The 2013 LGBT Report

Vivid insights for reaching lesbian, gay, bisexual

and transgendered consumers year-round

An Experian Marketing Services white paper

The 2013 LGBT Report

Foreword

2013 has been a milestone year for those lobbying on behalf of expanded rights of
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered (LGBT) Americans. With 12 states and the
District of Columbia now formally recognizing same sex marriages and two highly
anticipated rulings from the U.S. Supreme Court expected shortly, the momentum
is currently on the side of those seeking greater recognition and support of LGBTrelated issues.
The speed with which public attitudes have shifted towards greater acceptance of
LGBT individuals and their causes has left many marketers scrambling to devise plans
that are not only inclusive of LGBT consumers, but in many instances designed to
overtly and publically court this influential and growing consumer segment.
This report is designed to provide marketers with a glimpse into the market that is on
everyones radar.
In this report, we will:
Report on the growing trend of consumers identifying as LGBT
Track the rise in married gay and lesbian Americans
Explore household arrangements and cohabitation
Examine the earnings of lesbian, gay and heterosexual Americans
Portion out the amount of money spent on discretionary goods and services
L
 ook at sub-segments within the gay and lesbian communities when it comes to
automotive and food lifestyles
Highlight the importance of mobile in reaching this consumer segment
Identify the top LGBT content websites and what visitors are looking
Examine where visitors to LGBT content sites come from and where they go after
For even more insights on the LGBT consumer, contact your Experian Marketing
Services account manager or email consumerinsight@experian.com.

Page 2 | The 2013 LGBT Report: Demographic Spotlight

The 2013 LGBT Report

Living out loud

Adult Americans are increasingly likely to identify as LGBT

In 2006, when Experian Marketing Services first began measuring sexual orientation
among respondents to our Simmons National Consumer Study, we found that
3.4% of all non-Hispanic adults self-identified as either lesbian, gay, bisexual or
transgendered (LGBT), a figure consistent with what leading LGBT researchers
predicted at the time. However today, 4.3% of the non-Hispanic adult population
self-identifies as LGBT, a figure that has risen slowly but steadily year-after-year.

5.8%

4.3%
3.6%
3.5%

4.3%

4.1%
4.5%
4.6%
3.8%
3.3%

3.7%
4.6%
4.0%
2.6%
3.7%

4.0%
4.8%
4.4%
3.6%
3.1%

Younger adults have consistently been more likely to identify as LGBT, and in fact
today, 5.8 percent of 18 to 34 year olds say they are either lesbian, gay, bisexual or
transgendered. As a result, the adult LGBT population predictably skews towards
the younger age cohorts. Specifically, 36% of LGBT adults today are aged 18 to 34
versus 26%Percent
of the heterosexual
population
that age
range. Likewise,
whileby20%
of non-Hispanic
U.S.inadults
identifying
as LGBT,
age
of heterosexual adults are age 65 and older, just 16% of LGBT adults are in this age
range, though our data shows that the share of adults age 65 and older identifying
as LGBT has also risen.
3.5%
3.9%
3.9%
3.1%
3.2%

3.4%
3.6%
3.8%
3.2%
2.6%

Percent of non-Hispanic U.S. adults identifying as LGBT, by age

ALL

2007

18 34

2008
ALL

2010

18 34

50 64

35 49

2009

2010

5.8%

2012

65+

2011
50 64

35 49

4.3%

2011

4.3%
3.6%
3.5%

2009

4.1%
4.5%
4.6%
3.8%
3.3%

2008

4.0%
4.8%
4.4%
3.6%
3.1%

2007

3.7%
4.6%
4.0%
2.6%
3.7%

3.5%
3.9%
3.9%
3.1%
3.2%

3.4%
3.6%
3.8%
3.2%
2.6%

Percent of non-Hispanic U.S. adults identifying as LGBT, by age

2012

65+

Breakdown of LGBT and heterosexual population by age

Breakdown of LGBT and heterosexual population, by age

LGBT

36%

24%

24%

16%

Heterosexual
25%
29%
Breakdown 26%
of LGBT and heterosexual
population
by20%
age
18 34

