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Iowa City, Iowa

	The Facts: Population: 60,000 State/city bans anti-gay discrimination: CITY State/city employees get DP benefits: CITY Anti-marriage bill passed: YES Sodomy law: NO Hate crime bill includes sexual orientation: YES Average home price: $100,000 Median income: $28,000 Learn more about Iowa City Iowa City online The Iowa University GLBT Union Iowa GLBT groups Iowa governor orders job rights Phelps burns Iowa flag Interact A Roof and Four Walls Queer Parenting Find a PlanetOut Local chat!
	PROMOTION

If you build it, they will come, goes the saying in Field of Dreams. That's true of Iowa City, which outlawed anti-gay discrimination before even San Francisco.

The state's governor has been pinch-hitting for gay rights statewide. As a result, Iowa City is one of four Iowa cities to extend anti-bias protections to gays and lesbians, along with Ames, Cedar Rapids, and Davenport.

Movie and baseball fans can visit the Field of Dreams movie site in nearby Dyersville. But for many gays, Iowa City serves as home plate, a liberal haven amid a more conservative farm-belt state.

With consistently above-average ACT scores, it's a great place to raise kids. Sports groups, gay choirs, and the famed University of Iowa writing program all add cultural influences to the city's urban sophistication and rural beauty.

Local Talk
Bill: "You can't be turned down for a job or housing because you're gay. It's been the law since the '70s. Some stores have gay-friendly signs on the door. We have a good Pride event every June."

Andrew: "Iowa City is a great place to be gay, partnered, and out. ... The nightlife has a large number of bars and professional drag acts. The city's gay community is more mainstream. As an 18-year-old college student, I'm astounded by the fact that every high school in Iowa City has a gay/straight alliance, so it's a great place to raise kids."