LGBT individuals face greater social and economic disparities in the Southern, Midwest and mountain states, according to a new Williams Institute report that Credit Suisse sponsored, a press release.
The report reviews social climate, demographic, economic and health indicators, and highlights disparities between the 21 states that currently have non-discrimination laws that include sexual orientation and the 29 states without such laws.
The average household income for couples in the Midwest was $87,869 (same-sex) vs. $85,671 (different-sex), for a difference of $2,198. The average household income for couples raising children under 18, however, was $71,601 (same-sex) vs. $91,527 (opposite-sex), a difference of -$19,926—the widest in the country.
Regarding Illinois, its social-climate score was 67. (By comparison, Washington, D.C., scored 92 and Louisiana rated 45.) Social climate was measured through (a) a generation of state-level estimates on four indicators of public attitudes about lesbians, gay men and bisexuals; and (b) a combined score of “LGB Social and Political Climate” by state based on these estimates.
Among some of the other Illinois-related figures, same-sex couples earned an average of $111,582 while different-sex married couples made $96,964. (In most states, same-sex couples outearned opposite-sex pairs.) However, the average household income for Illinois couples raising children under 18 was $83,573 (same-sex) vs. $101,870 (opposite-sex).
As for the percentage of individuals with household income below $24,000, the number in the study was 31 percent for Illinois LGBTs vs. 23 percent for non-LGBTs.
The report is at williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/wp-content/uploads/LGBT-divide-Dec-2014.pdf.