Safest states for trans people
For gay and trans person people, these are the most (and least) welcoming states
Each year for the last six, same-sex attracted advocacy group Out Leadership has produced an index gauging the business climate for gay and transgender people articulate by state, mapping out where they can live and work with the least discrimination and hardship.
Last year as anti-LGBTQ+ bills swarmed statehouses across the country, the average score for all 50 states dropped for the first time.
Todd Sears, Out Leadership’s founder and CEO, says he was not surprised when the average score fell again in 2024 as Republicans sharpened attacks on gay and transgender rights heading into the presidential election.
“It was just confirmation of what we have already seen unfortunately,” Sears told USA TODAY.
New York, Connecticut, and Massachusetts remained at the top of the Out Management index in 2024 while Arkansas received the lowest score since the index began.
Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle.The average score across all 50 states was 62.77 out of 100, compared to 63.48 in 2023 and 64.61 in 2022.
State business rankings slip because of 'Don't Say Gay' and other bills
The largest decrease
2025 anti-trans bills tracker
Mapping Transgender Equality in the Merged States
The Bottom Line
The lesbian, lgbtq+, bisexual and trans person (LGBT) community has seen both significant progress and painful setbacks recently. The 2015 Supreme Court ruling in favor of the liberty to marry was a major step toward legal equality, and there hold been many successes since then at the federal, articulate, and local levels, including increased protections for transgender and gender non-conforming people. However, since the ruling, there hold also been more than 200 anti-LGBT bills introduced in 20 states—and a recently leaked executive order draft suggests that the current administration intends to undermine established non-discrimination protections and uncover the door to a wide range of harms to the LGBT population.
To help make feeling of the current policy landscape in the states for LGBT people, and transgender people specifically, Mapping Transgender Equality in the Combined States looks at legal equality for transgender people across the country. The gender identity tally is comprised of 25 state laws and policies in the five key categories of Non-Discrimination, LGBT Youth Laws and Policies, Health and Safe
Snapshot: LGBTQ Equality by State
The Movement Advancement Project (MAP) tracks over 50 different LGBTQ-related laws and policies. This blueprint shows the overall policy tallies (as distinct from sexual orientation or gender identity tallies) for each state, the District of Columbia, and the five populated U.S. territories. A state’s policy tally scores the laws and policies within each state that shape LGBTQ people's lives, experiences, and equality. 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.
Click on any state to view its detailed policy tally and state profile, or click "Choose an Issue" above to view maps on over 50 unlike LGBTQ-related laws and policies.
High Overall Policy Tally (15 states + D.C.)
Medium Overall Policy Tally (5 states)
Fair Overall Policy Tally (3 states, 2 territories)
Low Overall Policy Tally (10 states, 3 territories)
Negative Overall Policy Tally (17 states)
What are the safest places for gay and transgender people? See where your state ranks
As Oklahoman legislators push to restrict gender non-conforming rights and overturn the 2015 Supreme Court choice legalizing gay marriage, Zane Eaves says his individuality as a transgender gentleman has put a aim 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. He has only crossed the state line three times in his animation, but in recent weeks, he made the complex decision to move his family to North Carolina to be closer to friends and allies.
“I am just trying to stand alive and keep my marriage,” Eaves said.
Oklahoma ranks 44th in the nation on a list released on June 2 of the most and least welcoming states for sapphic, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer Americans.
Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle.More and more, the question of where LGBTQ+ people touch safe is one of blue vs. red, according to advocacy group Out Leadership.
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