Gayest places in California research summary. We used Saturday Night Science to research the cities in California with the highest percent of same-sex households for 2023. The data comes from the American Community Survey 2013-2018 vintage, which breaks down sex by household status. Unfortunately, the Census has stopped reporting at the city level, so this report reflects the most recent data.
-
The city with the highest rate of same-sex houesholds in California is Palm Springs. 9.39% of households in Palm Springs are gay.
-
The city in California with the most same-sex houesholds is Los Angeles with 7,953 gay households.
-
California is the 12th most gay in the United States.
Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table
An estimated 1.2% of California residents are gay.
That means there are a total of 162,152 gay households in The Golden State.
Our goal with this post is to use Saturday Night Science and data to determine the gayest cities in California.
After analyzing 446 cities with over 1,000 households, we’ve determined these are The Gayest Cities in California for 2023.
The 10 Gayest Places In California For 2023
- Palm Springs
- West Hollywood
- Rancho Mirage
- Cathedral City
- Signal Hill
- Oroville
- Desert Hot Springs
- San Francisco
- Carmel-by-the-Sea
- Emeryville
What’s the gayest place in California? According to the facts, Palm Springs is the gayest place in California for 2023.
For more on how we calculated the top ten, and for more information about these places, read on.
For more California reading, check out:
- Gayest cities in the United States
- Best Places To Live In California
- Cheapest Places To Live In California
- Most Dangerous Cities In California
The 10 Gayest Cities In California For 2023
/10
Households: 23,719
Gay Households: 1,213 (7th highest)
% Gay Households: 9.39% (1st highest)
More on Palm Springs: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
/10
Households: 23,538
Gay Households: 844 (9th highest)
% Gay Households: 6.72% (2nd highest)
More on West Hollywood: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
/10
Households: 9,406
Gay Households: 245 (27th highest)
% Gay Households: 4.68% (3rd highest)
More on Rancho Mirage: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
/10
Households: 17,984
Gay Households: 467 (11th highest)
% Gay Households: 4.42% (4th highest)
More on Cathedral City: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
/10
Households: 4,590
Gay Households: 60 (133rd highest)
% Gay Households: 2.61% (5th highest)
More on Signal Hill: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
/10
Households: 6,204
Gay Households: 97 (84th highest)
% Gay Households: 2.58% (6th highest)
More on Oroville: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
/10
Households: 9,693
Gay Households: 142 (54th highest)
% Gay Households: 2.52% (7th highest)
More on Desert Hot Springs: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
/10
Households: 359,673
Gay Households: 5,299 (2nd highest)
% Gay Households: 2.33% (8th highest)
More on San Francisco: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
/10
Households: 1,873
Gay Households: 21 (242nd highest)
% Gay Households: 2.24% (9th highest)
More on Carmel-By-The-Sea: Data
/10
Households: 6,456
Gay Households: 74 (110th highest)
% Gay Households: 1.73% (10th highest)
More on Emeryville: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
How do you determine the best cities for same-sex households in California for 2023
In order to rank the gayest cities in California, we used Saturday Night Science and the 2013-2018 American Community Survey from the U.S. Census. We looked at:
- Percentage of all households that are unmarried, same sex partners
We limited the analysis to non-CDPs that have over 1,000 households.
We ranked each place from 1 to 446 with the city containing the highest percentage of unmarried, same sex partners households being the most gay.
In the end, ended up being the the most gay place with 9.39% gay households.
Skip to the end to see the list of all the places in the state from gayest to straighest.
We updated this report for 2023. This report is our tenth time ranking the gayest places in California.
There You Have It – The Most LGBT Friendly Cities In California For 2023
If you’re looking at the number of gay households in California, this is an accurate list.
