Half of residents have reported they would feel “comfortable” if they happened to see a gay couple holding hands on Front Street, a survey has found.

The poll of 400 people across different age, racial groups and gender revealed that 52 percent would not have a problem seeing same-sex couples being openly romantic in public — while 44 percent declared themselves uncomfortable with the idea.

Women expressed greater ease than men with the idea of same-sex couples openly holding hands: 56 percent of women said they were comfortable with it, against 48 percent of men.

The survey didn’t uncover marked differences across age groups: those in the 18 to 34 category gave virtually identical responses to 45- to 54-year-olds.

The majority said they were comfortable in both cases, with the elders actually expressing greater comfort — by a slim margin of 56 percent over 55 percent.

However, 51 percent of those aged 35 to 44 said they would not be comfortable, while 47 percent said they would.