A new list of the top “LGBT-friendly” cities for retirees contains 11 new metropolitan areas this year as well as nine returning cities that were on the inaugural list last year.

For 2018, senior housing referral service SeniorAdvice did not limit inclusion based on city size, whereas last year’s rankings focused on large cities. Another difference between lists is that the 2018 list includes 20 cities, whereas the 2017 list had 15.

SeniorAdvice considered several factors to devise the 2018 list, released Monday:

  • percentage of lesbian / gay / bisexual / transgender population in the area
  • available social activities
  • festivals
  • weather
  • LGBT Chamber of Commerce presence,
  • presence of LGBT-friendly senior communities
  • quality of healthcare
  • number of hospitals and pharmacies
  • local and state legislations protecting the LGBT community
  • cost of living, and
  • the city’s SeniorScore based on a proprietary algorithm developed by SeniorAdvice and including more than 100 variables related to livability for older adults.

To view details regarding the cities on the 2018 list, visit the SeniorAdvice website.

SeniorAdvice also ranked the top 15 LGBT-friendly senior housing communities in December.