LGBT

Heterosexual

35 49

36%

50 64

24%

26%

25%

18 34

35 49

65+

24%

29%

50 64

16%

20%

65+
An Experian Marketing Services white paper | Page 3

The 2013 LGBT Report

Home and Family

Gay and Lesbian Americans increasingly wed

As a growing number of U.S. states pass laws recognizing same-sex marriages and
civil unions, we see an increasing percentage of gay and lesbian Americans reporting
that they are married. In 2007, for example, when only Massachusetts allowed samesex marriage, 8% of adult gay men and 14% of adult lesbian women said they were
married. Today, 17% of gay men and 16% of lesbian women are married. During the
same timeframe, marriage rates among heterosexuals fell slightly. Today, 58% of
heterosexual men and 53% of heterosexual women are married. Compare that to 60%
of heterosexual men and 55% of heterosexual women who were married in 2007.

Percent
ofofadults
presently
married,
by sexual
orientation
Percent
adults presently
married,
by sexual
orientation
70%
60% 58%

60%

55% 53%

50%
40%
30%
20%
10%

17%

14%

16%

8%

0%
Gay Men

Lesbian Women

2007

Page 4 | The 2013 LGBT Report: Demographic Spotlight

Heterosexual Men

2012

Heterosexual Women

The 2013 LGBT Report

Household
arrangements
andand
cohabitation
Percent
of lesbian
gay adults who live with zero, one,
While marriage is a growing
trend
population,
or two+ among
adultsthe
of LGBT
the same
sex many gay and
lesbian adults (as well as many heterosexuals) live with their partners without tying
the knot. Today, roughly two-thirds of lesbian women and just over half of gay men
live in a household where there is one and only one adult member of the same sex.
As expected, the majority of married gays and lesbians are found in these household
formations, but we can expect to find many cohabitating couples in this arrangement
as well. Percent
Among heterosexual
71% adults
of men and
61%
of women share a home
8% adults,
of lesbian
and gay
who
live
18%with zero, one,
with one and only one adult
of
the
opposite
sex,
the
comparable
or
two+ adults of the same sex formation most
51% partnered straight couples.
likely
to
contain
married
and
23% of gay men
live with 1 or more
adult women

38% of lesbians
live with 1 or more
adult men

64%

Percent of 41%
lesbian and gay adults who live with zero, one,
or two+ adults of the same sex
15%
8%

Lesbian18%
Females

Gay Men
23% of gay men
live with 1 or more
adult women

51%
Two or more

One

38% of lesbians
live with 1 or more
adult men

Zero
64%

41%
15%

23% of gayPercent
men
live with 1 or more
adult women

Gay Men

Lesbian Females

of heterosexual adults who live with zero, 38%

one,of lesbians
live
with 1 or more
or two+Twoadults
Zero sex
Oneopposite
or more of the
adult men

Percent of heterosexual adults who live with zero, one,

or two+ adults of the opposite sex
13%
Percent of heterosexual
adults who live12%
with zero, one,
or two+ adults of the opposite sex
24% of straight men
live with 1 or more
adult men

61%

71%

27%

16%
13%

Heterosexual Males
24%24%
of of
straight
straightmen
men
with
1 ormore
more
livelive
with
1 or
adult
men
adult
men

71%

24% of straight
women live with 1 or
more adult women

Two or more

12%

Heterosexual Females
One

Zero61%

27%

16%

Heterosexual Males
Two or more

24% of straight
women live with 1 or
24%adult
of straight
more
women

women live with 1 or

more adult women

Heterosexual Females
One

Zero

An Experian Marketing Services white paper | Page 5

The 2013 LGBT Report

Balancing the books

Married or partnered gay men have the highest household income

When it comes to individual income, gay and straight men earn roughly the same
amount, with gay men taking home just slightly more than heterosexual men,
regardless of martial/partner status. When looking at household income overall,
gay men and straight men also report nearly identical numbers with straight men
edging out gay men by just $800. However, among a subset of married or partnered
individuals, we observe that the household income of the typical married/partnered
gay man is fully $13,400 higher than that of the typical married or partnered
heterosexual man, presumably due to the combination of incomes from two men.
Specifically, the average household income of a partnered gay man is $115,500
versus $102,100 for a heterosexual married/partnered man.

