Of all the metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of LGBTs in the US, New York doesn’t even crack the top 10. The West Coast — from Portland to Salt Lake City to San Francisco and Los Angeles — has the most self-identifying queer populations, according to what is being touted as “the most detailed estimates yet” of where LGBT people live.
The numbers, based on new analysis of Gallup survey data, indicate the further dissolution of the “gay mecca” as LGBTs find acceptance and acknowledgement of our civil rights in every pocket of America.
“For a generation, they all remember the moment they walked through their first gay bar,” Paul Boneberg, executive director of San Fran’s GLBT Historical Society told The New York Times. “But now they come out for the first time online, and that changes, for some people, the need to leave.”
Still, San Francisco boasts the most gays per capita, with 6.2 percent of the population self-identifying as LGBT. On the other end of the spectrum and the wrong side of history is Birmingham with 2.6 percent.
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Most Southern and Midwestern cities tend to have smaller gay populations, but the point is that they have gay populations to begin with. According to The Times:
Nationwide, Gallup says, 3.6 percent of adults consider themselves gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender. And even the parts of the country outside the 50 biggest metropolitan areas have a gay population (about 3 percent) not so different from some big metropolitan areas.
New York falls somewhere in the middle with 4 percent, sandwiched between southern belles, Phoenix and San Antonio. Of course, when you have 4 percent of the New York metro area compared with the, say, 4.5 percent of the Louisville metro area, chances are you’re going to come up with more queens in one deck of cards.
Naturally, San Francisco has…a Full House.
Check out the full list below:
San Francisco, 6.2 percent
Portland, Ore., 5.4
Austin, Tex., 5.3
New Orleans, 5.1
Seattle, 4.8
Boston, 4.8
Salt Lake City, 4.7
Los Angeles, 4.6
Denver, 4.6
Hartford, 4.6
Louisville, Ky., 4.5
Virginia Beach, 4.4
Providence, R.I., 4.4
Las Vegas, 4.3
Columbus, Ohio, 4.3
Jacksonville, Fla., 4.3
Miami, 4.2
Indianapolis, 4.2
Orlando, Fla., 4.1
Tampa, Fla. 4.1
Phoenix, 4.1
New York, 4
San Antonio, 4
Washington, 4
Riverside, Calif., 4
Philadelphia, 3.9
Baltimore, 3.9
Buffalo, 3.9
Detroit, 3.9
Sacramento, 3.9
San Diego, 3.9
Charlotte, N.C., 3.8
Chicago, 3.8
Dallas, 3.8
Cleveland, 3.7
Kansas City (Mo. and Kan.), 3.6
Minneapolis-St. Paul, 3.6
St. Louis, 3.6
Oklahoma City, 3.5
Richmond, Va., 3.5
Nashville., 3.5
Milwaukee, 3.5
Houston, 3.3
San Jose, Calif., 3.2
Raleigh, N.C., 3.2
Cincinnati, 3.2
Memphis, 3.1
Pittsburgh, 3
Birmingham, Ala., 2.6
Les Fabian Brathwaite, BK Bitch.
avesraggiana
There are far fewer of us than we care to concede.
Bob LaBlah
@avesraggiana: Based on this flawed that is what one can concluded. What bothers me is that they do not list the method (as in WHO was consulted for the survey). The numbers for the following: Cleveland, Louisville, Memphis, New Orleans and finally St. Louis I totally disagree with. Was it done by telephone, mail-in…?
From the article:“For a generation, they all remember the moment they walked through their first gay bar,” Paul Boneberg, executive director of San Fran’s GLBT Historical Society told The New York Times. “But now they come out for the first time online, and that changes, for some people, the need to leave.”
