List of gay villages

Gay villages can vary widely from city to city and country to country. Furthermore, some large cities develop "satellite" gay villages that are essentially "overflow" areas; in such cases, lesbians and gay men become priced-out of gentrified gay villages and move to other, more affordable areas, thereby creating entirely new gay villages. Some of the listed gay villages are technically not neighborhoods of a larger city but a separate entity entirely from the city for which they are the primary gay enclave, e.g., West Hollywood in Los Angeles, California; Wilton Manors in Florida; Plateau Mont-Royal in Montreal, Quebec.

Some cities have a well-defined gay village in the heart of a larger area with a significant gay population that would not necessarily be considered a gay village. For example, Davie Village is the heart of Vancouver's gay community, but sits within the greater West End area, which, though decently populated by gay people, is not necessarily considered a gay village. Other examples of this phenomenon include Boystown, Chicago, a well-defined gay village situated in the larger Lakeview community. Lakeview has a reputation for being a stronghold of liberal and progressive political views, but is far from exclusively gay, as a large number of straight families call the neighborhood home. Similarly, despite its predominantly gay population and higher concentration of gay venues, the South Beach area in Miami Beach, Florida, was never exclusively gay, because of its popularity among straight people alike. Philadelphia's gay village in Pennsylvania comprises downtown blocks from 12th and Walnut to 13th and Locust and is called "the Gayborhood". It is known for a wide range of clubs, bars, and restaurants along with LGBT health facilities. The Short North in downtown Columbus, Ohio is primarily known as an art district, but has a strong gay community and a high concentration of gay-oriented clubs and bars.

Montreal's Gay Village (Le Village, in French) is considered one of North America's largest in population, concentration and scope.

Some cities are often associated with being "gay" cities, for instance San Francisco in the United States, Manchester, Liverpool or Brighton in the United Kingdom, Sydney in Australia, Cape Town in South Africa and even Mykonos in Greece is associated as a gay island.

San Diego has its own gay village called "Hillcrest", which sits around Balboa Park. Hillcrest is very close to the downtown area but is able to maintain a small town eclectic feel. While it is considered by most as the gay area of San Diego with its gay bars and dance clubs, the overall population of the area has only gotten more and more diverse with the rise in condominium projects.

In Minneapolis, Minnesota areas surrounding Loring Park, site of the local GLBT pride festival, are regarded as a "gay" neighborhood, though many gay and lesbians people have migrated to more residential neighborhoods such as Bryn Mawr and Whittier.

In Tampa, Florida the gay community was traditionally spread out among several neighborhoods however, in the past two years, the Ybor City National Historic Landmark District has seen the creation of the GaYbor District. The GaYbor District is now the center of gay and lesbian life in the Tampa Bay area and home to the majority of gay bars and dance clubs, restaurants, and service organizations. The gay and lesbian population is now quickly increasing in the surrounding neighborhood.

Church and Wellesley is an LGBT-oriented community located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is roughly bounded by Gould Street to the south, Yonge Street to the west, Charles Street to the north, and Jarvis Street to the east, with the intersection of Church and Wellesley Streets at the centre of this area. The boundaries are not fixed, as some gay and lesbian oriented establishments can be found outside of this area. Many LGBT people also live in the nearby residential neighbourhoods of The Annex, Cabbagetown, St. James Town and Riverdale, and in smaller numbers throughout the city and its suburbs.

Asbury Park, New Jersey houses a large gay community. The majority of vacationers who visits Asbury Park are gay, and the city houses New Jersey's only gay hotel, The Empress Hotel.

In some cities, such as Stockholm and Copenhagen, there are no established gay villages, partly due to the differing social dynamics of these cities (less social segregation within the city), but also due to earlier and greater social acceptance of the gay community within mainstream society. However there are areas which were historically known as meeting places for gays, such as Södermalm in Stockholm, which remains a somewhat trendy area for gay people to live, though it does not have a predominantly gay population.

In other cities, gay villages are not residential in nature, due to the high price of real estate. London's Soho district, the largest center of lesbian and gay life in the UK, is largely a commercial district; the city's lesbian and gay community typically live further out from the central city.

Le Marais, the recognized gay district of Paris is similar in this role, offering a large concentration of businesses, but LGBT persons live in all parts of the city, and there are LGBT businesses in almost all of the arrondissements of Paris.

This is a list of gay villages, urban areas that unofficially form a social center for LGBT people.

Cities without gay villages
Cities that have an openly gay society but where gay culture is not concentrated in one specific area. Gay bars will often be found near other bars.