Study: Gays, lesbians in better financial shape
(Associated Press)
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A new study on the financial health of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community finds that, as a group and compared with the general U.S. population, it has higher median and household incomes, better pay parity between men and women, higher employment and more spending money.
The study, “The LGBT Financial Experience,”was conducted by Prudential, which surveyed 1,401 LGBT individuals across the country aged 25 to 68 in August.
Prudential, which along with other financial services providers clearly sees the LGBT community as a growing market, says it conducted the “baseline study” to gauge the group’s financial prowess amid the country’s economic challenges.
“The research findings are eye opening and dispel common perceptions. While we found people to be largely optimistic about the future, the LGBT community, like most Americans, was affected by the recession and is very concerned about being able to retire,” the study says.
The LGBT community is in much better financial shape than the general population. Here are a few of the study’s highlights:
* While gay men earn more than lesbians ($49,900 versus $43,500 median income), which reflects what’s happening in the general population, the pay disparity isn’t the same. Among those employed full-time, lesbians earn 84 percent of what gay men earn, compared with the 77 percent female-to-male ratio among the total population.
* The median household income for the LGBT community is $61,500, compared with $50,000 for the general population. Although gay men report earning more than lesbians individually, lesbian households have higher income ($63,700 vs. $62,300) because they are more likely to have dual incomes.
* Seven percent define themselves as “unemployed and looking for work, compared with the U.S. unemployment rate of 7.9 percent. Lesbians have the lowest unemployment rate at 5 percent and transgender people have the highest at 12 percent.
* The study also found that the LGBT community on average carried about $4,000 less in debt and had $6,000 more in household savings.
* Because many dual households were without children, the LGBT community also had a lot of extra money to spend on dining out, entertainment and travel. About 40 percent of gay men and 25 percent of lesbians spend more than $500 a month on such discretionary items.
A CNN Money report on the study points out that studies conducted by the Census Bureau and Experian, the credit reporting agency, also have come up with similar conclusions but a Gallup poll of more than 120,000 adults in the summer found that LGBT individuals “tend to have lower incomes and to be less educated than the general population.”
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86 comments Add your comment
James
December 6th, 2012
2:57 pm
Does anyone seriously think being gay is a choice? Why would one decide to be gay knowing you would have to fight twice as hard for anything in life? I work with a guy who was basically kicked out of his own family for being gay.
David Puddy
December 6th, 2012
2:58 pm
Can I be excused from reading such a useless piece of news? Please?
atlanta30324
December 6th, 2012
3:03 pm
Big Al nobody made us gay?
Tell me Big Al how did you choose and overcome not to be attacted to hot beefy guys? Please let the gay community know your secret!!!!
John
December 6th, 2012
3:09 pm
@ Voiceofreason… I feel sorry for your spouse in the bedroom.. I am sure the few times you concived to have childern was a joy. I am sure your other half is getting it on the side to make up for your pure Sinless life.
jvillebil
December 6th, 2012
3:17 pm
As born again believer, I don’t believe God intended for homesexuality to be an acceptable lifestyle in his world. With that said and done, I have know several homosexuals over the years and have actually had a few work for me. I have a nephew that practices the homosexual lifestyle and he is one of the most polite articulate, hard working young men I know and a pleasure to be around. Do I wish he was a homosexual? No but it is the lifestyle he chose and I still love him. I have found that most homosexuals are hard working, law abiding, want a better life for themselves and those around them and love the United States as much as I do. On the other hand I don’t want an in your face homosexual telling my children this is a normal lifestyle. I believe we should love everyone, whether they are a thief, a prostitute, a beggar, a liar or a homosexual. I try not to judge, but if you are taught that the bible is God’s word and truly believe it then you can’t accept it as a normal way of life. Would I be upset if a homosexual lived across the street or next door to me, No, I would treat them just as I would any of my other neighbors. We are never going to solve this argument, there will never be peace in the middle east between the Israelites and Palestines, there will never be 100% harmony between the blacks and the whites, there will never be consensus on abortion, will never be a day when the Democrats and the Republicans totally agree. But in the meanwhile I will try to do my best and love my neighbor even though I may not agree with him or her.
