An online survey conducted May 14-July 21, 2010, by Community Marketing, Inc., in which qnotes and other LGBT publications participated, revealed interesting facts and insights into Carolinas LGBTs, their buying and reading habits and more.

Of nearly 45,000 total respondents across the globe, more than 330 responded by marking qnotes as a publication they regularly read. The qnotes readers said they also read The Advocate (32 percent), Out.com (26 percent), Curve Magazine (10 percent), Washington Blade (8 percent) and Metro Weekly (7 percent).

Demographically, the 300-some qnotes survey respondents were overwhelmingly male. Of those opting to answer identity questions, 74 percent identified as gay men, 18 percent as lesbians, 13 percent as queer and 12 percent as bisexual. Heterosexuals accounted for 5 percent of respondents and folks identifying as transgender accounted for 3 percent of respondents.

Those answering questions regarding gender revealed 66 percent identified as male and 31 percent as female. Three percent identified as “other.”

Age

The majority of qnotes readers indicated they were at least 35 years old (70 percent), compared to 29 percent of those who indicated they were younger.

under 18 …… 0.9%
18-24 …… 11.0
25-34 …… 17.4
35-44 …… 23.1
45-54 …… 27.9
55 or older …… 19.5

Location

Readers were asked to describe the place in which they lived and were given seven undefined terms. The majority said they lived in a “medium sized city” (36 percent) or a “urban/big city (26 percent). Twenty-five percent said they lived in a “small city” or “small town.” Six percent said they lived in a suburb.

The largest represented ZIP code among survey respondents was 28205 (East Charlotte), followed by 28210 (South Charlotte/Pineville) and 28269 (North Charlotte).

Interesting take-aways

Among several interesting facts and figures:

• More survey respondents bank with Charlotte-based or -located Bank of America (18 percent) and Wells Fargo/Wachovia (30 percent). Winston-Salem-based BB&T came in third at 6 percent.

• The largest represented careers were in health care, education and retail industries, followed by individuals who are retired, students or unemployed.

• The majority of respondents either own/co-own their business or are employed at management levels.

• Forty-four percent of respondents said they live with a “spouse, partner or lover,” while 26 percent said they live alone.

• A combined 66 percent of readers have earned bachelor’s, masters or doctoral degrees.

• Nearly half of respondents (42.2%) have an annual income of $25,000-$75,000 and 36 percent make anywhere from $75,000 to $250,000 or more.

• More respondents owned either Ford (18 percent) or Honda (18 percent) vehicles over other brands. : :

Matt Comer

Matt Comer previously served as editor from October 2007 through August 2015 and as a staff writer afterward in 2016.