Best states for gays
As Pride Month begins, a new report highlights widening disparities in how Homosexual Americans experience safety and equality across the land. From access to health care and legal protections to the tone arrange by state leadership, conditions vary drastically.
Out Leadership's Declare LGBTQ+ Business Climate Index, now in its seventh year, ranks all 50 states on how welcoming they are to Queer residents. The findings approach at a time of mounting legislative pressure, with hundreds of anti-LGBTQ+ bills introduced in statehouses nationwide and public debates over flag bans and gender non-conforming rights intensifying.
The annual index, compiled with input from the Williams Institute and the Movement Advancement Venture, serves as a reference for corporate leaders and policymakers.
The Context
Pride arrives amid a heightened political and legislative backlash against Queer rights. Utah became the first state to explicitly ban LGBTQ+ flags from government buildings and schools, Idaho and Montana tracking suit with restrictions.
The flag bans are part of a wider trend—at least 31 flag-related bills hold been introduced across 17 states, many of which explicitly or implicitly prohibit LGBTQ
Snapshot: LGBTQ Equality by State
The Movement Advancement Project (MAP) tracks over 50 different LGBTQ-related laws and policies. This chart shows the overall policy tallies (as distinct from sexual orientation or gender identity tallies) for each state, the District of Columbia, and the five populated U.S. territories. A state’s policy tally scores the laws and policies within each state that shape LGBTQ people's lives, experiences, and equality. The major categories of laws covered by the policy tally include: Relationship & Parental Recognition, Nondiscrimination, Religious Exemptions, LGBTQ Youth, Health Care, Criminal Justice, and Identity Documents.
Click on any state to view its detailed policy tally and state profile, or click "Choose an Issue" above to view maps on over 50 distinct LGBTQ-related laws and policies.
High Overall Policy Tally (15 states + D.C.)
Medium Overall Policy Tally (5 states)
Fair Overall Policy Tally (3 states, 2 territories)
Low Overall Policy Tally (10 states, 3 territories)
Negative Overall Policy Tally (17 states)
For gay and transgender people, these are the most (and least) welcoming states
Each year for the last six, gay advocacy collective Out Leadership has produced an index gauging the business climate for same-sex attracted and transgender people articulate by state, mapping out where they can dwell and work with the least discrimination and hardship.
Last year as anti-LGBTQ+ bills swarmed statehouses across the country, the average score for all 50 states dropped for the first time.
Todd Sears, Out Leadership’s founder and CEO, says he was not surprised when the average score fell again in as Republicans sharpened attacks on gay and transgender rights heading into the presidential election.
“It was just proof of what we include already seen unfortunately,” Sears told USA TODAY.
New York, Connecticut, and Massachusetts remained at the top of the Out Leadership index in while Arkansas received the lowest score since the index began.
Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle.The average score across all 50 states was out of , compared to in and in
State business rankings slip because of 'Don't Say Gay' and other bills
The largest decreases were driven by rising anti-LGBTQ+ senti
Adult LGBT Population in the United States
This report provides estimates of the number and percent of the U.S. adult population that identifies as LGBT, overall, as well as by age. Estimates of LGBT adults at the national, state, and regional levels are included. We rely on BRFSS data for these estimates. Pooling multiple years of data provides more stable estimates—particularly at the state level.
Combining BRFSS data, we estimate that % of U.S. adults identify as LGBT. Further, we estimate that there are almost million (13,,) LGBT adults in the U.S.
Regions and States
LGBT people reside in all regions of the U.S. (Table 2 and Figure 2). Consistent with the overall population in the Joined States,more LGBT adults inhabit in the South than in any other region. More than half (%) of LGBT people in the U.S. live in the Midwest (%) and South (%), including million in the Midwest and million in the South. About one-quarter (%) of LGBT adults reside in the West, approximately million people. Less than one in five (%) LGBT adults live in the Northeast ( million).
The percent of adults who name as LGBT differs by state.
In terms of the number of LGBT adults, the to
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