Donate
New Democracy Maps

The Disproportionate Impacts of COVID-19 on LGBTQ Households in the U.S.

In July/August 2020, NPR, The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health (NPR/RWJF/Harvard) conducted a five-part polling series to examine the impact of COVID-19 on households in the United States. The poll included a question allowing respondents to identify as LGBTQ. MAP's report, The Disproportionate Impacts of COVID-19 on LGBTQ Households in the U.S., summarizes the key findings about the experiences of LGBTQ people and their households and offers comparisons to the non-LGBTQ respondents in this broader national poll.

The report illustrates that LGBTQ households are more likely than non-LGBTQ households to experience job losses, serious financial problems, issues accessing healthcare, and increased challenges navigating at-home learning for their children as a result of the pandemic. These challenges are especially true for Black and Latinx people, as well as for LGBTQ people living in the South and the Midwest regions of the United States.

These new polling data reveal that LGBTQ people and their households, especially LGBTQ people of color and low-income LGBTQ people, are particularly vulnerable to the pandemic, pointing to the need for targeted assistance and explicit protections from discrimination as our country continues to address the detrimental effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Recommended citation: 
Movement Advancement Project. December 2020. The Disproportionate Impacts of COVID-19 on LGBTQ Households in the U.S. www.lgbtmap.org/2020-covid-lgbtq-households.

About the poll:
From Harvard: "Interviews were conducted online and via telephone (cellphone and landline), July 1–August 3, 2020, among a nationally representative, probability-based sample of 3,454 adults age 18 or older in the U.S. Data collection was conducted in English and Spanish by SSRS (Glen Mills, PA), an independent research company. The margin of sampling error, including the design effect, was ±3.3 percentage points at the 95% confidence level for national data."  Among the total sample of 3,454 adults, 353 identified as LGBTQ. Further methodological information is available at the end of each of Harvard's reports in the series

Stay Informed

Be the first to know about new reports and MAP news by signing up for our newsletter


Request User Access

A limited set of materials is restricted to the staff and board members of LGBTQ movement organizations. Click below to request user access.

Join MAP

View our privacy policy.

Sexual Orientation Policy Tally

The term “sexual orientation” is loosely defined as a person’s pattern of romantic or sexual attraction to people of the opposite sex or gender, the same sex or gender, or more than one sex or gender. Laws that explicitly mention sexual orientation primarily protect or harm lesbian, gay, and bisexual people. That said, transgender people who are lesbian, gay or bisexual can be affected by laws that explicitly mention sexual orientation.

Gender Identity Policy Tally

“Gender identity” is a person’s deeply-felt inner sense of being male, female, or something else or in-between. “Gender expression” refers to a person’s characteristics and behaviors such as appearance, dress, mannerisms and speech patterns that can be described as masculine, feminine, or something else. Gender identity and expression are independent of sexual orientation, and transgender people may identify as heterosexual, lesbian, gay or bisexual. Laws that explicitly mention “gender identity” or “gender identity and expression” primarily protect or harm transgender people. These laws also can apply to people who are not transgender, but whose sense of gender or manner of dress does not adhere to gender stereotypes.

Choose an Issue