Mean individual earnings and household income of men,

Mean
earnings and household
income
of men,
byindividual
sexual orientation
and martial
status
by sexual orientation and martial status

Individual
Earnings
Income

All

$60,000
$60,800
$62,500

Married/Partnered

$63,300
$95,000

All

Household
Income

$94,200
$102,100

Married/Partnered

Heterosexual Men

$115,500

Gay Men

*For the purpose of this analysis, partnered is defined as gay man whose household contains exactly two adult
men or a heterosexual man whose household includes exactly one adult female.

Page 6 | The 2013 LGBT Report: Demographic Spotlight

The 2013 LGBT Report

Lesbian women often earn less than heterosexual women

Overall, lesbian women have income levels that are $3,700 lower, on average,
than those of heterosexual women. However, among married or partnered
women, lesbians earn $900 more on average than their heterosexual counterparts.
Interestingly, when it comes to household income the average among all lesbian
women is $8,200 higher than that of all adult women ($94,100 versus $85,800),
suggesting that household arrangements of lesbian women lead to a higher
aggregate of wages earned. However, when we look at those married or partnered
individuals, we see that household income among partnered lesbians falls $12,300
short of all partnered women. This is most likely caused by the inclusion of income
from men. As the previous page in this report indicates, married/partnered
heterosexual men earn, on average, $62,500, which is considerably higher than
the average individual earnings income of $43,500 claimed by the typical married/
partnered lesbian.

Mean individual earnings and household income of women,

by sexual orientation

Mean individual earnings and household income of women, by sexual orientation

Individual
Earnings
Income

Household
Income

All

Married/Partnered

$42,000
$38,300
$42,600
$43,500
$85,800

All

$94,100
$100,800

Married/Partnered

Heterosexual Women

$88,500

Lesbian Women

For the purpose of this analysis, partnered is defined as lesbian women whose household contains exactly two
adult women or a heterosexual woman whose household includes exactly one adult male.

An Experian Marketing Services white paper | Page 7

The 2013 LGBT Report

Gay men have the highest discretionary spending per capita

Income levels are important to consider when targeting consumers, but more
important is determining the amount of money they have left over for non-essentials
after the other bills are paid. Despite earning nearly identical salaries, gay men have
lower annual household discretionary expenditures than heterosexual men. Likewise,
lesbian households have fewer dollars than those of heterosexual women to spend
on non-essentials. This is mostly likely due to the fact that both lesbian and gay
adults tend to reside in larger cities where the cost of living can be considerably
higher than average.
Interestingly, when household size is brought into the equation, we see that gay
males actually have higher discretionary spending per capita than heterosexual men.
In fact, gay men live in households that devote $6,794 per capita annually to nonessentials, which is $753 more than what heterosexual men spend.

Mean annual household spending on discretionary purchases,

Mean annual
spending
on orientation
discretionary purchases,
by household
gender and
sexual
by gender and sexual orientation

Household Discretionary
Spend

$17,400

$16,000

Heterosexual Men

Page 8 | The 2013 LGBT Report: Demographic Spotlight

Per Capita Discretionary

Spend

$15,100

$6,041

$6,794

$5,751

$4,764

$15,000

Gay Men

Heterosexual Women

Lesbian Women

The 2013 LGBT Report

Key Mindsets

Food and lifestyle segments

Gay men have a reputation for their attention to style and presentation and our Food
Lifestyle segments indicate thats at least partially true when it comes to food. Our
research shows that when compared to heterosexual men, gay and bisexual men
are 59% more likely to be considered True Foodies, the segment of eaters who have
the most culinary expertise, eat a variety of food, love to experiment with different
cuisines and have adopted a healthy eating lifestyle. In fact, fully one-in-five gay/
bisexual men fall into this segment compared with 12% of straight men.
On the opposite side of the gender divide, lesbian/bisexual women are actually less
likely than heterosexual women to be True Foodies with only 16% of lesbian/bisexual
women falling into this segment compared with 25% of heterosexual women.
Both gay/bisexual men and lesbian/bisexual women are more likely than their
heterosexual counterparts to be considered Variety on a budget, a segment that
often eats on the run, yet wants food thats healthy and gourmet.
For more information on the Food Lifestyle segments, click here.
Food Lifestyle segmentation