John
December 6th, 2012
3:25 pm
@jvillebil We need more people like you in this world to see the turning meaning of Love Thy Neighboir. Thanks you for the postive words and that there are Great people out there !
Leviticus
December 6th, 2012
3:25 pm
How dumb are the posters on here? The reason gays make more money is because they don’t have children? So how many of the posters on here have a prorated salary based on the number of children you have?
No wonder Georgia’s education system is 49th in the nation. It would be laughable if it wasn’t so sad.
Karma
December 6th, 2012
3:28 pm
Homosexuality is a genetic flaw. The reality is anyone with a college education of even a semester knows that many choose this lifestyle. Our selfish entitlement, anything goes society makes it less taboo. It has always been a numbers game to make them look and feel important to society. This silly survey justs inflates their egos even more.
Gays and lesbians cost our society more to to put up with their BS, entitlements and diseases. They end up paying more for their lifestyle in the end.
SheeshLouise
December 6th, 2012
3:28 pm
@James
I was a philanderer once. I made the choice to be so, even though I knew it might cause me tobecome shunned by my family and possibly lose it. I was once also a drug addict, and made the choice to be that as well. I knew it could cause my to lose my family, career, health and so many other things. Same thing with becoming a gambler, I made a choice to do that too. Were there things at risk like ridicule, ostracism, safety, etc? Yeah. But those were all risks worth taking in my eyes. Afterall, the philandering, gambling, drug abuse and many of the choices I made made me whole and feel like I was being me.They made me feel good. Now some might argue that I was “born” that way, that I have some sort of “genetic predisposition” to these “diseases”. The truth of the matter is… I chose to live those lifestyles. Hope that clears things up a bit.
John
December 6th, 2012
3:28 pm
@ Leviticus… Education starts at the home.. maybe we would not be in 49th place if we had some more educated parents here in GA. I think it would also educate the younger generations on the difference of people lifestyles.. Christian, Jewish, Islamic , Gay.. etc..
blkshepherd
December 6th, 2012
3:29 pm
@ Voice of Reason
Must be nice to be Sin-less. If you know the bible as you allege to claim, you would know there is a section where Jesus said” Judge not, lest you be judged” by the same measure you are judging you will be judged. Remove the speck out your own eye then you will see Clearly enough to remove it out someone else’s.
Kills me how you folks will imediately bring the bible in when it comes to gays. Yet how many of you married Everyone you had sex with? If you had sex with anyone and your not married to them..its called FORNICATION..last check..thats also a sin. A sin is a SIN. But oh my bad, I forgot. YOU are SINLESS.
Unless you are Jesus,
You are just as much a sinner and No better than any gay person.
God not only made Adam and Eve, he made STEVE, Larry, Curly, Moe, Sally, Sue Ann, Bobby Joe, Mary and Martha. He made ALL HUMANS. If you have an Issue with any of the humans God made. Take it up with GOD!
John
December 6th, 2012
3:31 pm
@ Karma and you think blacks choose their color of their skin when they are born ? Get your facts straight before running off at the mouth. I Am sure you are unaware of the highest cases of Aids is in Black female. So read up before you speak. Oh wait yet another uneducated GA Hetero.
Study: Gays, lesbians in better financial shape – Atlanta Journal Constitution (blog) | The News Headline | Daily News Magazine
December 6th, 2012
3:38 pm
[...] Atlanta Journal Constitution (blog) [...]
SheeshLouise
December 6th, 2012
3:50 pm
Come on let’s be honest John. Blacks are not given the choice of their skin when we are born. No different than a man not being given a choice to leave his TESTES in the womb, nor a woman her VAGINA. This is why for a man to become a woman he must be given estrogen treatment and a woman wishing to trangender is given TESTOSTERONE in hIgh. It is simple Science, and in those cases the alteration thereof. Truth be told, the only time you truly have a “bisexual” scientifically speaking is when in those rare cases a child is born intersexed, yes in which case scientifically speaking it is classified a medical abnormality.
John
December 6th, 2012
3:55 pm
@SheeshLouise .. That is my point for all those people that think being gay is “A CHOICE”. I dont think being gay is a choice and studys have been completed to prove this fact.