When I read comments on this board I can almost see those who do their socializing on the internet and those who go out and get “fresh air”, shall we say. People who go out to bars, gay centers (what few are left) and engage in other activities other than cruising-for-sex tend to be more social than lonely little boys who comment negatively on everything that displeases them. The internet “bunch” tend to have a me, me, me attitude versus those that know there is much more to being gay than abs, eighteen inch arms and buns of steel. Or better yet, one night stands. In small towns (in my opinion a “small town” is a population of 200k or less, like Saint Louis or Memphis) the local gay bar is the first “outing” and it is there they tend to learn to socialize.
Those who ran off to NYC, Washington, DC, Los Angeles and other east/left..er, um, west coast cities have/are learning the hard way that living amongst a larger gay population doesn’t mean shit if you can’t afford the $12 or $15 dollars per drink on top of the $10 or $15 or so entrance fee/cover charge to boot. Those cities have larger gay populations but just like all the rest, job/wages are not going to allow you to really “enjoy” life as one might back home in the midwest or south, where it is much cheaper to live off of the wages being paid. If the young’uns in the south/midwest would turn off their iPhones for just a minute they might find they are not as alone as they think.
MacAdvisor
Sacramento made a list of “highest concentration of LGBTs in the US”? Wow.
Desert Boy
Makes sense. We have better weather than the east coast. Who wants to shovel snow?
badtungsten
These numbers don’t really mean a lot. I live in Las Vegas, where 4.3% of us identify as LGBT. OK, that means 86,000 people out of 2 million. NYC, by contrast, may only have 4% but that translates to 320,000 people out of 8 million. See how math works? “Concentration” doesn’t mean raw numbers.
Kevin B
If you click though the links you can easily see who they asked and when. They polled over 350000 employed adults over the phone between 2012 and 2014. Basically they dial random numbers. Each city was represented by at least 3000 responses except for New Orleans and Memphis. You could argue that only polling employed people might have lowered our representation, especially in areas without LGBT employment protections, but probably not by much.
jwtraveler
6.2 % of employed adults in SF are gay?! That’s about 30-35,000 people, I’d estimate. I’ve seen more than that on Castro St. on a Saturday night.
Merv
These are polls for metro areas, including the suburbs, which might account for some of the numbers being lower than expected. Also, there are many gay people who aren’t comfortable talking about their sexual orientation to a total stranger who just called them up out of the blue. Who knows what their intentions are.
That being said, who would have thought that San Jose would be so low. I guess the whole gay tech nerd thing is a myth.
Realitycheck
@avesraggiana:
Or may be there too many closet cases, met plenty of those at
clubs and bars.
Giancarlo85
@Bob LaBlah: “allow you to really “enjoy” life as one might back home in the midwest or south, where it is much cheaper to live off of the wages being paid. If the young’uns in the south/midwest would turn off their iPhones for just a minute they might find they are not as alone as they think.”
BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH. Except those places in the midwest and south have lower paying jobs and worse standards of living overall (more polluted, lower living standards, higher unemployment, etc).
Southern States have extremely high poverty and unemployment compared to more wealthy states.
Bob LaBlah
@Giancarlo85: Have a nice weekend dear.
QJ201
Not fair to compare a Megapolis like NYC, which is really 5 combined cities.
Redo the analysis by NYC borough, GUARANTEED Manhattan wins. You know that “borough” that is just “one part” of NYC that has more residents (3 million) than EVERY other US city.
Giancarlo85
@Bob LaBlah: Please explain me why the South is a much better place to live than the West Coast, when the South has lower levels of income and higher levels of unemployment?
Or else shut your fat face.
Bob LaBlah
@Giancarlo85: Ok dear. Here goes: take a data entry job in Los Angeles that pay anywhere from $11-13 per hour. Now take in transportation costs to get to and fro. Now take in no less than $1200 a month (and we are talking studio at best) rent. Cellphone, light, gas food and finally, if anything is left over, personal expenses.
The rent alone means one will have to work a second job order to be able to get to and from along with all the other necessities of life. Now take into account how much is left for you afterwards? No much huh.
