The Economic Well-Being of LGBT Adults in the U.S. in 2019
In The Economic Well-Being of LGBT Adults in the U.S. in 2019, the Center for LGBTQ Economic Advancement & Research (CLEAR) analyzes data from the Federal Reserve’s 2019 Survey of Household Economics and Decisionmaking to create a detailed picture of the financial experiences of LGBT adults before the COVID-19 pandemic. The report finds evidence of significant gaps between LGBT and non-LGBT adults in income, savings, employment, housing, banking & credit, and financial security.
Key Findings
LGBT adults were more often struggling to get by. Fewer than two-thirds of LGBT adults reported they were at least “doing okay” financially (66.1%) in 2019, much less often than non-LGBT adults (77.3%). Black and Hispanic LGBT adults were less likely to report they were doing okay financially. Four in ten Black and Hispanic LGBT adults were “finding it difficult to get by” or “just getting by” (40.6% & 42.7%, respectively).
LGBT adults were more likely to report low incomes. One in five LGBT households earned less than $25,000 a year, 1.5x more often than non-LGBT households (21.4% vs. 13.0%). One in four female LGBT adults reported earning less than $25,000 a year (24.6%). More than three in ten Black LGBT households reported earning less than $25,000 a year.
LGBT adults were more frequently unemployed and looking for work than non-LGBT adults. More than one in twenty of all LGBT adults were not working and looking for work (6.3%), as compared to 3.5% of non-LGBT adults. LGBT adults 30-44 years old were 2x more likely to be unemployed and looking for work than non-LGBT peers (8.4% vs. 4.1%).
LGBT adults were nearly 2x more likely to indicate their credit scores were “poor” or “very poor.” Nearly one-in-six LGBT adults reported poor or very poor scores (16.1% vs. 8.2% for non-LGBT adults). Three in ten Black LGBT adults reported having a “poor” or “very poor” credit score (31.3%), 1.8x more often than their non-LGBT peers (17.1%)—as did more than one in six Hispanic LGBT adults (18.8%), 1.5x more often than their non-LGBT peers.
LGBT households were more likely to be unbanked or underbanked than non-LGBT households. More than one in five LGBT households were unbanked or underbanked (23.0%), as compared to 18.0% of non-LGBT households. More than four in ten Black LGBT households were unbanked or underbanked (46.9%), as were three in ten Hispanic LGBT households (37.6%).
LGBT adults borrowed more often for their education and borrowed more than non-LGBT adults. Four in ten LGBT adults had borrowed money for their education, 1.4x more often than for non-LGBT adults (44.4% vs. 31.1%). Nearly one in three LGBT student borrowers owed more than $50,000 in educational debt, 1.2x more often than for non-LGBT peers (29.5% vs. 24.2%). One in five indicated owing more than $75,000, 1.4x more often than non-LGBT student borrowers (19.8% vs. 13.7%).
LGBT households were more likely to say that they were unable to afford all of their bills that month. Nearly one in five LGBT households said they were unable to afford all of their bills that month, 1.4x more often than non-LGBT adults (19.8% vs. 14.0%). If a $400 expense came up, another one in six LGBT households said that they would be unable to afford all their bills, 1.6x more often than for non-LGBT adults (16.4% vs. 10.1%).
