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A new study shows which cities around the world are the most friendly toward the LGBTQ+ community, and we're not that surprised at the winners.
The study, conducted by Money.co.uk, analyzed cities based on a variety of criteria, including a worldwide indicator sourced from Social Progress on the level of acceptance in each country, Tripadvisor data showing the number of LGBTQ+ establishments per 100,000 people, as well as how easy it is at the state level to change the gender marker on your birth certificate and driver's license, the percentage of adults who identify as LGBTQ+, and how many LGBTQ+ adults over 25 are raising children, among other factors.
In the United States, San Francisco came out on top as the number one most accepting city in America, and fourth in the world. The city has the second-highest number of LGBTQ+ establishments per 100,000 people and has an average rating of 4.2 stars.
San Francisco coming in the first place isn't a huge surprise, given the city's long reputation as a liberal and progressive haven for the LGBTQ+ community and its history of LGBTQ+ activism.
Out of the top 20 most accepting cities, five are based in the US: Boston ranked 11th; Seattle ranked 12th, Los Angeles placed 16th and Chicago came in at 17th. At the worldwide level, Reykjavik, Iceland was number one. That was followed by Amsterdam and Rotterdam in the Netherlands.
In terms of states in the US though, California wasn't number one. It came in fourth. Hawaii actually came out as the most accepting state with 4.6 percent of the population identifying as LGBTQ+, as well as high marks for work safety and the process of changing the gender marker on your birth certificate. Also, 30 percent of the Hawaiian LGBTQ+ community is raising children, the highest rate of the top five states. Maine and Vermont were named the second and third most accepting states, respectively.
Check out the full list of the most accepting cities in the world here.