If you’re curious enough, here are the least gay places in California:
- Lynwood
- Lafayette
- Los Gatos
For more California reading, check out:
- Richest Cities In California
- Safest Places In California
- Worst Places To Live In California
- Most Expensive Places To Live In California
Table: Gayest Places To Live In California
| Rank | City | Households | % Gay Households |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Palm Springs | 23,719 | 9.39% |
| 2 | West Hollywood | 23,538 | 6.72% |
| 3 | Rancho Mirage | 9,406 | 4.68% |
| 4 | Cathedral City | 17,984 | 4.42% |
| 5 | Signal Hill | 4,590 | 2.61% |
| 6 | Oroville | 6,204 | 2.58% |
| 7 | Desert Hot Springs | 9,693 | 2.52% |
| 8 | San Francisco | 359,673 | 2.33% |
| 9 | Carmel-By-The-Sea | 1,873 | 2.24% |
| 10 | Emeryville | 6,456 | 1.73% |
| 11 | La Mirada | 14,331 | 1.41% |
| 12 | Laguna Beach | 10,542 | 1.38% |
| 13 | Anderson | 3,964 | 1.26% |
| 14 | Palm Desert | 24,114 | 1.26% |
| 15 | Albany | 7,391 | 1.24% |
| 16 | Oakland | 161,483 | 1.2% |
| 17 | Indian Wells | 2,759 | 1.16% |
| 18 | Tiburon | 3,817 | 1.15% |
| 19 | Sierra Madre | 4,603 | 1.09% |
| 20 | Long Beach | 166,460 | 1.01% |
| 21 | Manhattan Beach | 13,520 | 0.99% |
| 22 | San Pablo | 9,136 | 0.99% |
| 23 | Selma | 6,756 | 0.98% |
| 24 | Hayward | 47,768 | 0.93% |
| 25 | Santa Monica | 45,487 | 0.93% |
| 26 | San Dimas | 11,479 | 0.89% |
| 27 | San Diego | 503,463 | 0.86% |
| 28 | Clayton | 4,200 | 0.86% |
| 29 | Moraga | 5,909 | 0.85% |
| 30 | El Cerrito | 9,987 | 0.84% |
| 31 | Berkeley | 44,978 | 0.83% |
| 32 | Fowler | 1,925 | 0.83% |
| 33 | Santa Barbara | 36,699 | 0.81% |
| 34 | Sebastopol | 3,263 | 0.8% |
| 35 | Pittsburg | 20,958 | 0.79% |
| 36 | Los Angeles | 1,373,864 | 0.79% |
| 37 | Red Bluff | 5,597 | 0.79% |
| 38 | South San Francisco | 21,083 | 0.78% |
| 39 | Indio | 31,468 | 0.78% |
| 40 | Richmond | 37,209 | 0.77% |
| 41 | Eureka | 11,284 | 0.76% |
| 42 | Ripon | 5,039 | 0.75% |
| 43 | Pasadena | 54,394 | 0.75% |
| 44 | Waterford | 2,451 | 0.73% |
| 45 | Yountville | 1,368 | 0.73% |
| 46 | Santa Rosa | 66,629 | 0.71% |
| 47 | Claremont | 11,711 | 0.7% |
| 48 | Rio Vista | 4,286 | 0.7% |
| 49 | Alhambra | 29,427 | 0.69% |
| 50 | Rohnert Park | 15,969 | 0.68% |
| 51 | Pacific Grove | 6,835 | 0.67% |
| 52 | Daly City | 31,620 | 0.67% |
| 53 | Arcata | 7,311 | 0.66% |
| 54 | Beverly Hills | 15,000 | 0.65% |
| 55 | Grover Beach | 5,216 | 0.65% |
| 56 | Santa Clara | 44,079 | 0.65% |
| 57 | Shasta Lake | 3,767 | 0.64% |
| 58 | San Mateo | 38,583 | 0.62% |
| 59 | Culver City | 16,502 | 0.62% |
| 60 | West Sacramento | 18,174 | 0.62% |
| 61 | Rancho Cordova | 25,170 | 0.61% |
| 62 | Citrus Heights | 33,749 | 0.6% |
| 63 | Los Altos Hills | 3,053 | 0.59% |
| 64 | Aliso Viejo | 18,667 | 0.59% |
| 65 | Costa Mesa | 41,019 | 0.59% |
| 66 | Paramount | 14,452 | 0.58% |
| 67 | Modesto | 72,106 | 0.58% |
| 68 | Burbank | 41,505 | 0.57% |
| 69 | Visalia | 42,209 | 0.57% |
| 70 | Cloverdale | 3,144 | 0.57% |
| 71 | Campbell | 16,510 | 0.57% |
| 72 | Sacramento | 183,106 | 0.57% |
| 73 | Wildomar | 10,109 | 0.55% |
| 74 | San Bruno | 14,810 | 0.55% |
| 75 | Hercules | 8,098 | 0.54% |
| 76 | Morro Bay | 4,792 | 0.54% |
| 77 | Atherton | 2,221 | 0.54% |
| 78 | Montebello | 19,254 | 0.53% |
| 79 | Dinuba | 6,073 | 0.53% |
| 80 | Hawthorne | 29,281 | 0.52% |
| 81 | Pismo Beach | 4,245 | 0.52% |
| 82 | Burlingame | 12,029 | 0.52% |
| 83 | Healdsburg | 4,666 | 0.51% |
| 84 | San Jose | 321,835 | 0.51% |
| 85 | Farmersville | 2,760 | 0.51% |
| 86 | Belmont | 10,328 | 0.5% |
| 87 | Vallejo | 41,991 | 0.5% |
| 88 | Redwood City | 30,157 | 0.49% |
| 89 | Escondido | 46,338 | 0.49% |
| 90 | Alameda | 30,365 | 0.49% |
| 91 | Fresno | 166,758 | 0.49% |
| 92 | Calimesa | 3,325 | 0.48% |
| 93 | Sonoma | 5,006 | 0.48% |
| 94 | Exeter | 3,389 | 0.47% |
| 95 | Truckee | 6,028 | 0.46% |
| 96 | Redondo Beach | 27,621 | 0.46% |
| 97 | Orange | 42,969 | 0.46% |
| 98 | La Mesa | 23,298 | 0.45% |
| 99 | Big Bear Lake | 2,211 | 0.45% |
| 100 | Laguna Niguel | 25,360 | 0.44% |
