Sex Laws
by State

The age of consent is 16 in 30 states, 17 in 9 and 18 in 11, as of May 2026. 19 states mandate comprehensive sex education, 17 mandate abstinence-only, and 18 require LGBTQ+ inclusive content. California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington score highest on this page's progressiveness scale (100/100); Idaho, Kansas, Missouri, North Dakota, South Dakota and Utah score lowest (0/100).

11

States with age of consent 18

9

States with age of consent 17

30

States with age of consent 16

19

States requiring comprehensive sex ed

17

States with abstinence-only mandate

18

States with LGBTQ+ inclusive sex ed

All States — Ranked by Sex Ed Progressiveness

#1CaliforniaAge 18ComprehensiveLGBTQ+ ✓#2ConnecticutAge 16ComprehensiveLGBTQ+ ✓#3DelawareAge 18ComprehensiveLGBTQ+ ✓#4HawaiiAge 16ComprehensiveLGBTQ+ ✓#5IllinoisAge 17ComprehensiveLGBTQ+ ✓#6MaineAge 16ComprehensiveLGBTQ+ ✓#7MarylandAge 16ComprehensiveLGBTQ+ ✓#8MinnesotaAge 16ComprehensiveLGBTQ+ ✓#9NevadaAge 16ComprehensiveLGBTQ+ ✓#10New JerseyAge 16ComprehensiveLGBTQ+ ✓#11OregonAge 18ComprehensiveLGBTQ+ ✓#12Rhode IslandAge 16ComprehensiveLGBTQ+ ✓#13VermontAge 16ComprehensiveLGBTQ+ ✓#14WashingtonAge 16ComprehensiveLGBTQ+ ✓#15ColoradoAge 17ComprehensiveLGBTQ+ ✓#16MassachusettsAge 16ComprehensiveLGBTQ+ ✓#17New MexicoAge 17ComprehensiveLGBTQ+ ✓#18New YorkAge 17ComprehensiveLGBTQ+ ✓#19New HampshireAge 16Comprehensive #20FloridaAge 18Abstinence-plus #21GeorgiaAge 16Abstinence-plus #22IowaAge 16Abstinence-plus #23MichiganAge 16Abstinence-plus #24North CarolinaAge 16Abstinence-plus #25VirginiaAge 18Abstinence-plus #26LouisianaAge 17Abstinence-only #27AlabamaAge 16Abstinence-only #28ArizonaAge 18Abstinence-plus #29ArkansasAge 16Abstinence-only #30KentuckyAge 16Abstinence-only #31MississippiAge 16Abstinence-only #32MontanaAge 16Abstinence-plus #33OhioAge 16Abstinence-plus #34OklahomaAge 16Abstinence-only #35PennsylvaniaAge 16Abstinence-plus #36South CarolinaAge 16Abstinence-only #37TennesseeAge 18Abstinence-only #38West VirginiaAge 16Abstinence-plus #39WisconsinAge 18Abstinence-plus #40AlaskaAge 16No state mandate #41IndianaAge 16Abstinence-only #42NebraskaAge 17Abstinence-only #43TexasAge 17Abstinence-only #44WyomingAge 17No state mandate #45IdahoAge 18Abstinence-only #46KansasAge 16Abstinence-only #47MissouriAge 17Abstinence-only #48North DakotaAge 18Abstinence-only #49South DakotaAge 16Abstinence-only #50UtahAge 18Abstinence-only

Sources: NCSL, Guttmacher Institute, SIECUS State Profiles. Ranking reflects sex education progressiveness — comprehensive, medically accurate, LGBTQ+ inclusive education scores highest.

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