Study Finds 5.6 Percent of U.S. Adults Identify as LGBTQ

The percentage of U.S. adults who identify as LGBTQ has grown by 1.1 percent since 2017, a new Gallup study has found. According to a survey of over 15,000 American adults, 5.6 percent self-identify as LGBTQ, compared to 4.5 percent in 2017. 

Of those who identify as LGBTQ, more than half, or 54.6 percent, identify as bisexual. Around a quarter of participants, 24.5 percent, identify as gay, 11.7 percent as lesbian, 11.3 percent as transgender, and 3.3 percent as another term, such as queer. The participants were given the option to select multiple terms when asked their orientation. 

When applying these statistics to the whole of the U.S. population, the study found that 3.1 percent of U.S. adults identify as bisexual, 1.4 percent as gay, 0.7 percent as lesbian, and 0.6 percent as trans. 

The study also examined the generational differences between the percentages of self-identifying LGBTQ adults. 15.9 percent of Gen Z adults reported to be LGBTQ, and 72 percent of those who were LGBTQ were bisexual. Compared to older generations, these numbers represent a much greater willingness among the younger adult population to claim an identity other than heterosexual or straight. Only 1.3 percent of adults born before 1946 identify as LGBTQ, according to the study. 

“The pronounced generational differences raise questions about whether higher LGBT identification in younger than older Americans reflects a true shift in sexual orientation, or if it merely reflects a greater willingness of younger people to identify as LGBT,” Gallup reported on the percentage differences between age groups. “To the extent it reflects older Americans not wanting to acknowledge an LGBT orientation, the Gallup estimates may underestimate the actual population prevalence of it.”

Similar studies have presented other factors that may lead to an underestimation of the true percentage of LGBTQ identification in the U.S.  

A 2011 study by the Williams Institute of UCLA found considerable discrepancy between those who claimed an LGBTQ identity and those who admitted to some same-sex attraction. While the study found that 3.5 percent of adults self-identified as LGBTQ, 8.2 percent had engaged in same-sex sexual behavior and 11 percent acknowledged some same-sex attraction. These numbers have likely increased in the ten years since the study was completed due to the prevalence of LGBTQ identity in the younger population. 

As the social and political spheres of the U.S. become more accepting of LGBTQ people, the upward trend in LGBTQ identification is expected to continue. Each year, more LGBTQ young people age into population studies, and more adults become willing to claim their LGBTQ identities.