Cities with the Most Gay Couples: Wealthier, Smarter, More Fun

Wall Street Journal/Williams Institute

UCLA’s Williams Institute – a think tank dedicated to the field of sexual orientation and gender identity law and public policy — recently determined the gayest cities in America, both big and small, using the latest Census data. The Census had to rely on individuals volunteering their sexual orientation, so while it’s not a perfect science, it’s as close as we’re going to get to the quantification of gay couples in the US. And it’s full of some surprising (Minneapolis? Really?) and not-so-surprising (Hi, San Fran!) results.

The top larger-sized cities (population above 250,000) for same-sex couples includes: San Francisco, CA; Seattle, WA; Oakland, CA; Minneapolis, MN; Atlanta, GA; Portland, OR; Long Beach, CA; Washington, DC; Boston, MA and Denver CO.

The top smaller-sized cities (population below 100,000) for same-sex couples include: Provincetown, MA; Wilton Manors, FL; Palm Springs, CA; Rehoboth Beach, DE; Guerneville, CA; West Hollywood, CA; Pleasant Ridge, MI; New Hope, PA; Rancho Mirage, CA; Oakland Park, FL.

But it gets more interesting when we piece together other data about our nation’s gayest cities. District of Columbia, Boston, San Francisco, Seattle, Minneapolis and Denver rank in the top 25 for the most educated cities in the country, and District of Columbia, San Francisco, Boston, Seattle and Minneapolis all landed on the highest earners list as well.

And is it surprising that out of the gayest cities, Boston, San Francisco, Seattle, Portland, Minneapolis and Denver were voted in the top 20 for most fun in the country? I think not. On the downside, Atlanta and Minneapolis earned spots on the most dangerous cities list for their high crime rates.

But the real debate began when The Daily Show with Jon Stewart pit Minneapolis vs. San Francisco (“new gay” vs. “old gay”) after The Advocate voted Minneapolis the gayest city in America. So, is San Francisco the “Colonial Williamsburg” of gay? You tell us in the comments!

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