Is prostitution legal in the United States?
Illegal
Prostitution is illegal in Hawaii, with no decriminalization attempt passing in 2017.
The United States is one of 105 countries classified “Illegal” for sex work — 48% of the 219 with data. (Also searched as prostitution.)
Source
- Taken from
- Wikipedia: Prostitution in Oceania
- Last checked
- 7 July 2026
- How it was classified
- Classified by a language model from the source text, then checked against hand-verified reference countries.
State by state
- Alabama
- Illegal Prostitution is illegal in this state.
- Alaska
- Illegal Prostitution is illegal in this state.
- Arizona
- Illegal Prostitution is illegal in this state.
- Arkansas
- Illegal Prostitution is illegal in this state.
- California
- Illegal Prostitution is illegal in this state.
- Colorado
- Illegal Prostitution is illegal in this state.
- Connecticut
- Illegal Prostitution is illegal in this state.
- Delaware
- Illegal Prostitution is illegal in this state.
- District of Columbia
- Illegal Prostitution is illegal in this state.
- Florida
- Illegal Prostitution is illegal in this state.
- Georgia
- Illegal Prostitution is illegal in this state.
- Hawaii
- Illegal Prostitution is illegal in this state.
- Idaho
- Illegal Prostitution is illegal in this state.
- Illinois
- Illegal Prostitution is illegal in this state.
- Indiana
- Illegal Prostitution is illegal in this state.
- Iowa
- Illegal Prostitution is illegal in this state.
- Kansas
- Illegal Prostitution is illegal in this state.
- Kentucky
- Illegal Prostitution is illegal in this state.
- Louisiana
- Illegal Prostitution is illegal in this state.
- Maine
- Illegal Prostitution is illegal in this state.
- Maryland
- Illegal Prostitution is illegal in this state.
- Massachusetts
- Illegal Prostitution is illegal in this state.
- Michigan
- Illegal Prostitution is illegal in this state.
- Minnesota
- Illegal Prostitution is illegal in this state.
- Mississippi
- Illegal Prostitution is illegal in this state.
- Missouri
- Illegal Prostitution is illegal in this state.
- Montana
- Illegal Prostitution is illegal in this state.
- Nebraska
- Illegal Prostitution is illegal in this state.
- Nevada
- Legal & regulated Prostitution is legal in licensed brothels in counties with populations under 700,000. It is illegal in Clark County (Las Vegas) and Washoe County (Reno).
- New Hampshire
- Illegal Prostitution is illegal in this state.
- New Jersey
- Illegal Prostitution is illegal in this state.
- New Mexico
- Illegal Prostitution is illegal in this state.
- New York
- Illegal Prostitution is illegal in this state.
- North Carolina
- Illegal Prostitution is illegal in this state.
- North Dakota
- Illegal Prostitution is illegal in this state.
- Ohio
- Illegal Prostitution is illegal in this state.
- Oklahoma
- Illegal Prostitution is illegal in this state.
- Oregon
- Illegal Prostitution is illegal in this state.
- Pennsylvania
- Illegal Prostitution is illegal in this state.
- Rhode Island
- Illegal Prostitution is illegal in this state.
- South Carolina
- Illegal Prostitution is illegal in this state.
- South Dakota
- Illegal Prostitution is illegal in this state.
- Tennessee
- Illegal Prostitution is illegal in this state.
- Texas
- Illegal Prostitution is illegal in this state.
- Utah
- Illegal Prostitution is illegal in this state.
- Vermont
- Illegal Prostitution is illegal in this state.
- Virginia
- Illegal Prostitution is illegal in this state.
- Washington
- Illegal Prostitution is illegal in this state.
- West Virginia
- Illegal Prostitution is illegal in this state.
- Wisconsin
- Illegal Prostitution is illegal in this state.
- Wyoming
- Illegal Prostitution is illegal in this state.
Nearby countries
- Bahamas
- Legal & regulated Prostitution is legal but related activities like brothel keeping are prohibited.
- Mexico
- Varies by region Prostitution is legal under federal law but varies by state, with some regulating it and others not.
- Canada
- Buying illegal (Nordic model) Prostitution is legal but buying sex is criminalized, following the Swedish model.
- Cuba
- Decriminalized / unregulated Prostitution is a legal profession but associated with jineterismo, a semi-legal economic activity.
- Cayman Islands
- Legal & regulated Prostitution is legal but brothel keeping is prohibited.
- Bermuda
- Legal & regulated Prostitution is legal in Bermuda but running brothels is illegal, with entry restrictions for sex workers and street prostitution in Hamilton.
Other laws in United States
- Same-Sex Marriage
- Marriage legal
- Same-Sex Activity
- Legal
- Pornography
- Legal
- Divorce
- Legal
- Non-Binary Recognition
- Recognized
- Same-Sex Adoption
- Joint adoption legal
- Incest Laws
- Criminal offense
- Marriage Age
- 18+
Every law in the United States → · Where is sex work legal? →
A visual reference compiled from Wikipedia’s law-by-country articles, not legal advice. Laws change and summaries simplify — check a primary source before relying on anything here.