Now lets go to the south, midwest. Car insurance is cheaper. As is housing such as $450 -$800 for a one, two bedroom apt. In the Memphis, Louisville, Oklahoma City, Shreveport (Louisiana) areas when you start getting in the $700 plus range for rent there is a pretty good chance you are talking carpet, balcony, wooded area and washer/dryer INSIDE YOUR APT. with a parking space for your car. In downtown Saint Louis you can get a two bedroom in a renovated building starting at $750.00 and walk to the Arch. As you could Memphis. As a matter of fact, you can get an entire house in all of those cities for around $800 in areas that are no worse off crime wise than the West Village of NYC.
If you can live in East Los Angeles, East Hollywood and other areas that don’t even come close to what you will pay to live in W.Hollywood you can live in those midwestern/southern city areas where rents are more like $500-600 though you “probably won’t get the w/d inside your apt but there is a ninety percent plus chance they will be on the premises, as would a parking space believe it or not.
Food is cheaper as well. Google the local grocery stores in those areas and make comparisons in their weekly flyers as compared to Vons, Ralphs, Safeway. Yes, a lot of jobs in those areas pay minimum wage or a dollar or two more but since you said a long time ago that you do data entry I bet you would come out about the same here wage wise as you would there. Considering the rent and other savings (car insurance for example) you would do better here than there. Over the weekend go to APTS.com and put in a few cities outside of California (such as the ones that I mentioned) and see what you come up with. But please DONT go to the classified section and find a job back here and relocate. I prefer you to…..lol. Have a good weekend honey.
Giancarlo85
@Bob LaBlah: bullshit on too many levels. What do you know about “Data entry jobs”? It depends where you live in LA. It isn’t all the same. $1200 a month for a studio? Where? LOL. I live in a decent area and my studio is $700.
You have no clue about California. At all. Your logic is terrible.
Yeah lets go South. Lower minimum wages, higher unemployment, higher poverty rates and lower economic mobility. If you are stuck in a low paying job you are generally stuck there for life. There is little possibility to improve your own financial standing. By the way, you don’t really know anything about California. Food here isn’t expensive at all. I know certain grocery stores where you can get food for 1/3rd the cost of Vons, Ralphs, etc.
Saint Louis is a dump.
http://money.cnn.com/gallery/real_estate/2013/01/23/dangerous-cities/2.html
One of the most violent dumps with higher levels of poverty and unemployment.
People who live in areas like West Hollywood or Santa Monica, generally make $40-$50 an hour… or even more. These are types of jobs you wouldn’t find in the South (unless you are related to some politicians).
You are incorrect about the food, and you are incorrect about the cost of food. Go look at stores in Los Angeles like “99 Ranch Market”, “Superior groceries”, or “Vallarta”. By the way, kiddo, I didn’t find my apartment on the internet. The internet only lists major apartment complexes that are higher priced. Most apartment complexes aren’t listed on the internet.
You are a nasty little liar. The south is a disgusting place to live, where you make probably 1/3rd of what you could in California. Even the minimum wage is far lower. Extremely high levels of unemployment are also holding the South back.
Data entry fucking bullshit. Do you even read what I do? I never said I work “data entry”. You need to learn how to read. Bad reading comprehension really. By the way, I’m moving on up… have an interview for a job that pays $4,000 a month. That’s the kind of salary that is unheard of in the south.
Giancarlo85
Here… I’ll make it more simple in a few words.
The south has fewer economic possibilities, hence why things are cheaper. I’m sure food is cheaper in countries like Haiti and Nicaragua too. I’m sure the rent is too. Would I move there? No. Some of the most violent areas of the country are in Southern cities. LA isn’t dangerous anymore. The crime rate has been cut by significantly in the last two decades.
I want more economic possibilities, hence why I live in California. I would never have had a chance at a $50,000~ salaried job if I lived in the South as no such jobs exist (unless you are connected to some politicians).
Bob LaBlah
@Giancarlo85: Thank you for confirming what I thought about you all along. Have a nice, lonely weekend. This is my last response to you.