Tag
December 6th, 2012
4:17 pm
Any one who thinks that being gay is a choice and not how you’re born, probably believes that the world is 6,000 yrs old, dinosaur fossils where put here to confuse us and the moon is made of cheese.
SheeshLouise
December 6th, 2012
4:36 pm
That’s why this while debate is a lost cause. I actually am in the same vein as @jvillebil. I believe in “live and let live” as far as someone’s sexuality goes. However, in all the “love” put forth by jvillebil he or she STILL professes to believing homosexuality is a CHOICE. That in and of itself turns the LGBT community against jvillebil because he or she does not accept the WHOLE agenda. You can put out all the love you want, but if you so much as argue the choice thing you are a “homophobe”. That is what’s sad. Another stated that someone who believes sexuality is a choice probably believes the earth is only 6000 years old. In other words a bible thumper. Let me tell you that I am as socially liberal as most and believe in SCIENCE wholeheartedly, which is why I put science at the forefront in espousing my take on sexuality. Of course, I don’t walk in lockstep with the agenda, so there you go. I just believe in cutting the BS and being honest about things.
Gay Dawg
December 6th, 2012
4:39 pm
I personally don’t have alot of money but my partner Terry makes a lot of money as a UGA professor. Thousands and thousands of throbbing dollars.
Ron Burgundy
December 6th, 2012
4:40 pm
I have some gay neighbors and their house smells of leather bound books and rich mohogany. They are welcome in Burgundy’s world.
Karma
December 6th, 2012
4:42 pm
Dear John,
You can argue ad naseum and toss out as many empty insults as you want. Fact of the matter is you KNOW that the majority CHOOSE a homosexual lifestyle. Homosexuals do exist, but the sheer number of you prancing around on and taking over HGTV proves that it is a provocative, feel good, all about ME! lifestyle choice. Stop acting like you are a special segment of the population and stop recruiting to your merry band of misfits then maybe you might be accepted.
Again, you’ll need that extra money to pay for your lifestyle so enjoy it while it lasts.
Paul in Atlanta
December 6th, 2012
4:46 pm
Someone help me here. The article says that gays and lesbians have higher incomes on average. Comment after comment here suggests that this is because we don’t have children. Really, so when you have children does your boss reduce you salary? I think many of you aren’t very good at math. Having children would certainly increase your expenses, but it wouldn’t lower your income. Could that be the reason we earn more? Perhaps God mad us better at math.
I really loved the suggestion that we are receiving benefits of Affirmative Action. Really? Name one state where we’re recognized as a protected minority? Have you ever met anyone who attended college on a gay scholarship? Have you ever worked at a company with quotas on how many gay employees they were required to have?
It seems that some of your minds are so clouded with hatred that you can’t think clearly. For those of you who truly understand what it means to love your neighbor, all of your neighbors, not just the ones who are like you, thank you. You don’t get to chose your sexual orientation, but you can chose to be kind and loving.
Brian
December 6th, 2012
4:51 pm
The ignorance of Georgian’s KILL me!!! The comments have to be a joke, nobody can seriously believe some of the things posted.
Fag
December 6th, 2012
4:52 pm
If the gay gene has been found then why haven’t they fixed it? Why can’t we stop genetic defects that cause retardation and mitochondrial defects if the “homo” gene has been proven scientific fact? Why can’t we cure cancer?
Homos can argue till the ChickfilA cows come home and you are never going to convince the overwhelming majority of the World that most of you CHOOSE the gay and lesbian life.
Be happy and enjoy your extra money. Pride? Really?
SheeshLouise
December 6th, 2012
4:55 pm
@Paul
It would seem a reasonable request to ask that you see through some of TOUR OWN “RED” to these sections of the article (key to the over arching point) as well.
“* The study also found that the LGBT community on average carried about $4,000 less in debt and had $6,000 more in household savings.
* Because many dual households were without children, the LGBT community also had a lot of extra money to spend on dining out, entertainment and travel. About 40 percent of gay men and 25 percent of lesbians spend more than $500 a month on such discretionary items.”
