The DC suburbs garnered high scores in Human Rights Campaign’s annual index cataloging protections for LGBTQ residents and workers in 506 cities across the country. While DC itself is not included in the report, five local jurisdictions totted up perfect scores: Arlington County and Alexandria in Northern Virginia, as well as College Park, Frederick and Rockville in Maryland.
Not every town received the same accolades. Fairfax County trailed its neighbors with a final score of 88/100, faltering in key areas such as pro-equality policy efforts. Similarly, Gaithersburg notched 93/100 — the same score as last year’s index. But neither rivaled Bowie in Prince George’s County, which eeked out a mere 60 points.
Take a look at some of the scores in our backyard:
Virginia
Alexandria: 100
Arlington County: 100
Fairfax County: 88
Maryland
College Park: 100
Bowie: 60
Frederick: 100
Gaithersburg: 93
Rockville: 100
For an in-depth look at each city, read HRC’s full report here.
Daniella Byck joined Washingtonian in 2022. She was previously with Outside Magazine and lives in Northeast DC.
