What is the gayest state? UCLA institute issues correction to rankings

Ana Rocío Álvarez Bríñez, Louisville Courier Journal
Updated ·2 min read
11

More than a day after releasing a report that listed Kentucky as having a higher percentage of gay adults than any other state, the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law Williams Institute said the data for the Bluegrass State was wrong.

In the correction and apology issued on X, formerly Twitter, Brad Sears, founding director of the institute, said “We made a mistake, and we apologize to Kentucky and to you.”

The post said that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data used was updated in July 2023, an update that was missed by the school.

It turns out that the percentage of gay adults living in Kentucky is 4.9%, which is below the national average of 5.6% and puts the commonwealth in a tie for 43rd.

"We want to get the data right so that law and policy can accurately reflect the LGBT community as it is, not as anyone assumes it might be," Sears wrote. "On a few occasions, we have had to make corrections like this. We will continue to do so as swiftly and transparently as we can."

He said the institute is working on a new analysis of LBGT adults.

After the District of Columbia, which has 14.3% of adults identifying as LGBT, Oregon takes the top state ranking with 7.8% identifying as LGBT. West Virginia and Mississippi rank the lowest with 4.1% identifying as LGBT.

"Combining 2020-2021 BRFSS data, we estimate that 5.6% of U.S. adults identify as LGBT," according to the study. "Further, we estimate that there are almost 14.1 million (14,090,400) LGBT adults in the U.S."

The study identified estimates of percentages and numbers of adults who identify as LGBT by age group in the country.

  • 18 to 24-year-olds: 15.4% (4,707,800)

  • 25 to 34-year-olds: 9.2% (4,130,900)

  • 35 to 49-year-olds: 4.2% (2,567,400)

  • 50 to 64-year-olds: 2.8% (1,752,800)

  • 65 years and older: 1.8% (931,400)

The study also divided the country by region and gave an estimate of percentages and numbers of adults in the group of states in each one — Kentucky is in the South region.

  • Northeast: 18.3% (2,574,900)

  • Midwest: 20.6% (2,902,700)

  • South: 36.9% (5,203,200)

  • West: 24.2% (3,406,600)

Kentucky is queer. Anti-LGBTQ extremists don't represent this state.

More: What Christmas movies are people in Kentucky watching the most? Here's the list.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: What's the gayest state? Not Kentucky