Named the gayest city in America, 14.5% of the Washtington, D.C.’s residents identify as LGBTQ+. Millennials and Gen Z adults contribute heavily to this number, as they make up more than half of the city’s residents and are the two adult generations most likely to identify as part of the queer community. However, those stats could change soon if the city’s economy doesn’t make a substantial shift.
LGBTQ+ Adults in Crisis
Last week, the Wanda Alston Foundation and the LGBTQ+ Politics Research Initiative at Loyola Marymount University released the Out & Counted Research Report based on a robust community survey. 304 D.C. LGBTQ+ young adults aged 18-30 were surveyed for the report, which reveals that deep financial issues are forcing this demographic to consider leaving the district.
In short: LGBTQ+ young adults are being priced out. Despite high workforce participation, a staggering 79% of those surveyed reported difficulty paying rent or mortgage. This is in sharp contrast to the approximately 45-50% rent-burden reported by the general D.C. population.
Housing instability—homelessness, eviction threats, overcrowding, and severe difficulty paying rent—has already impacted 25% of D.C.’s LGBTQ+ young adults, with 67% saying they’ve experienced it in the last twelve months. This is a housing crisis, and one in three LGBTQ+ young adults are considering leaving the district.
In addition to housing issues, almost 50% of respondents say they’re struggling to afford basic necessities. The financial stress may be contributing to an increased rate of substance use, as tobacco and nicotine, alcohol, and marijuana use are higher among LGBTQ+ youth than the D.C. Department of Health’s benchmarks for the general adult population.
To add to the issue, LGBTQ+ young adults struggle with loneliness. Despite living in one of the most visible LGBTQ+ hubs in the country, 80% report feeling isolated often or some of the time.
The Bigger Impact
As a whole, the report reveals that D.C.’s Millennial and Gen Z LGBTQ+ adults are encountering severe strains on their financial wellbeing, and therefore, mental health.
“These findings raise serious concerns regarding affordability and the mental health of LGBTQ+ youth in a city that has long welcomed the LGBTQ+ community,” said Gabriele Magni, Associate Professor of Political Science and Director of the LGBTQ+ Politics Research Initiative at Loyola Marymount University.
A welcoming LGBTQ+ community isn’t just about more liberal politics and inclusive businesses—it must also provide opportunity and sustainability to its residents. The question is if that’s something Washington, D.C. is still able to do. “These findings suggest the District’s LGBTQ+ young people are being pushed to the brink. They are working hard, yet hitting an affordability cliff, deepened by a loneliness paradox and alarming health-risk behaviors,” said Cesar Toledo, Executive Director of the Wanda Alston Foundation.
If the younger adults can’t afford the gayborhood, what does that mean for belonging and community? Will that lead to a loss of this space? Magni thinks it’s possible. “This data also warns that LGBTQ+ individuals could be priced out of traditional LGBTQ+ hubs, which have historically been instrumental in advancing the movement for LGBTQ+ equality,” Magni says.
Without a community hub, or gayborhood, there’s also the loss of economic opportunity for LGBTQ+ folks looking to work in accepting businesses and those looking to financially support their own communities. “To ignore these findings is to accept a ‘Queer Flight’ that will displace our LGBTQ+ community and drain the very lavender economic engine that Wells Fargo once famously noted as a secret sauce to economic growth,” Toledo says.
LGBTQ+ young adults in D.C.’s aren’t the only ones considering leaving the safety of LGBTQ+ hubs in order to survive financially. However, the Out & Counting Research Report gives us a detailed view of this phenomenon in a city we know all too well. If we, as a queer community, don’t figure out how to address the financial reality of our revitalized communities, we risk losing them altogether. And, at a time when the conservative right is increasing anti-LGBTQ+ legislation, that’s a loss we should be doing all we can to avoid.