State College Once Again Stands Among Best LGBTQ-Friendly Communities

For the fourth year in a row, the State College borough is receiving recognition as one of the nation’s most inclusive communities.

This month, State College received a perfect 100/100 score in the 2022 Municipal Equality Index — a measure that examines the inclusivity of municipal laws, politics and services for the LGBTQ community. Participating cities are rated on a number of factors, including non-discrimination laws, the inclusiveness of local employers, access to municipal services, community law enforcement and city leadership on LGBTQ equality.

Local LGBTQ advocacy efforts took a highly visible turn in 2021 when State College began hosting an annual Pride parade and festival in collaboration with the Centre LGBTQ Support Network. In 2017, the borough formed an LGBTQ Advisory Committee that meets regularly and advises local leaders on issues and initiatives that impact the community.

Erie, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh joined State College as the top-ranked cities in Pennsylvania and earned 100s on this year’s report. Allentown (94), Reading (91) and Carlisle (90) rounded out the Keystone State’s most inclusive communities, according to the report.

The Municipal Equality Index is annually released by the Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest LGBTQ advocacy group. Just 120 of the 506 rated municipalities received a perfect score, with the average rating checking in at 69.

Just a few years back, State College received a 73 on the annual report. Since then, the borough’s rankings jumped up to 98 in 2018 before four consecutive 100s from 2019 to 2022.

Both State College’s scorecard and the full 2022 Municipal Equality Index report are available online.

While State College received high marks for its LGBTQ inclusivity, it’s not the only local community garnering national attention.

In August, Penn State was recognized for the third year in a row as one of the “Best of the Best” LGBTQ-friendly colleges, according to Campus Pride, a national nonprofit. The university received the highest available score based on its campus safety, student support and counseling resources.

“We take a tremendous amount of pride in this distinction as being a welcoming and supportive campus for our sexual and gender-diverse students, faculty, and staff,” Sonya Wilmoth, director of the Penn State Center for Sexual and Gender Diversity, said in a written statement.

Penn State serves as one of 40 institutions ranked among Campus Pride’s most inclusive schools, joining Big Ten peers Indiana, Michigan, Ohio State, Rutgers and Purdue.

More information about the Municipality Equality Index and Campus Pride’s “Best of the Best” list is available online.