- Orlando, Florida is the most gay-friendly city in the USA with a large LGBTQ+ population.
- Palm Springs ranks second place and has one of the highest concentrations of LGBTQ+ residents in the USA.
- Palm Springs scores particularly highly for its safety and abundance of accommodation.
As travel restrictions continue to lift, many hopeful travelers are booking trips overseas, including the LGBTQ+ community.
Unfortunately, LGBTQ+ travelers still have to be mindful of safety and legislation concerns in some destinations around the world, with homosexuality still illegal in 69 countries.
To ensure the LGBTQ+ community feel safe and comfortable when traveling, industry experts have ranked destinations across the US and around the world based on factors covering their LGBTQ+ friendliness, as well as things like accommodation options and affordability, to reveal the most LGBTQ+ friendly vacation destinations.
Top 10 LGBTQ+ friendly destinations in the USA
| Rank | City | Anti-discrimination score | Number of LGBT events | Safety index score | Bars & clubs listed on Tripadvisor per 100,000 people | Number of hotels per 100,000 people | Average nightly hotel price (weekend) ($) | LGBTQ+ score /10 |
| 1 | Orlando, Florida | 100 | 6 | 48.07 | 40 | 8,941 | $271 | 7.10 |
| 2 | Palm Springs, California | 100 | 5 | 64.14 | 10 | 6,214 | $224 | 6.29 |
| 3 | Fort Lauderdale, Florida | 100 | 2 | 50.79 | 31 | 2,473 | $165 | 5.95 |
| 4 | New York City, New York | 100 | 16 | 52.73 | 7 | 276 | $213 | 5.94 |
| 5 | San Francisco, California | 100 | 10 | 42.69 | 30 | 213 | $206 | 5.85 |
| 6 | Iowa City, Iowa | 100 | 0 | 75.29 | 15 | 81 | $99 | 5.83 |
| 7 | New Orleans, Louisiana | 100 | 4 | 34.92 | 50 | 611 | $209 | 5.77 |
| 8 | Tempe, Arizona | 100 | 0 | 54.44 | 10 | 3,434 | $100 | 5.65 |
| 9 | Austin, Texas | 100 | 4 | 63.31 | 18 | 345 | $202 | 5.53 |
| 10 | Missoula, Montana | 99 | 0 | 66.71 | 19 | 269 | $147 | 5.48 |
Orlando is the most gay-friendly city in the USA with a large LGBTQ+ population. As well as being a tolerant and accepting city (with Walt Disney World hosting annual “Gay Day” events”), Orlando has a high number of bars and clubs (40 per 100,000 people) and the proximity to Walt Disney World means there’s also a huge number of hotels in the area (8,941 per 100,000 people).
