One in 13 U.S. adults — and more than one in five Generation Z adults — identify as LGBTQ+, according to Gallup’s annual survey.
What You Need To Know
- One in 13 U.S. adults — and more than one in five Gen Z adults — identify as LGBTQ+, according to Gallup’s annual survey
- That number has risen from 5.6% four years ago and 3.5% since Gallup first began tracking sexual orientation and transgender identity in 2012
- Gallup found the percentage of people who identify as LGBTQ+ roughly doubles with each new generation
- Women are nearly twice as likely to identify as LGBTQ+ as men — 8.5% vs. 4.7%
The poll results, released Wednesday, found that 7.6% of Americans age 18 and older identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or some other sexual orientation besides heterosexual.
That number has risen from 5.6% four years ago and 3.5% since Gallup first began tracking sexual orientation and transgender identity in 2012.
Among Gen Z adults — who were 18 to 26 years old when the survey was conducted in 2023 — 22.3% identify as LGBTQ+.
The poll is based on telephone surveys with more than 12,000 Americans.
Gallup found the percentage of people who identify as LGBTQ+ roughly doubles with each new generation.
One in 10 millennials (ages 27-42) identify as LGBTQ+, while 4.5% of Generation X’ers (ages 43-58), 2.3% of baby boomers (ages 59-77) and 1.1% of the Silent Generation (78 and older) do.
Bisexual people account for 57.3% of the LGBTQ+ community, more than any other group, followed by gay (18.1%) and lesbian (15.1%). Transgender people make up 11.8% of all LGTBQ+ Americans. No other group accounted for more than 1.7%.
Overall, 85.6% of those surveyed identify as heterosexual, while 6.8% declined to respond.
Women are nearly twice as likely to identify as LGBTQ+ as men — 8.5% vs. 4.7%.
Bisexuality is the most common form of LGBTQ+ identification among women, while men are equally likely to be gay or bisexual, the survey found.
The analysis did not include nonbinary people, who represent about 1% of U.S. adults. Gallup said there was insufficient data from the 2023 survey to provide estimates. But combining polls from the past two years, it estimates that about 80% of nonbinary adults identify as LGBTQ+ — with one-third of them being bisexual and one-third transgender.
Ryan Chatelain - Digital Media Producer
Ryan Chatelain is a national news digital content producer for Spectrum News and is based in New York City. He has previously covered both news and sports for WFAN Sports Radio, CBS New York, Newsday, amNewYork and The Courier in his home state of Louisiana.