What is the opinion of global society towards being gay in America, how does America see LGBT population and which the gayest states in America in 2018 are? Let’s see some facts and statistics here.
The population of LGBT individuals in America is around 3.8%, which is around 9 million people (of which 1.8% identify as bisexual, 1.7% gay/lesbian, according to the research done in 2011), comparing to Europe where around 6% of the population identifies as gay. Europe also seems to be the most gay-friendly and the people in European countries feel more comfortable to “get out the closet.”
As we have discussed before in some of our previous articles, the percentage of the gay population in the world is more or less the same, being 3-5% of the whole population. But statistics and surveys often show very variable figures on this matter. That is because sexual orientation in some countries is still a taboo and many societies are not opened towards gay and non-hetero individuals. So, results of surveys and researches are highly influenced by the society (and for more information on this, check out 15 Gayest Countries in the World Per Capita). So, as a result of this, you might notice that all the most gay-friendly and the countries with the largest gay populations are those wealthy, open-minded, and more or less secular countries, which you might also check at 10 Countries with the Biggest Gay Population in the World.
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But let’s get back on the issue of gayest states in America. Maybe we should first check what is the gayest city in the United States. On this matter, we have already done research, which you can check out at Top 10 Gayest Cities in America. Here we see all the major urban busy nightlife cities like San Francisco, New York, Boston, Los Angeles, etc., (but interestingly among the top 10 is not Atlanta, the gayest city in the Gay South). Although these metropolitan areas have large gay communities, gay places, events, etc., what about peaceful family life for LGBT couples far from the big city hustle? For that, you might be interested in some of the gayest small towns in America. According to the Advocate, some of those gayest small towns include Bloomington, Ind., Ashville, N.C, and Portland, Maine for example.
Interestingly, the gayest city in the world per capita is probably Tel Aviv, with around 10% of the population being gay. But not only it is the gayest city, but it is also one of the major gay-friendly cities in the world, and also the place with the most massive and the best Pride (2017 Tel Aviv Pride had around 200,000 participants, of which 30,000 foreign visitors). Tel Aviv has also been voted with convincing 43% of the vote on competition for the best destination for gay travelers, beating both New York (with only 14%) and Toronto (7%).
We wanted to make our research about the gayest states in America in 2018 uniform in terms of methodology and data, and that is why we have used the data of the Williams Institute UCLA School of Law research on LGBT Demographics. This research is one of the most reliable ones, with strict methodology and research goals. Here we have found statistical information on LGBT proportion of the population for each state, as well as other useful information, like percentage of gay couples with children, LGBT gender ratio, age distribution, socioeconomic status (employment, education), etc. For our list, we have used statistics of population percentage, and that is the criteria on which we have based our rankings. Although the data published dates at 2016, we have also gone through some earlier statistics made by other surveys to see that the situation now in 2018 is more or less the same concerning the gayest states in America.
Many American states seem to work in a good way towards the well-being of LGBT communities, though this process takes more time sometimes. The awareness of social integration and acceptance of LGBT community has been a hot topic and a taboo as well since the 50s and 60s, following the global socio-political movements concerning human rights – hippie movement, anti-Vietnam War movement, etc. After that, around 70s and onwards, many states have repealed the criminalization of same-sex sexual activities, which lead to opening new opportunities for incorporating LGBT community in society and accepting homosexuality as a part of a normal life. So, as the time went on gays were given more and more rights, including adoption, healthcare, and all the rights that heterosexual couples and individuals have. The question of same-sex marriage though is still somewhat a tough subject it seems, though it has been legalized in all states in recent years. Most of the states have legalized same-sex marriage only in the recent decade.
So, now when we have gone through this introduction and overview of issues concerning this gentle subject, let’s pass on to the gayest states in America in 2018.
10. Delaware
LGBT percentage: 4.2
Delaware has become one of the first states to ban the “conversion therapy” in the US in April 2017. Same-sex marriage in Delaware was legalized in 2013, as previous polling didn’t go well on this question. And even though, it is among the gayest states in America, some cities in Delaware show not to be the most gay-friendly and LGBT oriented, a study has shown.
