8 Ohio cities rated more LGBTQ friendly than national average

Eight Ohio cities have been rated better for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people than the national average for U.S. cities.

The Human Rights Campaign in partnership with the Equality Federation Institute, released the sixth annual Municipal Equality Index, which shows how LGBTQ friendly cities are.

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Legal protections for LGBTQ Americans vary widely, based on location and states and cities, the report found. Around 20 states have non-discrimination laws in place but the report found that cities are making more progress quicker than states.

A perfect score of 100 points was awarded to four Ohio cities, including Dayton, Cincinnati, Columbus and Akron, according to the report. The national average for cities was 57 points.

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The number of cities with perfect scores has increased six times the number with perfect scores in 2012, according to the Human Rights Campaign.

Toledo received a score of 89 while Cleveland received a score of 81, according to the report. Lakewood, a suburb of Cleveland received a 77 and Columbus suburb Dublin received a 45, according to the report.

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