Each year, the Human Rights Campaign issues the Municipality Equality Index, a scorecard on cities and their support of LGBT individuals who live and work locally. The study – now in its third year – ranked each city on nondiscrimination laws, relationship recognition, employment and contracting policies, inclusiveness of city services, law enforcement and municipal leadership on matter of equality.
The 2014 MEI rates 353 cities municipalities from every state in the nation. These include the 50 state capitals, the 200 largest cities in the United States, the four largest cities or municipalities in each state, the city home to the state’s largest public university and 75 cities and municipalities that have high proportions of same-sex couples.
Of the 353 cities, 38 earned a perfect score of — up from 25 in 2013 and 11 in 2012, the first year of the MEI. The MEI found that the greatest advancements have not been limited to large metropolitan areas.
“From Mississippi to Idaho, mid-size cities and small towns have become the single greatest engine of progress for LGBT equality — changing countless lives for the better,” said HRC President Chad Griffin. “In just three years, the number of municipalities earning top marks for their treatment of LGBT citizens has more than tripled. Simply put, in this country there is an ongoing race to the top to treat all people, including LGBT people, fairly under the law, and it’s time our state and federal laws caught up.”
The following cities scored 100 on the 2014 HRC MEI. The scores for municipalities surveyed in 2013 are listed in parentheses. Those with no scores were not part of the 2013 index.
Atlanta, Ga. (100)
Austin, Texas (100)
Baltimore, Md. (100)
Boston, Mass. (100)
Cambridge, Mass. (100)
Chicago, Ill. (100)
Cincinnati, Ohio (90)
Columbus, Ohio (100)
East Lansing, Mich. (86)
Iowa City, Iowa (90)
Jersey City, N.J. (100)
Kansas City, Mo. (100)
Long Beach, Calif. (100)
Los Angeles, Calif. (100)
Madison, Wis. (100)
Minneapolis, Minn. (100)
Missoula, Mont. (100)
New Haven, Conn. (100)
New York, N.Y. (100)
Olympia, Wash. (67)
Orlando, Fla. (79)
Palm Springs, Calif. (100)
Philadelphia, Pa. (100)
Phoenix, Ariz. (100)
Portland, Ore. (100)
Rochester, NY (98)
St. Louis, Mo. (100)
St. Paul, Minn. (96)
St. Petersburg, Fla. (66)
San Bernardino, Calif.
San Diego, Calif. (100)
San Francisco, Calif. (100)
Seattle, Wash. (100)
Tempe, Ariz.
Tucson, Ariz.
West Hollywood, Calif. (100)
Wilton Manors, Fla. (82)
Worcester, Mass. (55)
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