Gay Bars Near You — LGBTQ+ Nightlife Directory
1,102 bars listed across 47 states and 145 cities
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Home / Bars
- 1,102
- Venues
- 145
- Cities
- 47
- States
- 3.7★
- Avg Rating
Gay bars are the backbone of most LGBTQ+ scenes in this directory — often the first stop for anyone new to a city, and usually the easiest place to get a read on the local community. What counts as a great one varies a lot by taste: a low-key dive bar with a pool table and a regulars crowd is a completely different night out than a video bar with a packed dance floor or a lounge built around a weekly drag show.
We list bars exactly as they're categorized on the ground — dive bars, cocktail lounges, nightclubs, karaoke spots, and video bars all show up separately in the breakdown below, so you can tell at a glance whether a city's bar scene leans loud and dancing or quiet and conversational before you go.
Types of Gay Bars
See It For Yourself
Featured Bars
Bars Round-Up Saloon
Bars JR's Bar and Grill
Bars Axis Nightclub
Bars Blake's On The Park
Bars Woody's
Bars Hunters Nightclub Wilton Manors
Top Cities for Bars
New York City
90 venues
In New York City, the best-rated bar is The Red Stache, which holds a 4.8-star rating on the site.
San Francisco
67 venues
San Francisco's gay bar scene is unusually large compared to the sitewide average, with a bigger share of its LGBTQ+ venues falling into this category than in most other cities in this directory.
Chicago
51 venues
Los Angeles
41 venues
The highest-rated bar listing in Los Angeles is The Wild, with a 4.6-star rating.
Washington
27 venues
Dallas
25 venues
Dallas's bar scene is largely concentrated in Oaklawn, making it a convenient destination for bar-hopping.
New Orleans
24 venues
Most of the bars in New Orleans are concentrated in the French Quarter, making it easy to bar-hop without straying far.
Philadelphia
23 venues
In Philadelphia, the bar scene is mostly concentrated in Washington Square West, making it an easy neighborhood to explore.
Browse Bars by State
All 47 states, ranked Hide the full list
- 1 California 197
- 2 New York 110
- 3 Texas 84
- 4 Florida 62
- 5 Illinois 51
- 6 Ohio 41
- 7 Pennsylvania 36
- 8 Massachusetts 30
- 9 Georgia 27
- 10 Washington 27
- 11 Louisiana 26
- 12 Missouri 25
- 13 District of Columbia 25
- 14 Colorado 23
- 15 Oregon 23
- 16 Arizona 23
- 17 Minnesota 22
- 18 Nevada 20
- 19 Michigan 18
- 20 North Carolina 17
- 21 Tennessee 16
- 22 Wisconsin 16
- 23 Puerto Rico 16
- 24 Maryland 15
- 25 Hawaii 15
- 26 Alabama 14
- 27 Indiana 12
- 28 Virginia 12
- 29 Kentucky 10
- 30 Rhode Island 10
- 31 New Mexico 8
- 32 Utah 8
- 33 Oklahoma 8
- 34 South Carolina 8
- 35 Kansas 6
- 36 Arkansas 5
- 37 Vermont 5
- 38 Delaware 4
- 39 Iowa 4
- 40 Connecticut 4
- 41 Nebraska 4
- 42 New Jersey 4
- 43 Maine 3
- 44 Alaska 3
- 45 West Virginia 2
- 46 Idaho 2
- 47 South Dakota 1
Each state opens its busiest metro for bars — there's no statewide page yet.
What People Are Saying
This is a great new place in town. Definitely worth visiting with friends. Good music, fun atmosphere, nice happy hour, strong drinks, and a stylish vibe.
A visitor on Violet Crown Social Club
“Kicked out by the cops!”
Since I can't review the whole city, I'll write about my experience here. I travel often for work, and my only day off is Monday, so Sunday night is when my coworkers and I go to gay bars and clubs. Well, apparently there's a new law in Atlanta requiring bars to close at midnight on Sundays. At Blake's, last call was at 11:30 PM. At 11:50, a uniformed cop came in shouting 'EVERYBODY OUT!' as if we were teenagers breaking the law, or worse, a bunch of gays gathering in public... oh wait. This isn't 1969! Why is the gay community tolerating this? I haven't been to straight bars elsewhere in town, but I wonder if they get the same treatment. If Atlanta truly wants to be the 'Gay Capital of the South' as this site suggests, then things need to change. The community needs to stand up and fight for itself, or else these bars and gay nightlife as a whole will die.
A guest on Blake's On The Park
This isn't explicitly a lesbian or queer bar, but it's very welcoming and many local queer people consider it their home bar. The crowd includes queers, quirky Hampden locals, and older blue-collar regulars. Mel's is a great dive for cheap drinks or a classy cocktail made by one of the owners or other bartenders. Get there early before it gets busy. You might meet one of the five regular dogs (your own dogs aren't allowed inside due to limited space and them being strangers, but they can get a treat outside). Highlights: great music, attractive bartenders, fun crowd, total dive, and a low-key atmosphere.
A visitor on Melanie’s at Griffith's Tavern
Guides
Frequently Asked Questions
How many gay bars are listed on this directory?
The number is shown in the stats above and updates automatically as listings are added, verified, or closed.
What's the difference between a dive bar and a nightclub listing here?
We tag venues by how they actually present themselves — dive bars are casual, low-frills, regulars-first spots; nightclubs and video bars are built around dancing and a DJ or screens. Both show up in the type breakdown for each city so you can filter by the kind of night you want.
Do any of these bars have drag shows or karaoke?
Yes — both are common enough features that we track them as their own tags. Search a specific city's bar page and look for the type/vibe tags on each listing to see which nights lean toward drag, karaoke, or live entertainment.
Are these listings free to browse and free to get into?
Browsing is always free — no account or paywall. Cover charges and drink prices vary by venue and aren't something we track directly; check the venue's own listing or website for that.
How do I find gay bars in a specific city?
Use the search bar above, or browse the Top Cities and Browse by State sections below — every city with a listed bar has its own page with the full list.
Hero photo: The Red Stache