14%
18%
16%

18%

27%
30%

Gay/bisexual Men

26%

18%

Heterosexual Men

12%
20%
20%
12%

Lesbian/bisexual Women

11%
23%

Heterosexual Women

11%
30%

31%

21%

25%
16%

Convenience and ease

Reformed Traditional

Variety on a budget

Weekend Cooks

True Foodies

An Experian Marketing Services white paper | Page 9

The 2013 LGBT Report

Auto-Motives segmentation sheds light on communities within the community

When it comes to automobiles, gay and bisexual men are noticeably more likely
than heterosexual men to fall into the Cul-de-sacs and City Streets Auto-Motives
segments and much less likely to be considered Rough Terrains. Lesbian/bisexual
women, meantime, are fully twice as likely as heterosexual women to be categorized
as City Streets.
Cul-de-sacs represent practical drivers who place a higher value on comfort and
function over performance, image or status when buying a vehicle. Meantime, City
Streets includes drivers who see their vehicle as an extension of their identity and
whose primary motivations when selecting a vehicle are image and status. Given that
gay/bisexual men are over represented in each segment may seem contradictory,
but, in fact, it highlights the importance of getting a more complete understanding of
LGBT consumers and discovering sub-segments within the overall community.
For more information on the Auto-motives segments, click here.
Auto-Motives Segmentation

17%
25%
15%

Lesbian/bisexual Women

38%
Heterosexual Women

13%

24%

14% 9%

33%

13%
17%
25%

Gay/bisexual Men

15%
38%

Heterosexual Men

24%

13%
14% 9%

33%

13%

Boulevards

City streets

Main streets

Rough terrains

Page 10 | The 2013 LGBT Report: Demographic Spotlight

Cul-de-sacs

The 2013 LGBT Report

Going Mobile

Mobile and technology innovators

Gays, lesbians and bisexuals are mobile and technology leaders. Compared with
heterosexuals, gay/bisexual men and lesbian/bisexual women are more likely to be
considered technology Wizards. Wizards are the consumers Experian Marketing
Services has identified as those for whom technology is central to their way of life.
Theyre enthusiastic and adventurous users of new technology and cant get enough
of the latest gadgets.
When it comes to mobile, both gay/bisexual men and lesbian/bisexual women are
more likely than their heterosexual counterparts to be members of highly active
segments from our Mobile Consumer Segmentation that are key for marketers
trying to connect with mobile innovators. Specifically, gay, lesbian and bisexual
adults are more likely to be considered Social Connectors, Mobile Professionals
and Mobirati. In fact, lesbian/bisexual women are fully 2.2 times more likely than
heterosexual women to be Mobirati, which represents those adults who grew up with
cell phones and cant imagine life without them.
As added proof that these consumer segments are important targets for mobile
campaigns, our research shows that gay/bisexual men and lesbian/bisexual
women are 33% and 22% more likely than their heterosexual gender counterparts,
respectively, to have redeemed a coupon on from their cell phone.
For more information on the Mobile Consumer Segmentation click here.
Mobile Consumer Segmentation

5%
22%

20%
Gay/bisexual Men

Heterosexual Men

18%

8% 17%
18%

19%
22%

4%

8%

19%
23%

12%

27%
7%

15%

24%
12%

31%

24%
Lesbian/bisexual Women

19%
14%

11%

Heterosexual Women
Social Connectors

Pragmatic Adopters

Mobirati

Mobile Professionals

Basic Planners

Do not own cell phone

An Experian Marketing Services white paper | Page 11

The 2013 LGBT Report

Reaching LGBT consumers online

What are LGBT Americans searching for?

