MA Ranked Among Best States to Move to Start an LGBTQ+ Family

Email to a friend Permalink

Monday, July 02, 2018

GoLocalWorcester News Team

Massachusetts is ranked as the 15th best state to move to start an LGBTQ+ family, according to a new study conducted by Move.org.

"Although Massachusetts ranked #15 overall, the state was home to 41 businesses that were recognized in the Human Rights Campaign's " Best Places to Work in 2018" Report,” writes Move.org.

The Rankings

Massachusetts ranks just behind Colorado and Rhode Island, who rank 13th and 14th respectively.

Massachusetts ranked ahead of Florida and Arizona, who rank 16th and 17th respectively.

California ranks as the best state to start an LGBTQ+ family, while West Virginia is ranked as the worst.

Report Highlights

• The #1 best state for LGBTQ+ families to move is California, which tops the list with almost 1.5 million LGBTQ+ identifying individuals, 21 pride centers, and the highest overall equality by state.
• If we ranked cities, Washington D.C would rank #1.
• Although New York didn’t make the list, New York City has 114 businesses that made the Human Rights Campaign’s “Best Places to Work in 2018”. California was just behind New York with 81 businesses. 

 

The Method

Move.org analyzed the best and worst states to live for LGBTQ+ couples and families. They considered the safety of LGBTQ+ individuals first and foremost, so they ranked whether the state had hate crime laws in place, whether or not conversion therapy was allowed for minors, and whether anti-discrimination laws were set.

They also looked at each state’s LGBT population to get a better picture of each area’s LGBTQ+ community.

Additionally, they looked at overall equality by state, the number of pride centers in a state, the number of LGBTQ+ friendly businesses, and the number of same-sex couples.

“We thought it was most important to consider safety because, although you can enjoy living somewhere, the law may not protect you from being targeted. So for this study, safety laws came first, and community came second,” writes Move.org.

Related Articles

• Worcester to Host LGBTQ Training for Campus Police
• RI Foundation Offering Major Grants to LGBTQ Organizations
• New England’s First LGBTQ TV Being Launched By Dale LePage
• LGBTQ Community of Central MA to Come Together at “Sparkle”
• Two Massachusetts Colleges Make the “Shame List”  for LGBTQ Students
• Clark Professor’s Encyclopedia of LGBTQ Studies Named Best Reference Title

Enjoy this post? Share it with others.

Email to a friend Permalink