There Are Over 20 Million LGBTQ+ People in the U.S., New Report Shows

According to a new report from the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, the population of LGBTQ+ folks in the U.S. is at an all-time high. 

The new report has revealed that at least 20 million adults in the U.S. identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender, according to government data, which represents nearly 8% of the nation’s total adult population.

That number could be even higher, as the report points out that millions more may identify as something “more expansive”, like pansexual or asexual. A 2016 study indicated that LGBTQ+ folks were about 4.4% of the population, so this latest report reveals the population is nearly two times larger than previously believed. 

Bisexuals make up the largest population of LGBTQ+ adults, about 4% of total population, while gay and lesbian adults total about 3%. That would leave the other roughly 1% to be transgender, nonbinary, asexual, pansexual, and other identities.

That means around 2 million adults in America may identify as transgender. 2% of survey respondents said they don't use the terms “cisgender male,” “cisgender female” or “transgender” to describe their gender, suggesting they may identify as nonbinary, genderqueer or gender fluid.

LGBTQ+ people are found in “every community across every state,” but census data reveals California (2.6 million) and Texas (1.7 million) have the largest LGBTQ+ populations, with Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, and Pennsylvania following behind them in numbers.

As HRC points out, "This is the first time in the history of the Census Bureau where questions about sexual orientation and gender identity were fielded in a survey, representing a historic milestone for the agency."

“This data shows what we’ve suspected: our community is larger and more widespread than we could have known up to this point,” Human Rights Campaign Interim President Joni Madison said in a statement. “We’re proud to bring this data to light and set the stage for a future where all the millions of LGBTQ+ people in America enjoy full legal and lived equality. I commend the Biden administration and the U.S. Census Bureau for finally allowing researchers to count us, and look forward to seeing the LGBTQ+ community counted in further studies.”

HRC used data from the Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey, an experimental household probability survey released in bi-weekly phases during the pandemic.