Record Breaking 132 Cities — More Than 25% of All Surveyed – Earned Highest Possible Score

The Human Rights Campaign Foundation (HRC), the educational arm of the LGBTQ civil rights organization, released the 2025 Municipal Equality Index (MEI), the only comprehensive nationwide assessment of LGBTQ equality in the areas of municipal policies, laws and services.

The 2025 MEI shows a record breaking 132 cities scoring the highest possible marks on the index, representing a combined population of approximately 49 million people. This high-water mark is critical as pressure continues from states that pass laws and policies that seek to shut transgender people — particularly trans youth — out of public life.

State legislatures have continued pushing laws that prevent transgender people from getting certain kinds of medically necessary health care, from accessing public accommodations like restrooms consistent with their gender identity, and many cities who have worked hard to ensure that transgender-inclusive health benefits are covered by their insurance plans are in many cases no longer able to provide that coverage in a meaningful way as a result of discriminatory decisions made by state legislators. That’s partly why, following seven years of national average score increases, 2025 saw a slight decrease to 70 points from 72 in 2024.

However, more cities than ever are doing what the MEI characterizes as “testing the limits of restrictive state laws” — pushing back against various checks on municipal power or discriminatory state laws. Close to 70 cities are doing so. Salt Lake City was among these municipalities who found innovative ways to support equality in spite of a state legislature who has made it more difficult to do so.

“With federal and state governments too often leaving LGBTQ+ people behind, cities and towns are stepping up and embracing inclusion and equality,” said Kelley Robinson, President of the HRC. “For years now, state legislatures — and now Congress and the President — are waging a calculated campaign to erase LGBTQ+ people from public life and the cities that wish to welcome them. But there are still more of us who support equality than those who do not — and I commend each and every city that fought against tall odds to show their continued support of our community. In these challenging times, our work with the Municipal Equality Index and the leadership of these municipalities have never been more critical.”

New Jersey municipalities that were scored in 2025 include:

• Ocean Grove (Neptune) 54
• Lambertville, 98
• Asbury Park, 100
• Princeton, 100
• Montclair, 100
• Hoboken, 100
• New Brunswick, 91
• Trenton, 61
• Elizabeth, 80
• Paterson, 46
• Jersey City, 100
• Newark, 64

Key findings from the 2025 Municipal Equality Index, which scored 506 cities, include:

• This year, a record-breaking 132 cities or over 25 percent of all MEI-rated cities, earned the highest score of 100, which is up from 130 in 2024

Due to Influx of Anti-LGBTQ+ provisions at the State and National level, National Average Score Decreased

Only 5 cities scored zero points in the nation

• Across 21 states, 64 cities and towns earned over 85 points despite their state lacking non-discrimination statutes that explicitly protect sexual orientation and gender identity.
• The rise in anti-LGBTQ+ legislation and rhetoric at every level of government has created a chilling effect in cities across the country.
• Many cities have lost points that they have historically received due to state actions and threats from the federal government to suspend funding if engaged in “DEI” work.
  • This impact can be seen in the lower national score average of 70, lower scores in almost every regional score average, and lower state averages in 75 percent of states.
    • The Plains (North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, and Missouri) saw the largest decrease (-11) in their regional average in recent history.

Every year, the Municipal Equality Index scores the 50 state capitals, the 200 largest cities in the United States, the five largest cities or municipalities in each state, the cities home to the state’s two largest public universities, 75 cities and municipalities that have high proportions of same-sex couples, and 98 cities selected by HRC and Equality Federation state groups, members, and supporters.

Even though local leaders continue to pave the way forward for equality, there remains an unacceptable patchwork of laws for LGBTQ people across the country. This reinforces the need for the federal Equality Act – one of HRC’s top legislative priorities — that would provide consistent and explicit non-discrimination protections for LGBTQ people across key areas of life, including employment, housing, credit, education, public spaces and services, federally funded programs, and jury service.

The full 2025 MEI report, including detailed scorecards for every city and a searchable score database, is available online at www.hrc.org/mei.