Economic Vulnerability of Sexual Minorities: Evidence from the US Household Pulse Survey

Despite improvements in the legal and social environment, economic outcomes for LGBTQ individuals suggest a high degree of vulnerability. We use data on over 500,000 individuals collected from July 21, 2021 to May 9, 2022 as part of US Census Bureau’s Household Pulse survey which is the Bureau’s first survey to collect self-reported sexual orientation and gender identity. We use linear probability models to answer several questions related to the economic experience of lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) individuals during this time period. We find that lesbian women, bisexual women, and bisexual men were more likely than their heterosexual counterparts to be in a household that experienced pandemic related job loss. Bisexual men were more likely than heterosexual men to have difficulty paying their expenses, experience food insufficiency and experience housing insecurity in the last week. Lesbian and bisexual women were more likely than heterosexual women to report expense difficulty and food insufficiency. The vulnerability we observe may have been exacerbated by the pandemic but appears to be largely due to pre-existing—and likely continuing—inequalities.