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And now, let’s see the next two gayest states in America in 2018 which share the 8th place on our list.
8. Maine
LGBT percentage: 4.3
Maine seems to be one of the most progressive states concerning the issue of gay community. Criminalization of same-sex activities has been banned as far as in 1976, though same-sex marriage was legalized by law in 2012 at a referendum after several previous rejections.
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8. Nevada
LGBT percentage: 4.3
Nevada is one of the gayest states in America in 2018, and 10th state which has banned the practice of “conversion therapy” of LGBT youth, and it was signed just earlier in 2017. Nevada has generally been opened towards LGBT community since 2009 domestic partnership was recognized as legal, but the same-sex marriage was legalized in 2014.
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7. New York
LGBT percentage: 4.5
New York has been known as a safe and liberal place for gay population and defense of gay rights in a long time. Some of the most striking events concerning the issue of being gay in modern society were the Stonewall Riots – violent demonstrations undertaken by members of LGBT community at Greenwich Village, NYC on June 28, 1969. The riots occurred as a protestation against anti-gay and homophobic part of society (and law) in the 50s and 60s and were seen as one of the first events of this kind. Since then, Greenwich Village has remained a core of LGBT community in the New York. A bar, The Stonewall Inn, in Greenwich Village has also become the first national monument to gay rights, as a tribute to those who took part in Stonewall Riots.
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Next in line on our list of gayest states in America in 2018 we have two states which share the 5th spot.
5. California
LGBT percentage: 4.6
California is definitively one of the gayest states in America in 2018, having some of the metropolitan areas which are among the top in percentage of the LGBT population and among most gay-friendly cities: San Francisco, Los Angeles, and San Diego. Recently, California has become the first state to approve LGBT – inclusive textbooks in primary schools.
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5. Hawaii
LGBT percentage: 4.6
Apart from being a popular exotic vacation place, Hawaii also offers a lot of festivals and events oriented towards the gay population. One of those is Honolulu Pride (and also Prides in Maui and Hawaii Island), and the other Honolulu Rainbow Film Festival, making Hawaii one of the gayest states in America in 2018. Even though the gay population has widely been accepted among Hawaiian society, same-sex marriage was only legalized in 2013.
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4. Oregon
LGBT percentage: 4.8
According to some resources, we have found, Portland, the largest city of Oregon ranks at the second place on the percentage of the gay population in metropolitan areas with 5.4% (the data is from 2015), just after San Francisco with 6.2%. Nevertheless, same-sex marriage in Oregon was legalized only in 2014, after it was prohibited earlier in 2004.
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3. Massachusetts
LGBT percentage: 5.0
As Massachusetts’s capital, Boston is known as one of the most gay-friendly and one of the gayest cities of the USA. Massachusetts is also one of the first states that have added sexual orientation to the anti-discrimination statute. Since 1989 Massachusetts has accepted the laws that prohibit discrimination in employment, housing, credit and accommodations, which makes it a second state to pass these kinds of laws.
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2. Vermont
LGBT percentage: 5.8
Vermont seems to be one of the most gay-friendly and most concerned of all states for the well-being of the gay population. There are numerous laws adopted in order to lower discrimination towards LGBT population, as well as promote equality. Some of these laws include parenting laws, non-discrimination laws (concerning employment, housing, insurance, etc.), hate crime laws, youth laws, etc. Same-sex marriages were legalized in Vermont in 2009.
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1. District of Columbia
LGBT percentage: 10.8
With over 10% of the gay population, District of Columbia, the capital of the nation, seems to convincingly front all other 50 states, being the gayest state in America in 2018. Same-sex marriage was legalized in 2009 in District of Columbia. Although compared to the rest of America, DC is small (in terms population) it still has the most same-sex couples per 1000 households (18.08 compared to the second on the list, Vermont, with 8.36).
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This wraps it up for our list of gayest states in America in 2018.
