Gayest places in Iowa research summary. We used Saturday Night Science to research the cities in Iowa with the highest percent of same-sex households for 2026. The data comes from the American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year vintage, which counts same-sex married spouses and same-sex unmarried partners at the city level.
7.8% gay households · #1 gayest in Iowa
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
3.6% gay households · #2 gayest in Iowa
Glenwood is a city in and the county seat of Mills County, Iowa, United States. The population was 5,269 in the 2010 census, a decline from 5,358 in the 2000 census.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
3.3% gay households · #3 gayest in Iowa
Iowa Falls is a city in Hardin County, Iowa, United States. Iowa Falls is the home of Ellsworth Community College. It is also a regional transportation center, located along U.S. Routes 20 and 65 and the Canadian National and Union Pacific Railroads. The population was 5,238 at the 2010 census. A landmark in the city is its movie theater. Built as the Metropolitan Opera House in 1899, it presented plays, operas, and vaudeville in the town during the first half of the twentieth century, and today is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
2.9% gay households · #4 gayest in Iowa
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
2.7% gay households · #5 gayest in Iowa
Located in
Dallas County, Iowa
Perry is a city in Dallas County, Iowa, United States, along the North Raccoon River. The population was 7,702 at the 2010 Census. It is part of the Des Moines-West Des Moines Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
2.5% gay households · #6 gayest in Iowa
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
2.3% gay households · #7 gayest in Iowa
Shenandoah is a city in Fremont and Page Counties in Iowa. The population was 5,150 at the 2010 census.
Data | Movers
2.3% gay households · #8 gayest in Iowa
Located in
Marion County, Iowa
Knoxville is a city in Marion County, Iowa, United States. The population was 7,313 at the 2010 census, a decrease from 7,731 in the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Marion County. Knoxville is home of the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame & Museum, located next to the famous Knoxville Raceway dirt track.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
1.7% gay households · #9 gayest in Iowa
Located in
Page County, Iowa
Clarinda is a city in and the county seat of Page County, Iowa, United States. It is located in Nodaway Township. The population was 5,572 in the 2010 census, a decline from the 5,690 population in the 2000 census.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
1.7% gay households · #10 gayest in Iowa
Located in
Clinton County, Iowa
Clinton is a city in and the county seat of Clinton County, Iowa, United States. The population was 26,885 as of 2010. Clinton, along with DeWitt, Iowa, was named in honor of the sixth governor of New York, DeWitt Clinton. Clinton is the principal city of the Clinton Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is coterminous with Clinton County. Clinton was incorporated on January 26, 1857.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
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Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is Iowa’s statewide median.
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Where Iowa’s LGBTQ households are
Saturday Night Science
How we determined the gayest places in Iowa for 2026
In order to rank the gayest cities in Iowa, we used Saturday Night Science and the 2020-2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the U.S. Census. We looked at:
- Percentage of all households that are unmarried, same-sex partners
We limited the analysis to non-CDPs that have over 1,000 households.
We ranked each place from 1 to 137 with the city containing the highest percentage of unmarried, same-sex partner households being the most gay.
In the end, Le Claire ended up being the most gay place with 7.8% gay households.
Skip to the end to see the list of all the places in the state from gayest to straightest.
We updated this report for 2026. This report is our eleventh time ranking the gayest places in Iowa.
The full plate
Gayest Places In Iowa
