Top gay cities in us

Small towns are all about your neighbors, and when big hearts are clear on Main Street, everyone benefits. We’re happy to share this listing of the best small towns for LGBTQ+ folks in the U.S. because we know home is where we can be ourselves. In these small-scale burgs, gay-owned businesses abound—or maybe there’s just one, and that’s okay. Besides annual Pride celebrations, there are events around the rainbow community like drag shows, book clubs, and history tours. And if you’re not lucky enough to live in one of these towns, gay travelers are welcomed with gay-friendly accommodations. Time to novel a visit!

RECOMMENDED:

🌈 The leading cities to celebrate Gay rights
🕺 The best gay clubs and bars in America

Been there, done that? Believe again, my friend.

By entering your email address you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and consent to receive emails from Hour Out about news, events, offers and partner promotions.

🙌
Awesome, you're subscribed!

Thanks for subscribing! Look out for your first newslette

The most and least lgbtq+ cities in America

FacebookEmailXLinkedInRedditBlueskyWhatsAppCopy linkImpact Link

SaveSaved Read in app

This story is on hand exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading an account? .

Among the nation's 50 largest metropolitan areas, San Francisco has the highest percentage of people who identify as lesbian, lgbtq+, bisexual or transgender (LGBT) at %, according to a new Gallup survey. 

In Portland, Oregon and Austin, Texas, % and % of the population identifies as LGBT, respectively, well above the national average of %. 

Salt Lake City, Utah also made the top 10, at % — a somewhat surprising find, given Utah's reputation as one of the most conservative states in the union. As the survey notes, however, Utah remains one of the only states to have passed a commandment prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation.

Gallup

After interviewing , randomly selected adults in all 50 states, researchers found that the most "gay" metropolitan areas were in the West, while the least

Gayest Cities in America

Obergefell v. Hodges is a civil rights case in which the Supreme Court dominated that the fundamental right to unite is guaranteed to same-sex couples. Decided on June 26, , Obergefell v. Hodges required all fifty states, the District of Columbia, and US territories to issue marriage licenses to queer couples and distinguish the marriages of same-sex couples on the same terms and conditions as opposite-sex marriages.

LGBTQ-Friendly Cities

While all 50 states are required to recognize gay marriages, some states and cities are more LGBTQ friendly and have higher populations of gay couples. Portland, Oregon, for example, is one of the most LGBTQ-friendly cities in the US. Portland was the first major city to elect an openly gay man as mayor in and mandated most common restrooms to be gender-neutral in Salt Lake City, Utah has two same-sex attracted city councilors, a lesbian mayor and a pride festival of more than 40, participants every year.

Top 10 Cities by LGBTQ Population

The ten gayest cities in America are:

  1. San Francisco, CA
  2. Santa Rosa, CA
  3. Seattle, WA
  4. Boston,

    San Francisco has long been considered America's most gay-friendly city. But the Bay Area doesn't own a lock on LGBTQ tourism—cities across the U.S. have been rolling out the rainbow carpet.

    VacationRenter, a vacation portal site that uses artificial intelligence, asked more than 1, respondents what they considered the most LGBTQ-friendly town in America besides San Francisco. Almost 42 percent of respondents, who ranged in age from 18 to 55, said Portland, Oregon.

    Oregon's largest city has distant been considered a queer oasis in the Northwest: More than 5 percent of residents name as LGBTQ, far higher than the national average. Among them are directors Todd Haynes and Gus Van Sant and year-old Darcelle XV, who holds the Guinness World Record for world's oldest drag queen.

    While it doesn't have a gayborhood like other cities, "Portland is such a blue bubble we don't contain the need for those types of enclaves, like other parts of the country still do," LGBTQ rights advocate Susie Shepherd told Willamette Week.

    In , it became the first major U.S. city to elect an ope