The LGBTQ+ population is young and rapidly growing, possessing more than $1.4 trillion in spending power. But LGBTQ+ households are also more likely to be locked out of homeownership and its wealth-building potential. Our prior research shows that people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or nonbinary have a homeownership rate that is 20 percentage points lower than that of people who identify as straight and cisgender. Ensuring that LGBTQ+ households can equally participate in the mortgage market will require targeted policy action.

To start, more data are needed. Most federal surveys and data sources that are used to analyze the demographic and economic characteristics of renters, homebuyers, and homeowners do not include information on sexual orientation and gender identity and expression (SOGIE).

To best inform evidence-based policy solutions, data sources must capture the housing and mortgage market experiences of LGBTQ+ people while ensuring a high regard for privacy and inclusion. Here, we explore data gaps on LGBTQ+ households, what progress has been made to close those gaps, and what more can be done.

What we don’t know about LGBTQ+ housing experiences

In our previous work, we used the Census Bureau’s biweekly Household Pulse Survey to calculate the homeownership rates of LGBTQ+ people and analyze demographic characteristics, such as age, income, marital status, presence of children, and race or ethnicity. But key information limitations still exist.

Below, we detail current housing data sources and whether they collect SOGIE data or have plans to do so. In particular, more geographic and homebuying data on LGBTQ+ people are needed.

Read the full article about the LGBTQ+ homeownership gap by Aniket Mehrotra, Katie Visalli, Todd Hill, and Matthew Pruitt at Urban Institute.