The CDC estimates that having an STI can increase the risk of getting or transmitting HIV by 2 to 5 times.
Regardless of your risk level, there are effective strategies to prevent HIV:
The most important step you can take is to know your HIV status. Use the CDC's GetTested locator to find free, confidential HIV testing near you.
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