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10 gay-friendly travel destinations in US and around the world

Written by gaytourism
  • 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).

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