Metros that were once overlooked are proving to be popular places for LGBTQ consumers to live in, according to a new survey from realtor.com®. San Francisco continues to take the top spot, but members of the LGBTQ community are increasingly choosing places that also have strong antidiscriminatory laws and policies in place.
“The LGBTQ community will identify a town or neighborhood and will turn it into a safe haven for themselves,” David Siroty, a spokesman for the National Association of Gay & Lesbian Real Estate Professionals, told realtor.com®. “Then businesses and beautification will follow. Over time, the neighborhood improves and it becomes popular with everybody. They’re looking for a lot of the same things that anyone would look for: walkability, entertainment, and culture. But they’re also looking for safety and areas where they can live without discrimination.”
About 20 states have enacted protections from housing discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, according to the advocacy organization Freedom for All Americans. “Discrimination happens every day to LGBTQ people who are simply trying to go about their lives and do something as basic as invest in an apartment or new home,” Masen Davis, CEO of Freedom for All Americans, told realtor.com®.
Realtor.com® researchers singled out metros by looking at those with at least 50,000 households that were headed by same-sex partners. They then accounted for the area’s laws and services for the LGBTQ community and factored in the number of gay bars, meetup groups, and events. From there, realtor.com® ranked the following cities as the most gay-friendly places:
1. San Francisco
- Median home list price: $1.45 million
2. Atlanta
- Median home list price: $408,250
3. St. Petersburg, Fla.
- Median home list price: $329,900
4. Denver
- Median home list price: $499,900
5. Seattle
- Median home list price: $695,900
6. Portland, Ore.
- Median home list price: $489,900
7. Minneapolis
- Median home list price: $349,900
View the full list at realtor.com®.
Source: “Top Places for LGBTQ Folks to Live—and It’s Not Just New York and San Francisco,” realtor.com® (June 24, 2019)