Gay and lesbian Americans have always been early adopters of the Internet, a
medium that served as place to form safe communities and to access resources
that may not be readily available elsewhere. Today, sites like Gay.com, Queerty.com,
LogoTV.com and more are among the most popular dedicated to delivering content
specifically targeting the needs and interests of the LGBT community and beyond.
Experian Marketing Services identified the top 50 LGBT content sites (excluding
dating sites) in order to learn more about LGBT online adults and what theyre
interested in. The top 10 sites appear in the table below.
Top 10 LGBT content sites
Rank

Website

Visit
Share

Rank

Gay.com

15.2%

The Data Lounge

9.2%

Queerty

10.7%

AfterEllen.com

5.3%

Logo TV

9.9%

www.gaystarnews.com

2.7%

Towleroad

9.3%

Susans Place

2.4%

Advocate.com

9.3%

10

Human Rights Campaign

2.0%

Website

Visit
Share

Looking at the search terms driving visits to these sites, it is clear that many
individuals are looking for information about Rupauls Drag Race, a popular
television show that airs on Logo, a Viacom-owned network. In fact, many of the top
non-branded search terms include variations of the shows name and famous host.
Searches related to marriage are also driving a decent amount of traffic to these
sites as are searches for celebrities, including gay celebrities, rumoured-to-be gay
celebrities and gay icons and heartthrobs.

Page 12 | The 2013 LGBT Report: Demographic Spotlight

The 2013 LGBT Report

Upstream/downstream traffic
Over a third of clicks directing visitors to the leading LGBT content sites come
from search engines and another 17% come from social networking sites and
forums. Combined these two categories of sites deliver nearly 56% of all traffic to
LGBT content sites, indicating their importance in directing visitors to the content
theyre looking for. However, both search and social industries receive a lower share
of downstream traffic from the top 50 LGBT content sites. In fact, only 10.6% of
downstream traffic from LGBT content sites goes back to a search engine and 14.8%
goes to a social networking site or forum. Social networking sites are still the top
downstream industry for visitors to LGBT content sites, suggesting that visitors are
either sharing content from the sites or are going back to their social networks for more.
Other gay and lesbian sites, blogs and personal websites and multimedia sites are
also all popular downstream destinations from LGBT content sites both in terms of
clicks and in the fact that they are disproportionately higher downstream than upstream.
Top upstream and downstream industries for top 50 LGBT content sites
Upstream Industry

Clicks

Index to
Downstream Clicks

Search Engines
Social Networking and Forums
Gay and Lesbian
Blogs and Personal Websites
Email Services
Multimedia
Print
Portal Frontpages
Television
Dating
Reference
Personalities
Movies
Broadcast Media
Other

38.5%
17.3%
5.9%
5.7%
4.5%
3.7%
2.8%
2.4%
2.2%
2.1%
1.7%
1.2%
0.9%
0.9%
10.3%

365
117
52
57
204
60
52
132
56
41
79
41
48
36
54

Downstream Industry

Clicks

Index to
Upstream Clicks

Social Networking and Forums

Gay and Lesbian
Search Engines
Blogs and Personal Websites
Multimedia
Print
Dating
Television
Personalities
Broadcast Media
Email Services
Reference
Movies
Portal Frontpages
Other

14.8%
11.5%
10.6%
9.9%
6.1%
5.3%
5.2%
3.9%
3.1%
2.4%
2.2%
2.2%
1.9%
1.9%
19.2%

86
193
27
175
167
194
245
179
245
278
49
126
207
76
187

An Experian Marketing Services white paper | Page 13

The 2013 LGBT Report

Reaching LGBT consumers on mainstream sites

While reaching LGBT consumers on LGBT-focused sites is a great way to show
support for the community, marketers can reach this influential audience on more
mainstream sites as well. Sites like Gawker, Reddit, Twitter, The Huffington Post and
others like those shown below are among the top upstream and downstream sites
for visitors to LGBT content sites. These sites are likely to have high concentrations
of LGBT visitors or visitors interested in LGBT content and may prove to be a
safer place for marketers considering a more over plan for reaching out to LGBT
consumers via mainstream media.
Non-LGBT-focused sites to reach LGBT content visitors, by industry
Entertainment Sites
YouTube
NetFlix.com
HappyPlace.com
Hulu
IMDB
Gawker
MTV.com
Cracked.com
Daily Motion
Flickr
Social Networking
Facebook
Twitter
Tumblr
Reddit
LinkedIn
News and Media
The Huffington Post
Buzzfeed
The New York Times
CNN.com
The Washington Post

Page 14 | The 2013 LGBT Report: Demographic Spotlight

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06/2013