A new study has ranked the 15 most LGBTQ-friendly cities in the United States.
The study from Clever, the real estate data company, examined 14 criteria including the LGBTQ+ population, gay bars and Pride events, state and local laws, curricular standards, equality scores from the Human Rights Campaign and the Municipality Advancement Project, support groups, LGBTQ-affirming healthcare providers, and even the percentage of residents opposing marriage equality and non-discrimination laws.
Keep scrolling to see the top 15 LGBTQ-friendly cities in the U.S. You can read the full report from Click, the real estate data company, here.
Milwaukee skyline
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The Milwaukee metro area has 0.45 gay bars per 100,000 residents, which is 50 percent more than the average city in the study.
Brick buildings along Thames Street in historic Fell’s Point neighborhood
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Maryland has a state equality score 89 percent higher than others in the study.
Rachel Carson Bridge (aka Ninth Street Bridge) spans the Allegheny River in Pittsburgh
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Pittsburg offers 2.72 LGBTQ-affirming healthcare providers per 100,000 residents, which is 94 higher than the average metro in the study.
Columns and Ivy in Maymont Gardens, Richmond, Virginia
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Richmond boasts a perfect municipal equality score of 100 in the study.
Zoom headquarters in San Jose
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Just behind Richmond, the Silicon Valley city of San Jose has a municipal equality score of 97 out of 100.
New Orleans Cajun red beans and rice with andouille sausage
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As if the amazing food is not enough, New Orleans had 1.43 gay bars per 100,000 residents, which is the highest in the study.
Pride in Chicago’s Boystown gayborhood
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Chicago had a state equality tally score of 37.5 at the time of the study, a remarkable 125 percent above the state average.
California State Capitol
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Like Richmond, the capital city of California earned a perfect municipal score.
Fireworks over San Diego skyline
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San Diego has some of the best weather in the country, as well as 0.12 pride events per 100,000 residents annually which was 71 percent above the average in the study.
Grand Central Market in downtown Los Angeles
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Los Angeles is a tolerant city. Just 15 percent opposed non-discrimination laws, which was 21 percent less than the national average at the time of the study.
Red Rocks Amphitheater outside Denver
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Denver had an equality score 154 percent higher than average, as well as 25 percent more LGBTQ-affirming healthcare providers per 100,000 residents than the average metro area in the study.
Cherry tree blossoms in Portland’s Tom McCall Park
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A full eight percent of the population of Oregon identifies as LGBTQ+, the largest in the country.
Las Vegas Strip at night
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The Las Vegas metro area has 0.22 pride events per 100,000 residents annually, a staggering 214 percent more than the average metro area in the study.
Pond at Elizabeth Park, in Hartford
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Hartford is the third-smallest metro area in the study, but only 11 percent of residents oppose marriage equality, the lowest in the study.
Sunrise over San Francisco skyline
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Was there ever any doubt? San Francisco ranks near the top of almost every category, making it the most LGBTQ-friendly city in the U.S.
You can read the full report from Click, the real estate data company, here.
