In a not-so-shocking-but-still-outrageous revelation, queer and intersex households in the U.S. are earning 15% less than their cishet counterparts — that’s 85 cents to the dollar, darling. A new report from the Center for American Progress lays it bare: LGBTQI+ families are losing out on an average of $12,600 per year. That’s a whole lot of brunches, rent, and gas money going up in the smoke of inequality.
Why? Discrimination still runs rampant in workplaces, especially under administrations that view civil rights protections like they’re optional. According to the study, about 25% of LGBTQI+ people reported experiencing workplace discrimination in 2024, compared to just 16% of their straight, cis counterparts. The Trump administration’s rollback of nondiscrimination protections? Yeah, that’s not helping. In fact, it’s threatening to make the gap worse, especially for folks living at the intersections of marginalization.
“When enforcement against discrimination is lacking, it harms LGBTQI+ folks and threatens their lifelong economic stability,” said Haley Norris, one of the report’s authors.
And it only gets more infuriating. Trans and nonbinary households are faring even worse — pulling in just 70 cents to the dollar. That’s nearly $25,000 down the drain each year. For LGBTQI+ women-headed households, it’s downright brutal: a whopping 52% gap. That’s almost $40,000 lost annually.
The CAP report, based on a nationally representative survey of over 3,000 adults, hammers home a reality the queer community knows all too well: wage gaps don’t appear in a vacuum. Age, gender identity, race, and systemic bias all twist together like a barbed wire noose around queer financial futures. LGBTQI+ people of color, for example, are taking home only 74 cents compared to white, cisgender, straight households. The message? If you’re queer and not white, the economy’s even more rigged against you.
“The intersecting dynamics of sexism, racism, and discrimination likely play a key role,” said economist Sara Estep. Translation: it’s not just about being gay — it’s about being gay and something else society still can’t deal with.
All of this should sound an alarm for the LGBTQI+ community and allies: the financial system isn’t just failing queer people — it’s actively squeezing them out. As rights protections continue to get slashed by conservative leaders, queer folks are left navigating an economy designed to leave them behind. And while corporate America throws up rainbow logos in June, it’s the day-to-day wage inequities that hit hardest.
So here’s the tea: the gap is real, it’s systemic, and it’s getting worse. And unless policy shifts back toward inclusion and accountability, queer people — especially those at the most vulnerable intersections — will keep paying the price.