Taking its cue from a Gallup national poll that studied the shifting attitudes toward LGBT rights across the United States and finding 60 percent of Americans supporting same-sex marriage—up 5 percent from the previous year, and anecdotal evidence predicts an even greater climb following the SCOTUS landmark ruling on marriage equality this past June—the consumer advisory website NerdWallet did a study of their own.
Its mission? Using data from Gallup and other recent studies, NerdWallet aimed to rank the most prominent cities in 49 states on their LGBT friendliness. And guess which New England metropolis came up number four?
Providence, Rhode Island!
Boston came in at number 11, statistically very close given the differences in the sizes and breakdowns of the cities’ populations. The study based its scores on the percentage of residents who identify as LGBT in each metro area; hate crimes related to gender identity or sexual orientation per 10,000 LGBT residents; Human Rights Campaign Municipal Equality Index scores; and HRC-recognized hospitals as leaders in healthcare equality per 10,000 LGBT residents.
According to the NerdWallet report:
In the Providence metro area, 4.4 percent of the population identifies as LGBT. When it comes to health care equality, the Human Rights Campaign recognized 2.6 hospitals for every 10,000 LGBT residents in the city, the second-highest score on the list. The area also has Pride RI, Youth Pride Inc., ACLU of Rhode Island and other civil rights organizations promoting equal rights and visibility for the local LGBT community.
In June, Providence hosts its annual RI PrideFest, which includes the Illuminated Night Parade. The Providence Warwick Convention and Visitors Bureau even has its own “Glambassador,” Haley Star, a YouTube drag queen.
