City of Independence Municipal Equality Index Score Jumps 225% in one year

The City of Independence saw a 45-point jump in the Human Rights Campaign’s (HRC) 2024 Municipal Equality Index (MEI) this year. 

The City of Independence was awarded with a 62 out of 100 possible points. The 2024 score is an increase of 225% from the City’s 2023 score of 17.   

The marked increase can be attributed to additional protections for LGBTQ+ youth, increased representation through openly LGBTQ+ city leaders, and the addition of LGBTQ+ liaisons and task forces. 

“This is a testament to the policies and procedures that the City of Independence has put in place.  We are proud of the huge increase in our score on the 2024 Municipal Equality Index Score within one year,” City Manager Zach Walker said.  

“This score reflects our ongoing commitment to creating a safer and more welcoming place for our family, friends, and neighbors of the LGBTQ+ community,” he added.  “But there is still work to be done, and each year our score will get closer to reflecting that." 

The HRC annual scorecard examined 506 cities for how inclusive municipal laws, policies and services are for LGBTQ+ people who work and live there. The MEI rates municipalities on non-discrimination laws, the municipality as an employer, municipal services, law enforcement, and leadership involving the LGBTQ+ community. 

The MEI captures how a city or town cares for and protects its LGBTQ+ community and provides guidance on how mayors, councilmembers, and administrators can improve their cities policies, laws and leadership. 

Independence supports the LGBTQ+ community through various community events; issuing proclamations and resolutions that highlight LGBTQ+ members’ contributions to our community; and providing services and resources to LGBTQ+ individuals. 

The Human Rights Campaign is the largest civil rights organization working to achieve equality for LGBTQ+ Americans.  

The cities selected for rating are: the 50 state capitals, the 200 largest cities in the United States, the five largest cities or municipalities in each state, the cities home to the state’s two largest public universities (including undergraduate and graduate enrollment), 75 cities with high proportions of same-sex couples drawn from an analysis of the 2010 Census results by the Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law which ranked the 25 large cities (population exceeding 250,000), 25 mid-size cities (population between 100,000 and 250,000), and 25 small cities (population below 100,000) and 98 cities selected by HRC and Equality Federation state groups members and supporters in 2016. 

To see the City of Independence’s full scorecard and other cities’ scores, visit hrc.org/mei