Safest states for lgbtq to live
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The major categories of laws covered by the policy tally include: Relationship & Parental Recognition, Nondiscrimination, Religious Exemptions, LGBTQ Youth, Health Care, Criminal Justice, and Identity Documents.
After the inauguration, TRACTION started getting three to five applications every day. Laws that make states less inclusive to all citizens are sure to impact the safety and well-being of LGBTQ+ individuals—especially those looking to start a family.
- 1,229 bills have been active in state legislatures so far in 2025 aimed at LGBTQ+ populations, which on average, make up less than 8% of any state’s population.
- Maine has 23 sex orientation protective laws on the books and 25 gender identity protective laws, which played a big part in it taking the top spot.
- Tennessee (the bottom-ranked state) has 17 negative laws against the LGBTQ+ community.
We chose to weigh negative legislation more heavily against a state's safety score because protective legislation, while designed to make communities safer, healthcare, housing, and education more accessible, and impose consequences for violation, is still easier to work around or violate than a negative law that punishes providers (in healthcare, education, housing, etc.) for granting rights and access to people and services that the legislation is designed to prohibit.
[Year of access]. See where your state ranks
As Oklahoman legislators push to restrict trans rights and overturn the 2015 Supreme Court decision legalizing gay marriage, Zane Eaves says his identity as a transgender man has put a target on his back in his home state.
One of 18,900 trans adults in Oklahoma, Eaves has received death threats, as has his wife of 10 years and their two children.
“All the hatred and political stuff going on” are driving this Oklahoma lifer from the place he was born and raised, Eaves, 35, said.
So we joined with Move.org and crunched the numbers around current and advancing anti-LGBTQ+ legislation, hate crime estimations, the queer and general populations, and more in all 50 states to find the ones that are most likely to have safer communities for LGBTQIA+ families.
Top ten safest states for LGBTQ+ families
A note from the editor
For the purposes of this report, the term “safest” refers specifically to relative risks and protections for LGBTQIA+ individuals and families based on available data, including crime statistics, legislative protections, and policy environments.
This map shows the gender identity policy tallies for each state, the District of Columbia, and the five populated U.S. territories. At SafeWise we combine our years of experience in home safety and security with user reviews and feedback to help take the guesswork out of living safe. The gender identity tally is comprised of 25 state laws and policies in five key categories: Non-Discrimination, LGBT Youth, Health and Safety, Ability to Correct the Name and Gender Marker on Identity Documents, and Adoption and Parenting.
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Report
Mapping LGBT Equality in America
May 2015 - Mapping LGBT Equality in America sets out to identify and explain the key gaps in legal equality for LGBT Americans by introducing the major state and local laws and policies that protect or harm LGBT people, providing a breakdown of those laws and policies by state, and showing how protections for LGBT Americans vary based on sexual orientation and gender identity and expression.
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Charts
State Policy Tallies
Policy Tallies provide an overview of laws and polices that exist in each state.
Out Leadership’s index measures the impact of state government policies and prevalent attitudes about the LGBTQ+ community, weighing factors such as support for young people and families, health access and safety, political and religious attitudes, work environment and employment and nondiscrimination protections.
The Northeast had six of the 10 highest-ranked states, while the Southeast had six of the lowest-ranked.
Massachusetts, led by the nation’s first openly lesbian governor, Democrat Maura Healey and New York, which guaranteed gender-affirming care and LGBTQ+ refugee protections, tied for first place in this year’s index, with Connecticut and New Jersey close behind.
The least LGBTQ+ friendly state was Arkansas, which ranked last for the third straight year.
"Equality Maps: Snapshot: LGBTQ Equality By State." https://www.mapresearch.org/equality-maps/. Transgender people can also be affected by laws that explicitly mention sexual orientation.
| Sexual Orientation Tally | |
| High (75-100% of points possible) | 17.25+ |
| Medium (50-74.9% of points possible) | 11.5 to 17 |
| Fair (25-49.9% of points possible) | 5.75 to 11.25 |
| Low (0-24.9% of points possible) | 0 to 5.5 |
| Negative (<0 points) | <0 |
total points possible | 23 |
Movement Advancement Project.
red, according to advocacy group Out Leadership.
More: Find coverage for Pride 2025LGBTQ+ equality fell across the board for the third straight year, according to Out Leadership’s State LGBTQ+ Business Climate Index shared exclusively with USA TODAY. He has only crossed the state line three times in his life, but in recent weeks, he made the difficult decision to move his family to North Carolina to be closer to friends and allies.
Accessed [day of access].
Percent of Adult LGBTQ Population Covered by Laws
*Note: These percentages reflect estimates of the LGBTQ adult population living in the 50 states and the District of Columbia.
While progressive strongholds championed supportive policies and protections, conservative states elected a slate of leaders who openly oppose gay and trans rights and sponsored an unprecedented wave of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation, Out Leadership CEO and founder Todd Sears said.
So-called “Don’t Say Gay” bills, religious exemptions and other legislation tanked the rankings of 19 red states in the Out Leadership index, according to Sears.
Gender identity and expression are independent of sexual orientation. Estimates of transgender people in the U.S. territories or under age 13 are not available, and so cannot be reflected here.
40 % of the LGBTQ population lives in states with high overall policy tallies
5 % of the LGBTQ population lives in states with medium overall policy tallies
9 % of LGBTQ population lives in states with fair overall policy tallies
14 % of LGBTQ population lives in states with low overall policy tallies
32 % of LGBTQ population lives in states with negative overall policy tallies
The Movement Advancement Project (MAP) tracks over 50 different LGBTQ-related laws and policies.
States with lower scores might shift rapidly with an influx of resources, and states with higher scores might backslide, or they might expand equality for LGBTQ people in ways that can provide models for other states. No other characterization of any community, state, or population is implied or intended.
We recognize that safety is a complex and deeply personal experience, and not all aspects of LGBTQIA+ safety can be measured through data alone.