Leaving Texas isn’t so simple for LGBTQ residents

Read more at Axios.

LGBTQ Americans aren’t just fleeing red states like Texas for blue enclaves. They are also building lives in cheaper, fast-growing metros where jobs, housing and politics collide.

Why it matters: The “red-state exodus” narrative misses a quieter reality.

• Affordability and work are keeping some LGBTQ+ people in — and drawing others to — places that may be politically complicated but economically viable.

The big picture: LGBTQ Americans have lower homeownership rates than non-LGBTQ Americans, according to the Williams Institute.

• And, LGBTQ-friendly cities with stronger LGBTQ protections — such as San Francisco and Boston — often come with significantly higher housing costs, creating a tension between safety and affordability.

By the numbers: Homebuyers needed to earn $150,364 annually to afford the median-priced home in states with LGBTQ housing protections as of 2024, per an Axios analysis of real estate company Redfin data.

• That’s 46.8% more income needed than in states, like Texas, without such protections.

Zoom in: Around 4% of adults in North Texas identify as LGBTQ, according to Williams Institute data.

• Same-sex married households in North Texas almost doubled from 2019-24, increasing from around 11,000 couples to roughly 21,600, per a Dallas Morning News analysis of Census Bureau data.

Between the lines: 9% of the region’s homes for sale were affordable for someone earning the local median household income, according to Redfin.

• By contrast, less than 2% of homes for sale were considered affordable in San Diego and Los Angeles, which have larger percentages of adults who identify as LGBTQ.

Caveat: Researchers caution that LGBTQ migration data remains limited because federal surveys have historically failed to consistently collect sexual orientation and gender identity data.

What they’re doing: Oak Lawn United Methodist Church painted its steps in rainbow colors after Gov. Greg Abbott ordered the removal of rainbow crosswalks statewide last year.

• “This is our way of speaking to our community of sharing a message of boldness and courage that who you are is beloved and worthy of dignity and belonging,” Rev. Rachel Griffin-Allison, the church’s senior pastor, told NBC5 in January.

The bottom line: The tension between affordability, opportunity and rights is quietly reshaping the map of LGBTQ America.