Gayest places in Virginia research summary. We used Saturday Night Science to research the cities in Virginia 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.
The city with the highest rate of same-sex houesholds in Virginia is Grottoes. 6.55% of households in Grottoes are gay.
The city in Virginia with the most same-sex houesholds is Richmond with 1,665 gay households.
Virginia is the 27th most gay in the United States.
Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table
An estimated 0.83% of Virginia residents are gay.
That means there are a total of 27,949 gay households in The Old Dominion.
Our goal with this post is to use Saturday Night Science and data to determine the gayest cities in Virginia.
After analyzing 87 cities with over 1,000 households, we’ve determined these are The Gayest Cities in Virginia for 2026.
The 10 Gayest Places In Virginia For 2026
What’s the gayest place in Virginia? According to the facts, Grottoes is the gayest place in Virginia for 2026.
For more on how we calculated the top ten, and for more information about these places, read on.
For more Virginia reading, check out:
- Gayest cities in the United States
- Best Places To Live In Virginia
- Cheapest Places To Live In Virginia
- Most Dangerous Cities In Virginia
The 10 Gayest Cities In Virginia For 2026
1. Grottoes
/10
Households: 1,145
Gay Households: 75 (26th highest)
% Gay Households: 6.55% (1st highest)
More on Grottoes: Crime | Movers
/10
Households: 1,759
Gay Households: 63 (31st highest)
% Gay Households: 3.58% (2nd highest)
More on Dumfries: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
/10
Households: 3,985
Gay Households: 109 (20th highest)
% Gay Households: 2.74% (3rd highest)
More on Warrenton: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
/10
Households: 3,006
Gay Households: 79 (24th highest)
% Gay Households: 2.63% (4th highest)
More on Strasburg: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
/10
Households: 2,431
Gay Households: 63 (31st highest)
% Gay Households: 2.59% (5th highest)
More on Marion: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
/10
Households: 5,540
Gay Households: 142 (16th highest)
% Gay Households: 2.56% (6th highest)
More on Radford: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
7. Wise
/10
Households: 1,298
Gay Households: 30 (43rd highest)
% Gay Households: 2.31% (7th highest)
More on Wise: Crime | Movers
/10
Households: 3,741
Gay Households: 83 (23rd highest)
% Gay Households: 2.22% (8th highest)
More on Pulaski: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
/10
Households: 3,584
Gay Households: 78 (25th highest)
% Gay Households: 2.18% (9th highest)
More on Smithfield: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
/10
Households: 104,321
Gay Households: 1,665 (1st highest)
% Gay Households: 1.6% (10th highest)
More on Richmond: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
How do you determine the best cities for same-sex households in Virginia for 2026
In order to rank the gayest cities in Virginia, 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 87 with the city containing the highest percentage of unmarried, same sex partners households being the most gay.
In the end, ended up being the the most gay place with 6.55% gay households.
Skip to the end to see the list of all the places in the state from gayest to straighest.
We updated this report for 2026. This report is our eleventh time ranking the gayest places in Virginia.
There You Have It – The Most LGBT Friendly Cities In Virginia For 2026
If you’re looking at the number of gay households in Virginia, this is an accurate list.
The gayest cities in Virginia are .
