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LGBT Americans Are Poorer, Less Educated, In States Without Anti-Discrimination Laws

According to a new study from the Williams Institute and Credit Suisse, LGBT people in states without anti-discrimination laws that include sexual orientation earn less and have less education that their heterosexual counterparts.

They also report new rates of HIV infection that are higher than other parts of the country.

Groups like HRC have adopted a "southern strategy" to bring change to Georgia, Mississippi and Arkansas, where, The New York Timeswrites, "Republicans dominate elected office and traditional cultural views on homosexuality still prevail.” But, as this new study shows, it's not just the South where discrimination prevails.

Related: More Than Half Of LGBT Employees Are Closeted At Work

“While there has been a lot of focus on the social and legal inequalities that LGBT people face in the South, the inequities for those living in the Midwest and Mountain states are sometimes overlooked,” said Amira Hasenbush, who co-authored the study. “These data point to severe disparities with respect to HIV infection rates in the Mountain states and economic vulnerability in the Midwest.”

Key findings include:

* In the South, same-sex couples raising children have a household income that is nearly $11,000 lower on average than their different-sex, married counterparts who are raising children.

* More new HIV infections among men who have sex with men (MSM) have come from the South than any other region in the country. Gays in the South also have the lowest insurance rates in the country, with nearly one in four lacking insurance. In contrast, only 16% of non-LGBT individuals in the South do not have health insurance.

* LGBT people In the Midwest are less likely to have completed a college degree by age 25, while those in other regions of the country tend to have similar or higher levels of education than their non-LGBT counterparts.

* LGBT people in the Midwest are substantially more likely to report having a household income below $24,000 than their non-LGBT counterparts (35% v. 24%, respectively). Among same-sex couples raising children, Midwesterners have a household income nearly $20,000 less than their different-sex couple married parent counterparts.

* New HIV infection rates among men who have sex with men (MSM) in Mountain states are nearly six times the regional population rate, and the prevalence of HIV among MSM is more than 50 times the regional population prevalence.

* Same-sex couples in the Mountain states have the lowest adoption rates of same-sex couples throughout the country, even though different-sex married couples in the same region have the highest adoption rate in the country.

“This study clearly identifies the financial disparities faced by members of the LGBT community,” said Pamela Thomas-Graham, Credit Suisse’s Chief Marketing and Talent Officer. “We partnered with Williams on this research for the same reason we created the Credit Suisse LGBT Equality Index and Portfolio: Better information and more transparent data leads to smarter decisions for investors, policy makers, and our society.”

Related: Same-Sex Couples Half As Likely To Get Divorced As Straight Couples

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