Hate crimes do not include “insults”. In order for something to be considered a hate crime in the US it first has to be a crime. In the US if the incident is solely verbal then that would mean either an accompanying threat of violence or if we want to define “verbal” broadly then something like vandalism.

Also, in the US hate crime reporting relies on both the victim reporting to the police (and a lot goes unreported due to distrust of the police) as well as the policing agency reporting to the federal agency. Unless it rises to the level of a federal crime, in PA most agencies would probably not report an incident as a hate crime, since PA does not currently have a hate crime law covering sexual orientation. That’s not to say you’re not correct that things are much better than, say, the 80s, and that it’s probably generally “safe” to live in most parts of the state - even if you don’t feel particularly welcome.

I want to say more about my own experience living in small-town PA for 10+ years but I don’t have time at this very moment.