What are the top 10 most affordable LGBTQ+ friendly cities for singles

What are the most affordable, LGBQ+-friendly cities for singles? Find out here on this episode. Then download your FREE Queer Money Kickstarter, a 9-step Guide to Kickstart Your Journey to Financial Independence.

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What are the top 10 most affordable, LGBTQ+-friendly Cities for singles? 

On this Queer Money®, we’re sharing the top 10 most affordable, LGBTQ+-friendly cities for singles on our affordable, LGBTQ+-friendly city series.

Coming in at #10 is Madison, Wisconsin. Madison, Wisconsin, came in the #8 position for best city for singles and #2 for dating opportunities. Of the 182 cities WalletHub ranked, this was the highest on our list of top 10.  Madison has the highest median income at $60,000 per year. It has the highest home value of $354,000 per property. Madison has the highest rent at $ 1,455 per month for a two-bedroom, two-bath apartment. It has the highest cost of living at 101.4%. Madison is the only city in the top 10 with the cost of living higher than 100%.

Coming in at #9 is Columbus, Ohio. Columbus, Ohio, came in at #34 on the WalletHub’s list.  47%+ of the Columbus population identify as people of color, Black, Hispanic, and Native American.  Per GayCities.com: This part of Ohio ranks among the USA’s highest per capita donations to LBGT political causes. Per Out Traveler: Columbus, Ohio, Is a Queer Hot Spot.

Coming in at #8 is Akron, Ohio. Akron, Ohio, came in at #112 on WalletHub’s list. It scored #42 for economics, validates scoring #1 on QM ep #413 affordability and LGBTQ friendliness. Akron has the lowest monthly rent, $1,117 for a two-bedroom, two-bath apartment. 

Coming in at #7 is St. Louis, Missouri. St. Louis, Missouri, came in at #28 on WalletHub’s list for total fun and recreation. St. Louis has the lowest home values at $160,000. It has the lowest median income at $51,000 and the lowest average income at $63,000. 53% of the St. Louis population identify as People of color, Black, Hispanic, and Native American. Author and professor Gregory Kompes named St. Louis one of the “50 Fabulous Gay-Friendly Places to Live” for its live-and-let-live attitude, extensive cultural attractions, and flourishing nightlife.

Coming in at #6 is Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Milwaukee, Wisconsin, came in at #94 on WalletHub’s list for singles. 

Coming in at #5 is Cincinnati, Ohio. Cincinnati, Ohio, came in on WalletHub’s list at #13 for singles, #25 for fun and recreation, and #34 for dating opportunities.

Coming in at #4 is Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Cedar Rapids, Iowa, is on WalletHub’s list #36 overall for singles, #16 for economics, and #2 for the lowest cost of a one-bedroom apartment, which validates our ranking as #1 for Iowa when we did Queer Money® episode #455. It scored #29 for dating opportunities on WalletHub’s list.

Coming in at #3 is Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is on WalletHub’s list as #18 for singles, #24 for fun & recreation, and #36 for dating opportunities. 37% of Pittsburgh’s population identify as people of color, Black, Hispanic, and Native American.

Our runner-up, coming in at #2, is Cleveland, Ohio. Cleveland, Ohio on WalletHub’s list came in at #64 for singles, #35 for Dating opportunities, #60 for fun & recreation, and #3 for the highest percentage of singles in the city. It came in for the Lowest cost of living at 77.2%. 47% of Cleveland’s population identify as people of color, Black, Hispanic, and Native American.

The winner that made our #1 position is Rochester, New York. Rochester came in on WalletHub’s list at #46 for singles, #18 for dating Opportunities, and #80 for fun and recreation. Rochester is the fifth highest city for the percentage of singles in all the cities WalletHub looked at. In December 2023, a Guardian article named Rochester as the safe haven for trans folks.

According to WalletHub’s list, the winner for fun and recreation is Las Vegas, Nevada. The winner for Dating opportunities is Junea, Arkansas, and the winner for economics is Fargo, North Dakota.

Why doesn’t Queer Money® top 10 match WalletHub’s top 10? WalletHub’s data equally weighs economics, fun and recreation, and dating opportunities, while we emphasize LGBTQ-friendliness per HRC’s MEI and affordability per our metrics. WalletHub’s Top 10 include Seattle, Las Vegas, Denver, Atlanta, and Austin – not one is in WalletHub’s top 100 per its Economic ranking. Only three cities in the Top 10 are in the Top 100 for Economics. We wanted to include costs such as childcare, groceries, and utilities like our data does.

We’re taking all the data we’ve acquired over the last year and breaking it down further to help people narrow down regions of the country to consider the most affordable, LGBTQ+-friendly cities for people who are single, couples, and more. Lotsa fun is coming your way! 

If you’d like to see the results of all the cities in each state we’re analyzing, get the dynamic list of Affordable LGBTQ+ Friendly Cities in the U.S. here. or click the link in your podcast player for a growing analysis.

For the resources and to connect with our guests, get the show notes at: https://queermoneypodcast.com/subscribe. 

 

 

Previous Bonus Podcast Episodes

• Most Affordable, LGBTQ+ Friendly Cities for Dogs
• Surprises from the Most Affordable, LGBTQ Friendly Cities
• Top 10 Affordable, LGBTQ+ Friendly Cities, So Far Part II

 

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