New Jersey is among the best places for the LGBTQ+ community, according to respective studies by two companies that released their findings in time for Pride Month.
The Garden State is among the top 10 safest states for LGBTQ+ residents, receiving a score of 92.5 out of 100, an overall “A” rating, according to a study done by a media company that specializes in home and personal safety. And the HRC has rated several New Jersey municipalities very high in a 2025 study.
SafeHome.org — which publishes home and personal safety research such as product recommendations, guides, tools and other resources, according to its website — graded every state on how safe it is to live there as an LGBTQ+ resident. The Los Angeles-based company on May 22 ranked the states based on a methodology examining the laws of each state as well as a hate crime score based on how many incidents were reported to the FBI and stored within the FBI Uniform Crime Report’s Hate Crime Statistics Collection. The full report is available to read here.
SafeHome reported that West Virginia is the worst state with a score of 44.7 and Nevada is the best state with a score of 95.8, the only state to receive an A+ rating. Nevada is joined by Illinois, Hawaii, Colorado and Maine in the top five.
Meanwhile, Out Leadership — a New York City-based company that works with senior executives and global companies to advance LGBTQ+ equality and allyship, according to its website — ranked New Jersey in its eighth annual State LGBTQ+ Business Climate Index fourth overall with a score of 90.5 out of 100 on that company’s leadership scale.
Out Leadership ranks each state on its nondiscrimination laws, youth/family, political and religious outlooks, health and safety, and work/economic outlook. The full report, published earlier in June, can be accessed here.
Arkansas is the least safe state, according to Out Leadership, with a score of 28.1 out of 100 points. Florida (#46), South Carolina (#47), Idaho (#46), and Tennessee (#49) make up the remaining bottom five of the list.
Because Out Leadership has data from the past seven years, researchers there noticed a trend of the top ten states being consistent, the bottom 10 getting worse and the shrinking of a middle ground. Overall, most states including New Jersey, which scored half a point lower than last year, have experienced a drop in their scores.
Both reports reveal a growing regional divide with the lower-ranking states in the South and Midwest and safer states for LGBTQ+ residents near the coasts, a trend that has forced many to leave their home states behind for access to healthcare, legal protections, and a more accepting environment.