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Households | LGBTQ Households | % Gay Households |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Le Claire | 1,662 | 129 | 7.8% |
| 2 | Glenwood | 2,063 | 74 | 3.6% |
| 3 | Iowa Falls | 2,226 | 73 | 3.3% |
| 4 | Milford | 1,561 | 45 | 2.9% |
| 5 | Perry | 3,163 | 86 | 2.7% |
| 6 | Albia | 1,558 | 39 | 2.5% |
| 7 | Shenandoah | 2,226 | 52 | 2.3% |
| 8 | Knoxville | 3,173 | 73 | 2.3% |
| 9 | Clarinda | 2,023 | 35 | 1.7% |
| 10 | Clinton | 10,754 | 182 | 1.7% |
| 11 | Marengo | 1,148 | 19 | 1.7% |
| 12 | Maquoketa | 2,669 | 43 | 1.6% |
| 13 | Camanche | 1,845 | 28 | 1.5% |
| 14 | Altoona | 8,489 | 125 | 1.5% |
| 15 | Waukee | 11,830 | 162 | 1.4% |
| 16 | Orange City | 2,215 | 28 | 1.3% |
| 17 | Storm Lake | 3,975 | 49 | 1.2% |
| 18 | Eldridge | 2,826 | 34 | 1.2% |
| 19 | Winterset | 2,389 | 27 | 1.1% |
| 20 | Decorah | 3,038 | 33 | 1.1% |
| 21 | Des Moines | 90,105 | 957 | 1.1% |
| 22 | Story City | 1,419 | 15 | 1.1% |
| 23 | Ames | 25,785 | 253 | 1.0% |
| 24 | Newton | 6,772 | 61 | 0.9% |
| 25 | Urbandale | 17,547 | 158 | 0.9% |
| 26 | Fairfield | 4,115 | 37 | 0.9% |
| 27 | Sioux City | 32,926 | 291 | 0.9% |
| 28 | Waterloo | 29,283 | 256 | 0.9% |
| 29 | Iowa City | 30,816 | 262 | 0.9% |
| 30 | Council Bluffs | 26,023 | 220 | 0.8% |
| 31 | Denison | 3,091 | 25 | 0.8% |
| 32 | Oelwein | 2,610 | 21 | 0.8% |
| 33 | Onawa | 1,256 | 10 | 0.8% |
| 34 | Fort Madison | 4,548 | 36 | 0.8% |
| 35 | Centerville | 2,474 | 19 | 0.8% |
| 36 | Cedar Falls | 15,908 | 120 | 0.8% |
| 37 | Cedar Rapids | 59,351 | 445 | 0.7% |
| 38 | Missouri Valley | 1,222 | 9 | 0.7% |
| 39 | North Liberty | 8,159 | 60 | 0.7% |
| 40 | Indianola | 6,152 | 45 | 0.7% |
| 41 | Keokuk | 4,350 | 31 | 0.7% |
| 42 | Davenport | 43,237 | 302 | 0.7% |
| 43 | West Des Moines | 32,233 | 218 | 0.7% |
| 44 | Clive | 7,053 | 46 | 0.7% |
| 45 | Dubuque | 26,131 | 166 | 0.6% |
| 46 | Mason City | 12,698 | 77 | 0.6% |
| 47 | Bettendorf | 16,384 | 99 | 0.6% |
| 48 | Ankeny | 28,361 | 144 | 0.5% |
| 49 | Kalona | 1,189 | 6 | 0.5% |
| 50 | Osceola | 2,581 | 13 | 0.5% |
| 51 | Burlington | 11,070 | 54 | 0.5% |
| 52 | Forest City | 1,653 | 8 | 0.5% |
| 53 | Bondurant | 2,952 | 14 | 0.5% |
| 54 | Polk City | 2,184 | 10 | 0.5% |
| 55 | Coralville | 9,985 | 45 | 0.5% |
| 56 | Hampton | 1,816 | 8 | 0.4% |
| 57 | Solon | 1,144 | 5 | 0.4% |
| 58 | Algona | 2,552 | 11 | 0.4% |
| 59 | Boone | 5,259 | 22 | 0.4% |
| 60 | Grinnell | 3,635 | 15 | 0.4% |
| 61 | Washington | 3,163 | 13 | 0.4% |
| 62 | Mount Vernon | 1,260 | 5 | 0.4% |
| 63 | Charles City | 3,223 | 12 | 0.4% |
| 64 | Ottumwa | 9,980 | 37 | 0.4% |
| 65 | Carroll | 4,696 | 16 | 0.3% |
| 66 | Nevada | 2,980 | 10 | 0.3% |
| 67 | Norwalk | 5,610 | 18 | 0.3% |
| 68 | Clarion | 1,319 | 4 | 0.3% |
| 69 | Muscatine | 9,640 | 29 | 0.3% |
| 70 | Pella | 3,995 | 12 | 0.3% |
| 71 | West Branch | 1,040 | 3 | 0.3% |
| 72 | Waverly | 3,856 | 10 | 0.3% |
| 73 | Hiawatha | 2,936 | 7 | 0.2% |
| 74 | Clear Lake | 3,519 | 8 | 0.2% |
| 75 | Marion | 16,915 | 37 | 0.2% |
| 76 | Atlantic | 3,261 | 7 | 0.2% |
| 77 | Belle Plaine | 1,011 | 2 | 0.2% |
| 78 | Johnston | 9,259 | 15 | 0.2% |
| 79 | Fort Dodge | 10,272 | 12 | 0.1% |
| 80 | Marshalltown | 10,135 | 11 | 0.1% |
| 81 | Creston | 3,358 | 2 | 0.1% |
| 82 | Le Mars | 4,342 | 0 | 0.0% |
| 83 | Emmetsburg | 1,646 | 0 | 0.0% |
| 84 | Eagle Grove | 1,372 | 0 | 0.0% |
| 85 | Garner | 1,381 | 0 | 0.0% |
| 86 | Adel | 2,372 | 0 | 0.0% |
| 87 | Cherokee | 2,289 | 0 | 0.0% |
| 88 | Sergeant Bluff | 1,808 | 0 | 0.0% |
| 89 | Wilton | 1,365 | 0 | 0.0% |
| 90 | Evansdale | 2,164 | 0 | 0.0% |
| 91 | Huxley | 1,527 | 0 | 0.0% |
| 92 | Carter Lake | 1,390 | 0 | 0.0% |
| 93 | Spirit Lake | 2,716 | 0 | 0.0% |
| 94 | Robins | 1,154 | 0 | 0.0% |
| 95 | Mount Pleasant | 3,317 | 0 | 0.0% |
| 96 | Chariton | 1,821 | 0 | 0.0% |
| 97 | Pleasant Hill | 4,343 | 0 | 0.0% |
| 98 | Center Point | 1,028 | 0 | 0.0% |
| 99 | Tipton | 1,339 | 0 | 0.0% |
| 100 | West Union | 1,106 | 0 | 0.0% |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024. Places with over 1,000 households.
Summary
There You Have It – The Most LGBT Friendly Cities In Iowa For 2026
If you’re looking at the number of gay households in Iowa, this is an accurate list.
The gayest cities in Iowa are Le Claire, Glenwood, Iowa Falls, Milford, Perry, Albia, Shenandoah, Knoxville, Clarinda, and Clinton. Not sold on Iowa? Take the two-minute Find Your Place quiz and see which state actually fits you.