You’re welcome.
jvillebil
December 6th, 2012
5:10 pm
@SheeshLoiuse = Just because you don’t agree with someone doesn’t mean you can’t love them or accept them. I don’t agree with everything my brother thinks, or my wife but that doesn’t mean I don’t love them. See I don’t believe you have to draw the line in the sand, because as you state, someone doesn’t accept the whole agenda. We both feel pain, have hopes, have loved ones, have goals and have dreams. But it doesn’t mean we can work together and live together. You’ll never convince me and I’ll never convince you. It is like that with my nephew and my wife’s best friends brother who she has known her whole life. When they are sick, we visit them, when they are in need we help, when it is a holiday we invite them into our home, we laugh with them, we have cried with them and stood beside them in good times and bad. Do I agree with their lifestyle, well as I stayed earlier, no, but don’t tell me I don’t love them. We both chose not to discuss with them their sexuality or them with us because we both understand we have different views. BUT I still love both of them. If my son or daughter entered into a lifestyle of homosexuality, I would agree with it, but then I wouldn’t love my children any less.
jvillebil
December 6th, 2012
5:12 pm
Sorry mean wouldn’t agree with my child’s lifestyle, but would still love them.
Gay Dawg
December 6th, 2012
5:26 pm
When I think of gay Gene I think of my friend Gene…whose gay. I also know a straight Gene.
silverchief
December 6th, 2012
5:40 pm
Wait till they get married :>)
UGA ECONOMICS MAJOR
December 6th, 2012
6:02 pm
such very hateful and very ignorant comments …gays have been here since the begining of time and the will be here till the end of time…get over it…and leave our great president of the UNITED STATES OUT OF EVERY TOPIC..WETHER LIVE AROUND GAYS then some straights they keep thier property up and make mine go up in value
Parts is Parts
December 6th, 2012
6:05 pm
4 Observations:
1. How can “LGBTs” earn more than straight people? I thought the mean Republicans were (cough) holding them down and preventing them from, well, everything.
2. What is with the fascination with looking under the hoods of people? Liberals love doing this–just another way to balkanize the American citizenry.
3. If I transform myself to a LGBT, can I expect a $11,500 increase in income? Perhaps Obama can use this as a way to boost the average take-home pay since it’s dropped $5k/yr. since he took office.
4. If you are a Prudential customer, doesn’t it warm your heart that this big company is expending funds to study “The LGBT Financial Experience”.
UGA ECONOMICS MAJOR
December 6th, 2012
6:09 pm
only in the south such ignorance and hatefullness but yet claim to be so christian….CANT WAIT TO RETIRE TO SEATTLE AND THE EDUCATED NORTHWEST!!!!!
Grace
December 6th, 2012
6:12 pm
Yep – no debt, we own our homes and vacation property, and have enough disposable income so that we’re comfortable. We make sizable charitable donations, support family members, and have a rich, full life. We worked hard and make smart choices. Life hasn’t always been easy, but you learn and make conscious choices. We’ve been together 25 years and hope and plan for many more. When we retire we won’t need to work. Sign me – Gay & Plenty Happy
james
December 6th, 2012
8:59 pm
And they do this in spite of the fact that they get no marriage benefits like tax deductions and family health insurance. They really have to pay more in taxes and for a lot of other things. Most of the gays in the area where I live, in Grant Park, take positions of leadership in the homeowners association, neighborhood development and seem to always want to come up with the website designs etc.. Maybe not having children really leaves them with a lot more energy.
james
December 6th, 2012
9:01 pm
Parts in parts: I think they do it in spite of the inequality in government tax breaks, insurance, etc..
Doug
December 7th, 2012
6:45 am
Now if we could just send them the bill for AIDS they would all be living under bridges!
Kjohn
December 7th, 2012
1:59 pm
What a bunch of dumbs:: Rednecks. Hey dougy.
The south rates 1st in obesity. Heart diesese premature deaths diabeties
This is because of fat rednecks like you Doug and your family members
Gays will always make more money than the inbred redneck of the south
Not because they don’t have children
But because the are educated
So all you good ol boys just stick too your chick fila an bible quotes
Cause their is a reason the the poorest states in the US are all in the south
Because of people like Doug. Leviticus an voice of reason