Gayest Places In Iowa For 2020


We looked at years of data to determine which Iowa cities have the most pride

Editor’s Note: We updated this article for 2020. This is our sixth time ranking the gayest places in Iowa.

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When the Supreme Court ruled in favor of same-sex marriages, America generally, and the gay community specifically, celebrated. Same-sex marriages, and the gay and lesbian movement is more mainstream than ever.

While the national discussion has been brought to the forefront, at the state level, conversations continue.

Did you know that an estimated 0.19% of Iowa residents is gay? That ranks as the number 43 most gay state in the nation. That means there are a total of 2,714 gay households in The Hawkeye State.

Our goal with this post is to use data and science to determine the gayest cities in Iowa.

After analyzing 137 cities with over 1,000 households, we’ve determined these are The Gayest Cities in Iowa for 2020.

The 10 Gayest Places In Iowa For 2020

  1. North Liberty (Photos)
  2. Carlisle
  3. Sergeant Bluff
  4. Belmond
  5. Bondurant
  6. Windsor Heights
  7. Audubon
  8. Creston (Photos)
  9. Grundy Center
  10. Maquoketa (Photos)

What’s the gayest place in Iowa? According to the facts, North Liberty is the gayest place in Iowa for 2020.

For more on how we calculated the top ten, and for more information about these places, read on.

If you’re looking for something more national, check out the gayest cities in America.

For more Iowa reading, check out:

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The 10 Gayest Cities In Iowa For 2020

North Liberty, IA

Overall SnackAbility

9
/10

Households: 7,075
Rank Last Year: 3 (Up 2)
Gay Households: 139 (3rd highest)
% Gay Households: 2.43% (1st highest)
More on North Liberty:  Data | Photos

North Liberty is a city in Johnson County, Iowa, United States. It is a suburb of Iowa City and part of the Iowa City Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Households: 1,547
Rank Last Year: 5 (Up 3)
Gay Households: 14 (30th highest)
% Gay Households: 1.81% (2nd highest)
More on Carlisle:  Data

Overall SnackAbility

9
/10

Households: 1,779
Rank Last Year: 47 (Up 44)
Gay Households: 15 (26th highest)
% Gay Households: 1.69% (3rd highest)
More on Sergeant Bluff:  Data

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Households: 1,111
Rank Last Year: 97 (Up 93)
Gay Households: 13 (35th highest)
% Gay Households: 1.44% (4th highest)
More on Belmond:  Data

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Households: 1,992
Rank Last Year: 95 (Up 90)
Gay Households: 14 (30th highest)
% Gay Households: 1.41% (5th highest)
More on Bondurant:  Data

Bondurant is a city in Polk County, Iowa, United States. The population was 3,860 in the 2010 census, an increase of 109% from the 1,846 population in the 2000 census. It is part of the Des Moines-West Des Moines Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Overall SnackAbility

8.5
/10

Households: 2,160
Rank Last Year: 6 (No Change)
Gay Households: 14 (30th highest)
% Gay Households: 1.3% (6th highest)
More on Windsor Heights:  Data

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Households: 1,003
Rank Last Year:
Gay Households: 6 (45th highest)
% Gay Households: 1.2% (7th highest)
More on Audubon:  Data

Creston, IA

Overall SnackAbility

7
/10

Households: 3,299
Rank Last Year: 7 (Down 1)
Gay Households: 35 (13th highest)
% Gay Households: 1.03% (8th highest)
More on Creston:  Data | Photos

Creston is a city in and the county seat of Union County, Iowa, United States. The population was 7,834 at the 2010 census.

Overall SnackAbility

8.5
/10

Households: 1,178
Rank Last Year: 124 (Up 115)
Gay Households: 6 (45th highest)
% Gay Households: 1.02% (9th highest)
More on Grundy Center:  Data

Maquoketa, IA

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Households: 2,627
Rank Last Year: 4 (Down 6)
Gay Households: 9 (38th highest)
% Gay Households: 0.69% (10th highest)
More on Maquoketa:  Data | Photos

Maquoketa is a city in Jackson county in the U.S. state of Iowa. Located on the Maquoketa River, it is the county seat of Jackson County.

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How do you determine the best cities for same-sex households in Iowa for 2020

In order to rank the gayest cities in Iowa, we used the 2014-2018 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 137 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 2.43% gay households. You can download the data here.

Read on below to learn more about the gayest places in Iowa. Or skip to the end to see the list of all the places in the state from gayest to straighest.

There You Have It – The Most LGBT Friendly Cities In Iowa For 2020

If you’re looking at the number of gay households in Iowa, this is an accurate list.

