new report Home and personal security rating company SafeHome.org ranked all 50 states and the District of Columbia based on how safe they are for the LGBTQ community.
Thirteen states earned an “A” rating for LGBTQ safety based on comprehensive equality laws and low hate crime rates against LGBTQ people. At the other end of the spectrum, six states received an “F” rating due to discriminatory laws and high rates of hate crimes targeting LGBTQ people.
Rankings were based on a composite score that combined legal and hate crime scores, which were converted into a final letter grade.
To create the Law Score, SafeHome.org surveyed 1,004 LGBTQ Americans about what types of laws most impact their personal safety. We then weighted the categories of pro-equality and anti-equality bills and applied those weights to each state’s law. Exercise advancement project.
The types of pro-equality laws considered to create the ‘Law Score’ include:
- Laws prohibiting discrimination in employment, housing, and other areas of life.
- The Hate Crime and Criminal Justice Act imposes reporting requirements, eliminates so-called “panic” defenses and prevents profiling.
- Health and Safety Act supporting LGBTQ health care rights and allowing gender marker updates.
- Laws that protect children through anti-bullying, banning conversion therapy, and LGBTQ-inclusive education.
- Laws recognizing same-sex marriage and parental rights.
Laws that contributed to lower scores include:
- A law that allows health care providers to discriminate against LGBTQ patients.
- Laws that criminalize HIV/AIDS secrecy or same-sex consensual activities.
- Laws that limit non-discrimination protections.
- Laws that limit the rights of LGBTQ youth.
- Parenting laws that restrict adoption and adoption of LGBTQ people.
- Laws allowing denial of service based on religion.
To create the Hate Crime Score, SafeHome.org analyzed data from the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting Program on anti-LGBTQ hate crimes. The researchers compiled reports of crimes motivated by anti-LGBTQ hostility in each state, breaking them down into rural and urban areas, and calculated the incidence rate per 100,000 residents.
One notable finding from the report is that although the total number of hate crimes reported in the latest FBI data has decreased slightly, the number of incidents targeting LGBTQ people still exceeds 2,500 in a single year.
According to the survey, 28% of LGBTQ Americans have considered moving across state lines for greater legal protection and safety. 61% of LGBTQ adults avoid public spaces due to fear of discrimination or violence.
According to SafeHome.org’s analysis, Nevada is the safest state for LGBTQ people, with a total safety score of 95.8. Illinois, Hawaii, Colorado, Maine, New York, Minnesota, California, Michigan, New Jersey, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Washington rounded out the top 13 with scores of 90.5.
Fourteen states received a “B” grade for LGBTQ safety: Oregon, Delaware, Wisconsin, North Dakota, New Mexico, Maryland, Connecticut, Virginia, Vermont, Massachusetts, Arizona, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Kentucky.
Eleven states earned a “C” grade: Georgia, Iowa, Nebraska, Montana, Kansas, Indiana, Oklahoma, Missouri, Ohio, Utah, and Wyoming.
Seven states earned a “D” rating: Idaho, Alaska, South Dakota, Texas, Florida, Alabama, and Mississippi.
The bottom six jurisdictions (all receiving F grades) were South Carolina with an overall safety score of 58.3, followed by Tennessee, Arkansas, Louisiana, the District of Columbia, and West Virginia, which ranked as the least safe states for LGBTQ people with a score of 44.7.
Looking specifically at the District of Columbia (the only liberal jurisdiction among a group of Republican-leaning states with laws hostile to the LGBTQ community), the District of Columbia ranked 50th despite having many pro-LGBTQ laws. SafeHome.org said in its analysis that the district’s ranking is “an important reminder that good laws alone do not guarantee safety.”
While the District ranks 10th in the nation for its laws due to its strong anti-discrimination protections and lack of anti-equality laws, it also has the highest rate of anti-LGBTQ hate crimes in the nation, with more than six incidents per 100,000 people. Notably, the district was included in GLAAD’s 2025 Tracker, which tracks more than 1,000 anti-LGBTQ incidents nationwide, including assault, harassment, vandalism, and threats.
As SafeHome.org writes in its analysis of D.C., “While the law creates a framework of equality, it cannot erase the hostility that LGBTQ+ people encounter in their daily lives.”
Source: Metro Weekly – www.metroweekly.com
