Gallup: Twin Cities' LGBT Population Lags Behind Most Other Metro Areas
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A new survey released by Gallup shows that Minneapolis-St. Paul, which is frequently ranked among the best places in the country for the LGBT community, doesn't exactly have the most robust gay and lesbian population.
Gallup surveyed 374,325 adults across the 50 largest metropolitan areas from June 2012 through December 2014, asking survey participants, "Do you, personally, identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender?"
Among those 50 metropolitan areas, the Twin Cities ranked 37th. According to Gallup, 3.6 percent of those living in the metro area answered the question affirmatively.
The city with the highest percentage identifying as LGBT was San Francisco, with a 6.2 percent rate, followed by Portland, Oregon (5.4 percent) and Austin, Texas (5.3 percent). The lowest was Birmingham, Alabama, with about 2.6 percent.
The results showed that, overall, cities located on the coasts tended to rank higher than those in the Midwest or the South. Minneapolis-St. Paul's rate is consistent with those in the Midwest area -- Chicago (3.8 percent), Kansas City (3.6 percent), and Milwaukee (3.5 percent).
