An article in the Sunday Styles section of the New York Times, asks if Washington DC is the ‘gayest place’ in America?
Today, having moved here 10 months ago after six and a half years of living in Manhattan, I hardly recognize that closeted, often intolerant Washington I first glimpsed as a 20-year-old. I now live in the gayest place in America.
Citing Gallup and Census data, Jeremy Peters explains that DC has the “highest percentage [10%] of adults who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender.” The Census Bureau reports that DC has highest percentage [4%] of same-sex couple households.
As to why DC attracts a gay and lesbian population? “One answer seems to be that they have always been here. Gays and lesbians do seem to be drawn to politics in disproportionately high numbers. Mr. Elmendorf told me he thinks that gay people, because they were mostly without children, were able to resist the draw of higher pay in the private sector.”