We Can Do More to Support Maryland’s 500,000+ LGBTQ+ Residents

LGBTQ+ Marylanders are integral members of communities across our state. Maryland is home to more than half a million LGBTQ+ adults – plus thousands of children – coming from all backgrounds and demographics, not concentrated in any particular age, race, or education group. But because of structural barriers – some old, some being built and reinforced right now – LGBTQ+ Marylanders are exposed to multiple hardships more often than their straight, cisgender counterparts. We can do more to build opportunity and justice for LGBTQ+ Marylanders and make our state stronger and more inclusive.

This is an especially critical time for protecting LGBTQ+ Marylanders, as powerful forces are intensifying assaults on their rights and their safety:

• States around the country have enacted or are considering laws that restrict the rights of transgender and other LGBTQ+ residents and heighten stigma. In Maryland, the Carroll County School Board prohibited displaying LGBTQ+ pride flags on school grounds.
• In many cases, these policies are promoted through dangerous lies that portray LGBTQ+ people as criminal or pathological.
• Wrong-headed rulings by the U.S. Supreme Court and lower courts are restricting – and may soon further restrict – LGBTQ+ Americans’ rights. These include the recent reversal of Roe v. Wade restricting reproductive freedom, a recent ruling that twists the logic of the First Amendment to allow coercive religious practices in public schools, and likely future rulings to strip protections for LGBTQ+ Americans.
• Several homes in Baltimore were recently destroyed in a possible arson targeting supporters of LGBTQ+ rights.

LGBTQ+ Communities Include Marylanders of Every Background

506,000 adults in Maryland are LGBTQ+ (11% of all adults), based on 2022 data from the Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey – more than the number of people living in 19 of Maryland’s 24 counties:

• 363,000 Marylanders are gay, lesbian, or bisexual
• 81,000 report another sexual orientation and another 80,000 (not included in the total count) are unsure of their sexual orientation
• 94,000 Marylanders are transgender or nonbinary.

While younger adults are somewhat more likely to identify themselves as LGBTQ+, there are significant numbers of LGBTQ+ Marylanders across every age group.

• 42% of LGBTQ+ adults in Maryland are 40 or older, while 58% are ages 18 to 39. In comparison, 30% of Maryland adults overall are ages 18 to 39.
• 29% of LGBTQ+ adults are ages 18 to 29, and 29% are ages 30 to 39.
• 61% of transgender and nonbinary adults in Maryland are 40 or older, while 39% are ages 18 to 39. In comparison, 31% of cisgender adults are under 40.

Significant numbers of Marylanders of all racial and ethnic backgrounds belong to LGBTQ+ groups – 53% of adult LGBTQ+ Marylanders are white and 47% are people of color:

• 30% are Black
• 10% are Latinx
• 3% are Asian
• 3% belong to other racial groups not specifically identified in Household Pulse data

Transgender and nonbinary Marylanders generally reflect the racial composition of the broader LGBTQ+ community:

• 54% are white
• 33% are Black
• 6% are Latinx
• 3% are Asian
• 4% belong to other racial groups

There are similar shares of LGBTQ+ Marylanders at all levels of education. Among Marylanders ages 25 or older:

• Just under half of 25+ LGBTQ+ Marylanders have a college degree (two- or four-year), as do just under half of their straight, cisgender counterparts.
• 46% of transgender and nonbinary Marylanders have a college degree, as do 48% of cisgender adults.
• Slightly less than half of straight as well as gay or lesbian Marylanders have a college degree. Slightly higher shares of bisexual adults and those reporting another sexual orientation have a college degree.

LGBTQ+ Marylanders are substantially more likely than their straight, cisgender counterparts to live with a disability:

• 20% of LGBTQ+ adults report a disability, compared to 8% of non-LGBTQ+ adults
• 23% of Maryland adults with a disability identify themselves as LGBTQ+, compared to 10% of those who don’t have a disability

Among both LGBTQ+ and straight, cisgender Marylanders, about two out of every five adults report living with children under 18.

Many LGBTQ+ Marylanders Face Economic Hardship

While there are significant numbers of LGBTQ+ Marylanders at all income levels, they are more likely than their straight, cisgender counterparts to live on low incomes:

• 15% of LGBTQ+ adults in Maryland have household income under $25,000, compared to 9% of non-LGBTQ+ adults.
• 7% of LGBTQ+ Marylanders have household income over $200,000, compared to 12% of non-LGBTQ+ Marylanders.
• 45% of LGBTQ+ Marylanders have income less than $50,000, compared to only 27% of their non-LGBTQ+ counterparts.
• Transgender and nonbinary Marylanders are particularly likely to live on low incomes, with 33% reporting household income under $25,000.

