
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) community members and supporters attend the fourth Delhi Queer Pride parade in New Delhi in 2011.
Okay, it’s not really a state. But with one in 10 residents self-identifying as gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender, the District of Columbia is apparently the most gay-friendly area of the country, according to a new poll.
The survey, carried out by the Gallup Politics group from January to December of last year, is the single largest study of the distribution of LGBT-identifying Americans to date.
After D.C., Hawaii had the most respondents who answered in the affirmative, with 5.1% of the population self-identifying as gay; Vermont, Oregon, Maine and Rhode Island rounded out the top five. North Dakota had the smallest proportion of gay residents, with just 1.7%. Montana, Mississippi and Tennessee all tied at 2.6% and Utah, Idaho, Nebraska and Pennsylvania came in at 2.7%.
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The research was carried via telephone interviews with a random sample of adults living across the U.S., who were asked the question, “Do you, personally, identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender?” The margin of error varied by state, but in most cases was less than ±2%. The results:
10 States with the Most Positive Responses:
District of Colombia 10.0%
Hawaii 5.1%
Vermont 4.9%
Oregon 4.9%
Maine 4.8%
Rhode Island 4.5%
Massachusetts 4.4%
South Dakota 4.4%
Nevada 4.2%
California 4.0%
10 States with the Least Positive Responses:
Iowa 2.8%
Alabama 2.8%
Pennsylvania 2.7%
Nebraska 2.7%
Idaho 2.7%
Utah 2.7%
Tennessee 2.6%
Mississippi 2.6%
Montana 2.6%
North Dakota 1.7%
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