Prostitution is illegal in the vast majority of the United States as a result of state laws rather than federal laws. It is, however, legal in some rural counties within the state of Nevada. Additionally, it is decriminalized to sell sex in the state of Maine , but illegal to buy sex.
Prostitution nevertheless occurs elsewhere in the country. The regulation of prostitution in the country is not among the enumerated powers of the federal government. It is therefore exclusively the domain of the states to permit, prohibit, or otherwise regulate commercial sex under the Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution , except insofar as Congress may regulate it as part of interstate commerce with laws such as the Mann Act.
In most states, prostitution is considered a misdemeanor in the category of public order crime βcrime that disrupts the order of a community. Prostitution was once considered a vagrancy crime. Currently, Nevada is the only U. There are ten counties that theoretically allow brothel prostitution, but four of these counties Churchill , Esmeralda , Humboldt , and Mineral currently have no active brothels.
Street prostitution , "pandering", and living off of the proceeds of a prostitute remain illegal under Nevada law, as is the case elsewhere in the country. According to the National Institute of Justice , a study conducted in alleged that approximately percent of men in the country have engaged in commercial sex. As with other countries, prostitution in the U. Some of the women in the American Revolution who followed the Continental Army served the soldiers and officers as sexual partners.
Prostitutes were a worrisome presence to army leadership, particularly because of the possible spread of venereal diseases in modern terms, sexually transmitted infection or STI. In the 19th century, parlor house brothels catered to upper class clientele, while bawdy houses catered to the lower class. At concert saloons , men could eat, listen to music, watch a fight, or pay women for sex. Over brothels existed in lower Manhattan. Prostitution was illegal under the vagrancy laws, but was not well-enforced by police and city officials, who were bribed by brothel owners and madams.
