Alexandria Gets Perfect Score On 2020 Municipal Equality Index

ALEXANDRIA, VA — The City of Alexandria achieved a perfect score on the Human Rights Campaign's Municipal Equality Index.

Mayor Justin Wilson said on social media that this was the first time the city achieved the maximum 100-point score. Three other localities in Virginia also had the maximum score — Arlington County, Richmond, and Virginia Beach.

"Thanks to our residents, staff and businesses who constantly work to ensure that Alexandria is a community that embraces our LGBTQ residents," the mayor tweeted in response to Alexandria's score.

Localities were graded on 49 criteria, covering non-discrimination laws in the state and locality, the locality as an employer, inclusion of LGBTQ residents in city services and programs, law enforcement reporting of hate crimes and engagement with the LGBTQ community, and leadership on LGBTQ equality.

The 2020 Municipal Equality Index resulted in the most top-scoring localities in its nine-year history. A total of 506 localities had been graded. There were 94 localities with the maximum score of 100, up from 88 localities in 2019. The national city score average was 64 points.

Other scores in Virginia localities included 100 in Arlington County, 89 in Charlottesville, 61 in Chesapeake, 88 in Fairfax County, 77 in Hampton, 74 in Newport News, 91 in Norfolk, 100 in Richmond, 54 in Roanoke, and 100 in Virginia Beach.

See Alexandria's full 2020 grade here and the full list of localities here.