In 2010, the Gay/Lesbian Index listed Columbus as one of the top 20 “gayest” cities in America. That's a larger percentage than New York City and Washington, D.C., let alone fellow Midwest cities like Indianapolis (4.2 percent), Cleveland (3.7), Cincinnati (3.2) and Pittsburgh (3.0). A 2015 Gallup poll put Columbus in the top 15 of the nation’s 50 largest metro areas with 4.3 percent of its population identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender. The experience spurred her to ask WOSU's Curious Cbus project, “Why is there such a large LGBTQ population in Columbus?”ĭata backs up Megan’s instinct. People were very openly gay, which was very comforting, too.” 'I was looking for a bicycle and all the bike stores had flags everywhere and it was really nice to see that. “There were just pride flags everywhere and 'Make America Gay Again’ flags,' Bursey says. Megan Bursey noticed something different about Columbus when she visited her girlfriend last December.
