Revisiting the income penalty for behaviorally gay men: Evidence from NHANES III

Four studies published in the last ten years use the General Social Surveys (GSS) to show that behaviorally gay/bisexual men earn 15–30 percent less than other men. In this paper I use independent data on sexual behavior from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES III) and find that same-sex behaving men experience a statistically and economically significant income penalty on the order of 23–30 percent. Moreover, the strongest evidence for an income penalty is found for those men most likely to have a gay sexual orientation based on their lifetime sexual behavior. That the penalty for same-sex behaving men is robust across data sources suggests the need for more research into its causes and consequences.