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Realtor.com studied the best places for the LGBTQ community to live, and while San Francisco, California, took the top spot, some newer metros are becoming havens for the LGBTQ community.
"The LGBTQ community will identify a town or neighborhood, will turn it into a safe haven for themselves," said David Siroty, spokesman for the National Association of Gay and Lesbian Real Estate Professionals. "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.”
Realtor.com studied at least 50,000 households, which were at least 0.5% headed by same-sex partners, according to U.S. Census info. Each city’s score on the Human Rights Campaign Municipal Equality Index was studied, which measures how inclusive its laws and services are for the gay community. Other factors, such as the numbers of gay bars and meetup groups per 10,000 households.
San Francisco, and it’s median-home price of $1.45 million, topped the list, with realtor.com calling it “the gay-friendliest city on the planet.”
The Castro, San Francisco’s main neighborhood for the LGBTQ community, is filled with multistory, Victorian and Edwardian homes. Most homes sell between $1.2 and $1.8 million, or more.
The top-10 list continued as follows: Atlanta, Georgia, St. Petersburg, Florida, Denver, Colorado, Seattle, Washington, Portland, Oregon, Minneapolis, Minnesota, St. Louis, Missouri, Providence, Rhode Island, and Austin, Texas.
St. Petersburg is the third most affordable city on the list, behind St. Louis and Providence, with a median home price of just $329,900. St. Louis is the most affordable market on the list, with homes fetching, on average, $214,000.
"I know Missouri is a red state, but I don't feel that in the Grove. I truly feel accepted," said local real estate agent Fabian Trujillo of Coldwell Banker Gundaker."It's a great place to go hang out with friends."