If you’re curious enough, here are the least gay places in Iowa:

  • Winterset
  • Hawarden
  • Eldridge

For more Iowa reading, check out:

Detailed List Of The Gayest Places To Live In Iowa

Rank City Households % Gay Households
1 North Liberty 7,075 2.43%
2 Carlisle 1,547 1.81%
3 Sergeant Bluff 1,779 1.69%
4 Belmond 1,111 1.44%
5 Bondurant 1,992 1.41%
6 Windsor Heights 2,160 1.3%
7 Audubon 1,003 1.2%
8 Creston 3,299 1.03%
9 Grundy Center 1,178 1.02%
10 Maquoketa 2,627 0.69%
11 Des Moines 84,140 0.62%
12 Ankeny 22,085 0.61%
13 Keokuk 4,312 0.6%
14 Mason City 12,370 0.52%
15 Sioux City 31,244 0.51%
16 Atlantic 3,224 0.5%
17 Iowa City 29,975 0.39%
18 Grimes 4,493 0.36%
19 Robins 1,193 0.34%
20 Ames 25,243 0.32%
21 Marion 15,805 0.32%
22 Fort Dodge 9,903 0.28%
23 Waterloo 28,550 0.27%
24 Cedar Rapids 54,431 0.2%
25 Urbandale 16,726 0.17%
26 West Des Moines 27,704 0.11%
27 Bettendorf 13,986 0.1%
28 Davenport 40,273 0.07%
29 Council Bluffs 24,816 0.07%
30 Dubuque 23,926 0.07%
31 Osceola 2,085 0.0%
32 Osage 1,649 0.0%
33 Orange City 2,064 0.0%
34 West Union 1,124 0.0%
35 Onawa 1,319 0.0%
36 Marshalltown 10,231 0.0%
37 Oelwein 2,657 0.0%
38 Milford 1,255 0.0%
39 Monticello 1,688 0.0%
40 Williamsburg 1,405 0.0%
41 Newton 6,366 0.0%
42 New Hampton 1,562 0.0%
43 Oskaloosa 4,812 0.0%
44 Muscatine 9,382 0.0%
45 Mount Vernon 1,243 0.0%
46 Missouri Valley 1,222 0.0%
47 Mount Pleasant 3,150 0.0%
48 Wilton 1,196 0.0%
49 Norwalk 4,130 0.0%
50 Nevada 2,759 0.0%
51 West Burlington 1,248 0.0%
52 Pella 3,958 0.0%
53 Webster City 3,450 0.0%
54 Waverly 3,649 0.0%
55 Waukon 1,791 0.0%
56 Waukee 7,603 0.0%
57 West Liberty 1,286 0.0%
58 Washington 3,062 0.0%
59 Vinton 2,069 0.0%
60 Tipton 1,305 0.0%
61 Tiffin 1,190 0.0%
62 Story City 1,391 0.0%
63 Storm Lake 3,544 0.0%
64 Ottumwa 9,925 0.0%
65 Spirit Lake 2,535 0.0%
66 Sioux Center 2,366 0.0%
67 Sibley 1,097 0.0%
68 Shenandoah 2,168 0.0%
69 Sheldon 2,166 0.0%
70 Marengo 1,144 0.0%
71 Rock Valley 1,350 0.0%
72 Rock Rapids 1,028 0.0%
73 Red Oak 2,496 0.0%
74 Polk City 1,452 0.0%
75 Pleasant Hill 3,652 0.0%
76 Perry 2,971 0.0%
77 Spencer 5,013 0.0%
78 Adel 1,718 0.0%
79 Jefferson 1,764 0.0%
80 Madrid 1,039 0.0%
81 Decorah 2,729 0.0%
82 Cresco 1,634 0.0%
83 Coralville 7,976 0.0%
84 Clive 6,618 0.0%
85 Clinton 10,890 0.0%
86 Clear Lake 3,445 0.0%
87 Clarion 1,218 0.0%
88 Clarinda 2,043 0.0%
89 Cherokee 2,299 0.0%
90 Charles City 3,318 0.0%
91 Chariton 1,877 0.0%
92 Centerville 2,521 0.0%
93 Cedar Falls 15,144 0.0%
94 Carter Lake 1,356 0.0%
95 Carroll 4,434 0.0%
96 Camanche 1,981 0.0%
97 Burlington 10,948 0.0%
98 Boone 5,322 0.0%
99 Bloomfield 1,148 0.0%
100 Belle Plaine 1,055 0.0%

How Is The Area In ?

About Chris Kolmar

Chris Kolmar has been in the real estate business for almost ten years now. He originally worked for Movoto Real Estate as the director of marketing before founding HomeSnacks.

He believes the key to finding the right place to live comes down to looking at the data, reading about things to do, and, most importantly, checking it out yourself before you move.

If you've been looking for a place to live in the past several years, you've probably stumbled upon his writing already.

You can find out more about him on LinkedIn or his website.