{"id":296,"date":"2026-06-08T00:00:53","date_gmt":"2026-06-08T05:00:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/treecitytax.com\/blog\/?p=296"},"modified":"2026-06-04T12:21:01","modified_gmt":"2026-06-04T17:21:01","slug":"queer-financial-wellbeing-homeownership-and-rainbowlining","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/treecitytax.com\/blog\/queer-financial-wellbeing-homeownership-and-rainbowlining\/","title":{"rendered":"Queer Financial Wellbeing, Homeownership, and \u2018Rainbowlining\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

10 minute read\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Many of us in the queer community know what we \u201cshould\u201d be doing financially. We just don\u2019t have the same access to information (or wealth) that our cis-het counterparts do.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s more expensive to be queer than straight, more expensive to be trans than cis. A lifetime of microaggressions, bullying, discrimination, and ongoing legislation to criminalize our existence wears on a person.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We are tired.\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

We know we need to save for retirement and prioritize savings. But what good is thinking about retirement when your life is disposable to the government that is supposed to take care of you? What good is a diverse mutual fund when you have to choose between higher rent in a safer community or having money for nutritious food? Who cares about a 401(k) match when you keep getting let go from jobs for vague reasons after you tell them you\u2019re transitioning?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Article Outline:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Financial Wellbeing & Sexual Orientation<\/span><\/li>\n
  2. Queer Discrimination in Housing and Mortgage Lending<\/span><\/li>\n
  3. History and Impact of Redlining\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  4. The Trouble with Property Taxes<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Financial Wellbeing and Sexual Orientation<\/span><\/h2>\n

    Our very own Federal Reserve published a report<\/span><\/a> in 2024 studying the relationship between financial wellbeing and sexual orientation (specifically gay, lesbian, and bisexual), using longitudinal data from 2019 to 2022. Longer-term studies like this are helpful in noticing overall patterns among a population.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    It\u2019s one thing to know your gay buddy from college has a thriving IRA and another to see the zoomed-out view and realize he is the exception rather than the rule.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    The Federal Reserve\u2019s report states that \u201c<\/span>our headline result is that LGB people in the US experience significantly more financial vulnerability than previously understood<\/b> \u2026 there is consistent evidence that gay men, lesbian women, bisexual men, and bisexual women are all in significantly worse overall financial health than comparable heterosexual people.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

    The study explored five potential influences for these correlations.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Partnership Status: <\/b>LGB people are less likely to be romantically partnered than their heterosexual counterparts\u2013is a lack of shared resources a factor in the reduced financial wellbeing? Nope. The patterns discovered in the data \u201cdo not appreciably vary by partnership status<\/strong>, which suggests there is something unique about the LGB population that is related to financial insecurity.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    Support from Parents: <\/b>Getting financial help from parents is common for young adults establishing a stable foothold in the workforce\u2013are parents disowning or not supporting their queer kids as much as their straight ones? The study found that LGB individuals are <\/strong><\/span>not <\/strong>significantly less likely to get financial help from parents<\/strong>, so this hypothesis is out.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    Financial Literacy: <\/b>Could it be that the LGB community has less access to or interest in financial education, due to discrimination? Alas, the study examined this idea and found that LGB people are <\/strong><\/span>not <\/strong>less knowledgeable about financial issues<\/strong> than heterosexuals.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    Risk Tolerance: <\/b>Are the queers less likely to take financial risks? Yes, actually. \u201c…gay men and bisexual women are both significantly less likely \u2026 to take financial risk.\u201d However, controlling for these differences in behavior didn\u2019t change the overall findings<\/strong> of the study.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    Discrimination: <\/b>Well, if it\u2019s not risk, literacy, parents, or partnership\u2026 What is it? This is the area where the Federal Reserve finally finds traction in identifying the drivers of this financial discrepancy.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    Here\u2019s what they found:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n