Communities of Resilience: The Lived Experiences of LGBTQ Adults in Los Angeles County

Approximately 665,000 LGBTQ adults live in Los Angeles County. They make up nearly 9% of the county’s adult population, and they live, work, shop, and seek services throughout the county. This report presents information about their experiences with discrimination and harassment in the areas of education, employment, housing, health care, public spaces, and law enforcement, as well as findings about their health and economic well-being.

The report uses representative data collected from 1,006 LGBTQ Los Angelenos who completed the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health’s 2023 Los Angeles County Health Survey (LACHS), including 504 LGBTQ Angelenos who also completed the Lived Experiences in Los Angeles County (LELAC) Survey, which was a call-back study to LACHS developed by the Williams Institute. Survey adults were diverse in terms of sexual orientation, gender identity, race, age, income, and other personal characteristics, reflecting the diversity of Los Angeles County’s LGBTQ population. 

This study uses 2015–2016 and 2020–2022 California Health Interview (CHIS) data.