The “gayest” city in the U.S. isn’t San Francisco or New York – it’s Salt Lake City, Utah, according to The Advocate, the gay and lesbian newsmagazine. Rather than rely on the U.S. Census tabulation of gay and lesbian populations, which would put San Francisco as No. 1, The Advocate used different measures to establish “per capita queerness” – including a city’s number of teams entered in the Gay Softball World Series, gay bookstores, openly gay elected officials and semifinalists in the International Mr. Leather Contest, which is held every year in Chicago. “While those unfamiliar with the Beehive State are likely to conjure images of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, far-less-oppressive-than-it-used-to-be Salt Lake City has earned its queer cred,” the magazine says. Orlando was second, thanks to annual Gay Days at Disney World and “more gay softball teams than you can shake a Louisville Slugger at.” The 25 Gayest Cities, according to The Advocate:
| 1. Salt Lake City, UT | 8. Knoxville, TN | 15. Denver, CO | 22. Eugene, OR |
| 2. Orlando, FL | 9. Atlanta, GA | 16. Washington, D.C. | 23. Oakland, CA |
| 3. Cambridge, MA | 10. Grand Rapids, MI | 17. New Orleans, LA | 24. Boston, MA |
| 4. Fort Lauderdale, FL | 11. Little Rock, AR | 18. San Francisco, CA | 25. Kansas City, MO |
| 5. Seattle, WA | 12. Portland, OR | 19. Pittsburgh, PA | |
| 6. Ann Arbor, MI | 13. Austin, TX | 20. Salem, OR | |
| 7. St. Paul-Minneapolis, MN | 14. Long Beach, CA | 21. Madison, WI |
