Changing legislation, shifting attitudes and wider acceptance have made areas that were traditionally hostile toward the LGBT community more welcoming.
ConsumerAffairs.com analyzed data from the Census Bureau and Gallup to create an interactive map that shows the movement of different demographic groups over the past decade.
Nationwide acceptance of and sensitivity toward LGBT individuals and issues has increased since even the early 2000s, and some places that have been traditionally very conservative, like Salt Lake City, saw the most dramatic increase in their LGBT population.
A snapshot of some of the surprising results for the LGBT community reveal:
- Salt Lake City saw the biggest increase in the size of its LGBT community as a portion of the total population, moving from 39th place in 1993 to 7th as of 2014 (the most recent available data).
- Of the 20 cities that saw a positive change in their ranking, 11 were in traditionally red states including Virginia, Kentucky, Louisiana and Texas.
- Traditionally LGBT-friendly cities like Minneapolis, San Diego and New York saw a drop in their national rankings.
You can see the full map here.
