Ranking the 35 most LGBT-friendly cities in the U.S. is no easy task if you want it done well. Similar lists use things like census data and polls to determine placement, which we did—but we also went further. We chose 16 different metrics to judge the livability of a city, ranging from marriage equality, adoption rights, out politicians and the number of same-sex couples, to cultural events, and dating and hookup opportunities. To do this, our analysts drew on 32 huge data sets from places like Facebook, Craigslist and city and state records, and ran the numbers to get a more accurate snapshot of LGBT livability in the U.S. today.
When we set about creating the index, the first issue on the agenda was scope and terminology. Should it be a gay index or an LGBT index? How could we be sure to represent lesbians and transgender men and women in addition to gay guys? While every attempt was made to be inclusive, the statistical information in certain areas relating to trans folk is lacking. Most of the metrics we used catered for everyone across the LGBT spectrum, yet others were confined to cisgender women and men.
Lesbians looking for love should consider booking a trip to southwest Tennessee.
This is why we decided to go with the Queer Index. Beyond incorporating as many experiences as possible and respecting the fluidity of labels, we wanted to acknowledge the limitations of data gathering within the broader LGBTQ community—namely that it has to exist in order to be collected. With that in mind, we compiled a comprehensive, data-driven guide relevant to all sectors of the community, adding nuance to the established dominance of certain urban centers while also revealing some genuinely surprising queer-friendly cities.
The most interesting take-home out of the gate is Des Moines’ anointment as the fourth best city for LGBT residents. An unexpected entry, it earned its spot among the big leagues for various reasons. It performed well across a range of metrics, including marriage equality and adoption rights, but its political punch helped rocket it near the top. The Iowa capital has two out politicians (we looked at state and city data) in Matt McCoy and Daniel Lundby, giving it the largest representation proportional to its population. By contrast, the more populous cities of L.A. and NYC have five and one out politicians, respectively.
Iowa Senator Matt McCoy helped propel Des Moines to the top of the list.
Facebook/Matt McCoy
Des Moines wasn’t the only midsize city to get some attention; Memphis also ranks high, especially when it comes to women. Lesbians looking for love should consider booking a trip to southwest Tennessee, thanks to the fact that the city has the highest number of single gay women, 40 percent at last count. While the dating pool is also deep for gay men, with 52 percent of guys also single, it’s definitely female territory—lesbians outrank queer guys 2.3 to 1.
Not everyone is looking for love, though. Those wanting strings-free fun should look to New York. The city’s vast population means that there are a staggering number of men looking for casual action every day—2,200 according to Craigslist posts alone. There are also 442 rent boys at work in the metropolis, which is handy for those after a quick, transitional experience. Not to be outdone, men in San Jose also get plenty of play, with an average of just over 1,000 Craigslist hookup posts every day.
The number of hate groups and sexuality-related hate crimes...didn’t paint Boston in a particularly positive light.
But it’s not all marriage equality, political power, and quick and easy sex. We also looked at some more nefarious metrics to truly gauge the livability of a city. Our analysts tallied the number of hate groups and sexuality-related hate crimes in each metro area, and it didn’t paint Boston in a particularly positive light. Though Beantown sits at No. 18 on the list overall, its ranking as the city with the highest number of LGBT hate crimes—63 a year according to the most recent FBI hate crime data—dragged down its score.
These are just a few of the highlights that we drew from the Queer Index, and there are hundreds more. Our team worked for months to pull in massive sets of data from a broad range of sources, and then crunched them down to create the most comprehensive and up-to-date overview of how it is for LGBTQ individuals living in the U.S. today. So jump on in and have a bit of a play.
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Los Angeles has 2,424 gay bars but only 168 lesbian-specific watering holes (not counting ladies' nights at gay bars).
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Yelp and Gaycities
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The sportiest city is NYC, with 30 different LGBT-only leagues. Los Angeles ranks second with 19, Chicago and D.C. third with 17 apiece.
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Rainbow flags, Outsports
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NYC has the largest gay population (64,000), according to Facebook. Los Angeles ranks second (42,000) and Chicago is third (20,000).
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Facebook
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NYC is the best city for random pickups: On average, there are 440 rent boys and 2,200 posts looking for hookups on Craigslist per day.
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Craigslist
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Salt Lake City has the lowest percentage of lesbians who are single (25.5%) of the top 100 most populous cities in the U.S.
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Facebook
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According to Facebook, NYC has the largest lesbian population (74,000). Los Angeles is second (44,000) and Chicago third (22,000).
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Facebook
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Boston reports the highest number of sexual-orientation hate crimes (63) per year of the top 100 U.S. cities.
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Southern Poverty Law Center
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Los Angeles (No. 1 overall) and San Francisco (No. 3) both have 171 lesbian clubs each. NYC (No. 2) trails with 135.
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Yelp
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Gay nightlife is as good as it gets in NYC. The Big Apple has 403 gay clubs in addition to the 2,150 gay bars.
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Yelp
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On average, the ratio of self-identified gay men to lesbians on Facebook is 1.3 to 1 in the top 100 most populous cities in the U.S.
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Facebook
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According to Facebook data, the ratio of self-identified gay men to lesbians in Baltimore is 1 to 2.
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Facebook
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According to Craigslist, NYC has the most w4w posts, with an average of 55 per day. Atlanta and Los Angeles spar for second with 46 each.
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Craigslist
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According to Facebook data, the ratio of self-identified gay men to lesbians in San Francisco is 1 to 0.66.
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Facebook
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Los Angeles averages the most gay bars (2,424), according to Yelp and Gaycities. NYC and San Francisco are runners-up with 2,150 each.
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Yelp and Gaycities
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San Jose, California, has almost 25 w4w posts a day, according to Craigslist. That's the same as Portland, Oregon.
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Craigslist
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Los Angeles has the most bathhouses (8), closely followed by San Francisco, Portland, Oregon, and Columbus, Ohio, which all have 6.
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Gaycities
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Atlanta has the highest number of Gayborhood-certified businesses (685)--almost 3.5 times more than Chicago, the next city.
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Gayborhood
<ul class="share-list share-icon-list" data-title="According to Facebook data, the ratio of self-identified gay men to lesbians in Memphis, Tennessee, is 1 to 2.3." data-primary-tag="QUEERINDEX" data-shortlink="http://voc.tv/1hR2soR" data-url="http://www.vocativ.com/culture/lgbt/users-guide-queer-index/?post_item=87612¤t_fact=87653#post-item-87612" data-image="https://media.vocativ.com/photos/2014/06/LGBTQ-Fact-Generator-061907337190.jpg" data-desc="According to Face