Are you shocked that Los Angeles and New York didn’t make the list in our fourth annual accounting of city life in America? Then listen up, honey. As much as we love fabulous soirees and mimosa brunches, there’s much more to LGBT life than that. We live in little burgs and big cities and tons of places in between — so we’re looking at the in-between. This year our totally accurate (and totally subjective and constantly changing) criteria for a great gay city had to include two of the biggest legislative and political developments for LGBTs: marriage equality votes in four states and the election that swept a ton of queers into high office, including seven members of Congress.
THE CRITERIA
According to Victory Fund;
1 point for each federal, state, and local official in office or elected in 2012
+
1 point for each company located in a city
+
1 point for each stop since 2009
+
1 point each if a city has Whole Foods, West Elm, or Pottery Barn stores
+
1 point for every jurisdiction with laws prohibiting discrimination, according to National Gay and Lesbian Task Force
+
1 point for each team
+
1 point per organization, according to BiNetUSA
+
1 point for each league
+
5 points
DIVIDED BY
Population within city limits
(population of >150,000 required)
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