LGBTQ+ Marylanders report above-average levels of difficulty meeting their basic needs:

• 41% of all LGBTQ+ adults in Maryland report that it is “somewhat or very difficult” to cover daily expenses, compared to 30% of straight, cisgender adults.
• 27% of LGBTQ+ Marylanders report that they can’t always afford to buy enough food, compared to 19% of non-LGBTQ+ Marylanders.
• Some LGBTQ+ populations in Maryland report difficulty affording housing payments:
  • 19% of straight, cisgender Marylanders who have monthly housing payments report that they either are behind on their rent or mortgage or have little confidence that they can make their next payment. Gay and lesbian Marylanders report similar levels of difficulty with housing payments.
  • 31% of transgender or nonbinary Marylanders, 27% of bisexual adults, and 29% of adults reporting another sexual orientation have difficulty with housing payments.
• 8% of LGBTQ+ adults in Maryland do not have health insurance, compared to 5% of non-LGBTQ+ adults.
• 13% of transgender and nonbinary adults are uninsured, compared to 5% of cisgender adults.

Owing in part to financial hardship – as well as experiences of day-to-day discrimination and threats to their safety – LGBTQ+ Marylanders face above-average levels of anxiety and depression; 39% of LGBTQ+ adults frequently experience symptoms of either anxiety or depression, compared to 24% of non-LGBTQ+ adults.

Maryland Has Room for Improvement

Maryland is not among the most supportive states for LGBTQ+ residents, according to a June report from LGBTQ+ business group Out Leadership. While state “business climate” rankings should always be treated with caution, the report highlights several specific areas where policymakers can better support LGBTQ+ Marylanders:

• Overall, Maryland scores 79.9 out to 100 on the group’s scale, putting us behind 17 other states that do a better job supporting LGBTQ+ residents. Maryland’s score is unchanged from 2021, but our rank dropped by one due to slight improvements in Nevada.
• Seven states already scored higher than Maryland in 2021 and improved further this year, leaving us further behind.
• Maryland scores 2 out of 5 on HIV criminalization. Maryland’s health code includes “a broad HIV exposure law that can be applied to any type of HIV exposure” as well as instances of convicting people of non-HIV-specific felonies based in part on HIV-positive status.
• Maryland scores 2 out of 5 on work safety (No. 38 out of 50), indicating that LGBTQ+ Marylanders face significant threats to their safety at work such as “verbal harassment, sexual assault, … being forced to use a non-gender-matching restroom, being told to present in the wrong gender in order to keep a job, [or] having someone at work share without consent private information about their gender.”
• Maryland scores 3 out of 5 on unemployment and food security, indicating that LGBTQ+ Marylanders are significantly more exposed to economic hardship than straight, cisgender Marylanders. These scores put us in the middle of the pack among the 50 states.
• Maryland scores 3 out of 5 on health support, indicating mediocre performance in nondiscriminatory access to the full range of medically necessary care. In the 2022 legislative session, the House of Delegates declined to take up the Trans Health Equity Act after it passed the Senate. This bill would have ensured Medicaid covers gender-affirming care for Marylanders, as is the case in many other states.

The report emphasizes research showing that LGBTQ+ workers and college-educated workers consider LGBTQ+ protections when deciding where to live and linking stronger LGBTQ+ protections to better economic performance.

Policymakers should act swiftly to protect and defend LGBTQ+ Marylanders:

• Repeal §18–601.1 of the Health Article, which exposes Marylanders living with HIV to criminal prosecution.
• Guarantee access to all medically necessary health care including gender-affirming care, without discrimination or onerous hurdles.
• Strengthen investments in basic needs such as nutrition, housing, and health care, which many LGBTQ+ Marylanders rely on.
• Prohibit local policies that discriminate against or stigmatize LGBTQ+ Marylanders.
• Strengthen protections against workplace discrimination, including effective penalties and investing in sufficient enforcement.
• End the BOOST program that funnels public resources to private and religious schools. Misguided court rulings now prohibit the program from protecting participating LGBTQ+ students from discrimination.
• Review state laws for potential impacts of harmful Supreme Court rulings and codify any protections that currently rely on case law.