Giancarlo85
@Bob LaBlah: Have fun with that and your delusions about California. So does the liquor store you worked for 30 years provide 401K or retirement options? Didn’t think so.
Southern Cities have no real economic possibilities. They are very poor like the states they are in.
Have fun man living in fantasy!
KJA
@Desert Boy: Agreed
KJA
There’s no place better than the West. Awesome!
dave lopes
Remember folks, they are talking about SELF IDENTIFIED Homosexuals.
60% of the men I have had sex with in my lifetime do not identify as gay and certainly would not identify as such in a phone or any survey.
So these numbers really show the places were people SELF IDENTIFY as Gay
jwtraveler
@QJ201: Manhattan has about 1.6 million people, fewer than L.A., Chicago or Houston. Brooklyn (2.6 million) and Queens (2.3 million) are bigger than Manhattan. While Manhattan probably has the highest concentration of gay, white men, Brooklyn also has a large gay population, and a large lesbian population. Queens has a lot of gays too, especially Latinos and 2 gay (white male) City Council members.
Saint Law
@jwtraveler: Google really is your friend. Your only friend.
beading_man
You forgot to add Palm Springs, Ca.
jwtraveler
@Saint Law: No, Wikepedia. FU2
stadacona
Once again, the activist lie that 10 per cent are LGBT is dis-proven. Study after study done in many Western countries show the true figure is between 2 and 4 per cent, and this survey confirms that yet again.
Giancarlo85
@stadacona: Since many do not confirm it and did not partake in this poll, it isn’t a lie. What site did you come from? Fox News?
Giancarlo85
Also something I must add about Southern states… asides from the lack of economic mobility, the bad job situation, the unemployment, the poverty… gay people do not have workplace protections in those states at all.
Also, stadacona, what study after study are you talking about? Care to name all these studies? You’re full of shit just like the rest of the trolls on here.
GayEGO
Where is Atlanta Georgia? We have friends in Georgia that claim there are many gay establishments in the city and suburbs.
dave lopes
@stadacona: Which part of self admitted do you not get. This data does not prove nor disprove the percentage of the population that is LGBT.
Sluggo2007
@Giancarlo85: Excuse me, Giancarlo85, but have you ever considered getting a life?
1EqualityUSA
stadacona said, “Once again, the activist lie that 10 per cent are LGBT is dis-proven. Study after study done in many Western countries show the true figure is between 2 and 4 per cent, and this survey confirms that yet again.”
Equality is a principle that is not contingent upon numbers.
Giancarlo85
@Sluggo2007: Why don’t you? Seems like the trolls are out in force lately.
vive
The size of the city is more important than the percentage.
I live in a small city with a higher percentage of LGBTs than New York, according to that list, but I can assure you that most single gay people I know here seldom have sex because the community is so small and choice is so limited.
vive
@Giancarlo85, you should visit New Orleans and you may change your mind. I live in the Northeast but I think New Orleans is probably the most beautiful city in the U.S., with a great quality of life if you are middle class.
Giancarlo85
@vive: New Orleans? You’re kidding me right?
http://www.npr.org/2015/01/20/378567168/french-quarter-sees-violent-crime-surge-residents-demand-changes
New Orleans is one of the most violent cities in this country. Right up there with St. Louis and Detroit.
WHat do I need to change my mind about? The Southern US has the lowest quality of life, the highest unemployment rates and lowest levels of economic mobility.
vive
@Giancarlo, I agree with many of your comments on other threads, but here made a nice and civil comment to you about a city almost everyone who knows it loves passionately. Has New Orleans hurt you personally to justify the vehemence of your response? What is that rage really about?
Giancarlo85
@vive: I don’t care for any southern city. I don’t care for New Orleans and I been there. Been to Miami too but not sure you’d count that as a Southern City. I don’t care for any of them. It isn’t that I hate New Orleans… I just don’t care for it.