If you’re curious enough, here are the least gay places in Virginia:
- Bridgewater
- Pearisburg
- Crewe
For more Virginia reading, check out:
- Richest Cities In Virginia
- Safest Places In Virginia
- Worst Cities In Virginia For 2017
- Most Expensive Places To Live In Virginia
Table: Gayest Places To Live In Virginia
| Rank | City | Households | % Gay Households |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Grottoes | 1,145 | 6.55% |
| 2 | Dumfries | 1,759 | 3.58% |
| 3 | Warrenton | 3,985 | 2.74% |
| 4 | Strasburg | 3,006 | 2.63% |
| 5 | Marion | 2,431 | 2.59% |
| 6 | Radford | 5,540 | 2.56% |
| 7 | Wise | 1,298 | 2.31% |
| 8 | Pulaski | 3,741 | 2.22% |
| 9 | Smithfield | 3,584 | 2.18% |
| 10 | Richmond | 104,321 | 1.6% |
| 11 | Chincoteague | 1,714 | 1.52% |
| 12 | New Market | 1,058 | 1.51% |
| 13 | Staunton | 11,309 | 1.39% |
| 14 | Alexandria | 76,096 | 1.38% |
| 15 | Charlottesville | 19,815 | 1.34% |
| 16 | Norfolk | 94,965 | 1.32% |
| 17 | Bristol | 7,226 | 1.31% |
| 18 | Hopewell | 9,255 | 1.26% |
| 19 | Portsmouth | 40,288 | 1.25% |
| 20 | Emporia | 2,157 | 1.21% |
| 21 | Luray | 2,323 | 1.16% |
| 22 | Martinsville | 5,711 | 1.16% |
| 23 | Petersburg | 15,138 | 1.12% |
| 24 | Hampton | 58,057 | 1.11% |
| 25 | Manassas | 14,203 | 1.1% |
| 26 | Abingdon | 3,999 | 1.05% |
| 27 | Covington | 2,576 | 1.01% |
| 28 | Manassas Park | 5,193 | 1.0% |
| 29 | Front Royal | 5,976 | 0.97% |
| 30 | Tazewell | 1,789 | 0.95% |
| 31 | Lynchburg | 28,701 | 0.9% |
| 32 | Chesapeake | 93,626 | 0.89% |
| 33 | Newport News | 76,112 | 0.88% |
| 34 | Norton | 1,605 | 0.87% |
| 35 | Ashland | 2,809 | 0.85% |
| 36 | Roanoke | 43,575 | 0.85% |
| 37 | Blacksburg | 13,840 | 0.81% |
| 38 | Leesburg | 16,660 | 0.8% |
| 39 | Williamsburg | 5,020 | 0.8% |
| 40 | Farmville | 2,576 | 0.78% |
| 41 | Virginia Beach | 179,851 | 0.77% |
| 42 | Windsor | 1,081 | 0.74% |
| 43 | Rocky Mount | 2,059 | 0.73% |
| 44 | Fredericksburg | 11,720 | 0.73% |
| 45 | Colonial Beach | 1,793 | 0.73% |
| 46 | Suffolk | 37,908 | 0.68% |
| 47 | Culpeper | 6,974 | 0.67% |
| 48 | Waynesboro | 9,841 | 0.67% |
| 49 | Christiansburg | 10,253 | 0.65% |
| 50 | Blackstone | 1,407 | 0.64% |
| 51 | Chase City | 1,103 | 0.63% |
| 52 | Salem | 10,256 | 0.61% |
| 53 | Woodstock | 2,088 | 0.57% |
| 54 | Big Stone Gap | 1,562 | 0.51% |
| 55 | Wytheville | 3,972 | 0.5% |
| 56 | Herndon | 7,796 | 0.5% |
| 57 | Winchester | 11,492 | 0.49% |
| 58 | South Hill | 2,314 | 0.43% |
| 59 | West Point | 1,473 | 0.41% |
| 60 | Fairfax | 9,155 | 0.4% |
| 61 | Buena Vista | 2,554 | 0.39% |
| 62 | Clifton Forge | 1,418 | 0.35% |
| 63 | Harrisonburg | 17,360 | 0.35% |
| 64 | Purcellville | 2,875 | 0.35% |
| 65 | Franklin | 3,454 | 0.32% |
| 66 | Danville | 19,066 | 0.28% |
| 67 | Richlands | 2,297 | 0.26% |
| 68 | Falls Church | 6,273 | 0.26% |
| 69 | Vienna | 5,553 | 0.23% |
| 70 | Colonial Heights | 7,530 | 0.23% |
| 71 | Poquoson | 4,728 | 0.17% |
| 72 | Altavista | 1,338 | 0.15% |
| 73 | Vinton | 3,655 | 0.11% |
| 74 | Broadway | 1,833 | 0.0% |
| 75 | Berryville | 1,766 | 0.0% |
| 76 | Lebanon | 1,397 | 0.0% |
| 77 | Bluefield | 2,037 | 0.0% |
| 78 | Timberville | 1,099 | 0.0% |
| 79 | Orange | 1,943 | 0.0% |
| 80 | Lexington | 2,187 | 0.0% |
| 81 | South Boston | 2,974 | 0.0% |
| 82 | Hillsville | 1,006 | 0.0% |
| 83 | Galax | 2,763 | 0.0% |
| 84 | Elkton | 1,269 | 0.0% |
| 85 | Crewe | 1,158 | 0.0% |
| 86 | Pearisburg | 1,267 | 0.0% |
| 87 | Bridgewater | 2,179 | 0.0% |