Throughout this series, we’ve used survey data to estimate the sizes of various LGBT identities in the United States.
So far, we’ve talked about percentages. But how many people do these percentages represent?
In this article, we’ll use data from the US Census to calculate the number of US adults who identify with different LGBT identities.
We’ll also compare these numbers to the sizes of other demographic groups.
This article builds on the previous articles in this series, which I began publishing in September.
You can learn more about LGBT identities, and the surveys referenced in this
article, by reading my previous articles.
According to the US Census, about 335 million people lived in the United States on July 1, 2023.
About 262 million adults lived in the United States at the time, according to the Census.
Due to privacy concerns, the surveys featured in this series don’t collect information about the sexual orientation or gender identities of children and adolescents.
Thus, the figures for LGBT populations in this article are for US adults.
Prevalence rates from surveys of US adults, and population estimates from the Census, allow us to calculate the following population estimates for LGBT identities.
But remember, these statistics represent LGBT US adults who are willing to disclose their sexual orientation or gender identity in a survey.
There could be additional people who identify as LGBT who don’t wish to share that information with a polling organization.
Identity % of US Adults # of US Adults
Bisexual 4.2% 11 Million
Gay 1.4% 3.7 Million
Lesbian 1.0% 2.6 Million
Nonbinary 1.0% 2.6 Million
Binary trans 0.6% 1.6 Million
Asexual 0.3% 790,000
Trans men 0.3% 790,000
Trans women 0.3% 790,000
Binary trans includes trans men and trans women, so those groups are effectively listed twice in the table above, but I figured it would be useful to illustrate the data in both ways.
You can see this data visually in the bar graph below.
I used Flourish, a website that allows users to make compelling visual aids, to create the bar graphs featured in this article.
The prevalence rates cited in the table above were first discussed on Meticulous Musings in Sexual Orientation in the United States, Gender Identity in the United States, and Asexuality in the United States.
The rates arise from surveys conducted by Gallup, the Pew Research Center, and a research study.
Comparison Groups
In this article, I will compare the sizes of LGBT minorities to the sizes of racial minorities and the populations of US states.
Information on the sizes of racial minorities comes from the US Census.
Specifically, I will compare the sizes of LGBT identities to the smallest racial minorities in the U.S.
Racial Identity % of US residents # of US residents
Asian, alone 6.3% 21 Million
Two or More Races 3.0% 10 Million
American Indian and 1.3% 4.4 Million
Alaska Native, alone
Native Hawaiian and 0.3% 1 Million
Other Pacific Islander,
alone
With the exception of “Two or More Races,” each of the racial categories listed above refers to people with one specific racial ancestry.
Information on the populations of US states also comes from the US Census.
Primary Source: Populations of US States – 2023
(US Census)
Although, this data is organized more conveniently on Wikipedia.
In this article, statistics about US racial groups — and the populations of US States — include all US residents, rather than adults alone.
Bisexuals
Now that we have these data sets at our disposal, let’s compare them.
Bisexual is the largest
specific LGBT identity, by far.
A total of 4.2% of US adults identify as bisexual, according to Gallup.
That means 11 million US adults are bisexual.
There are about as many bisexual US adults, 11 million, as there are residents of the US state of Georgia, which has a population of 11 million.
Georgia is the eighth largest US state by population.
According to the US
Census, 3.0% of US residents are mixed race.
Thus, 10 million US residents are mixed race, around the same number who identify as bisexual.
Gay
Gay is the next largest LGBT identity.
Gallup found 1.4% of US adults identify as gay. That means there are about 3.7 million gay US adults.
There are about as many gay US adults as there are residents of Connecticut, which has a population of 3.6 million.
Connecticut is the 29th largest US state by population.
It is also the 22nd smallest state.
Later in this article, a bar graph later compares these figures with other statistics of similar size.
Lesbian and Nonbinary
We have a tie for the next most common LGBT identities, lesbian and nonbinary.
As a reminder, a nonbinary person has a gender identity that isn’t exclusively male or female.
A total of 1% of US adults are lesbian, according to Gallup, and 1% are nonbinary, according to the Pew Research Center.
That means there are about 2.6 million lesbian US adults, and about 2.6 million nonbinary US adults.
Mississippi, the 35th largest state, has a population of about 2.9 million people.
Mississippi is also the 16th smallest state.
Binary Transgender
Binary transgender refers to people who are transgender men or transgender women.
A total of 0.6% of US adults are binary transgender, according to Pew.
That means about 1.6 million US adults are binary transgender.
About 1.4 million people live in Hawaii, making it the state closest in size to the number of binary transgender US adults.
Hawaii is the 11th smallest state by population.
Asexual, Trans Men, and Trans Women
We have a three-way tie for the least common LGBT identities for which we have prevalence statistics.
Asexual people, trans men,
and trans women, each comprise 0.3% of US adults.
That means there are 790,000 US adults who are asexual, 790,000 US adults who are trans men, and 790,000 US adults who are trans women.
An asexual person is someone who is experiences little to no sexual attraction.
About 780,000 people live in North Dakota, making it the state with the closest population to the number of asexual US adults.
North Dakota is the fourth smallest US state.
Let’s return to racial identity data from the US Census.
The Census estimates 0.3% of US residents, or about 1 million people, are exclusively Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander.
Nonbinary and Binary Trans
Now, let’s start combining the subcategories.
As I explained earlier in this series, I consider nonbinary people to be transgender.
A total of 1.6% of US adults identify as nonbinary (1%) or binary transgender (0.6%).
That means about 4.2 million US adults identify as nonbinary or binary transgender.
If you consider these categories together, transgender would be the second largest LGBT identity, after bisexual.
Oregon has a population of about 4.2 million people.
Oregon is the 27th largest state, and the 24th smallest state.
Returning to racial identity, 1.3% of US residents are exclusively American Indian or Alaska Native, according to the US Census.
That means about 4.4 million US residents are exclusively American Indian or Alaska Native.
Sexual Minorities
Next, let’s combine all of the minority sexual orientations.
A total of 6.9% of US adults identify as bisexual (4.2%), gay (1.4%), lesbian (1%), or asexual (0.3%).
You could represent this total by the acronym LGBA.
This combines information obtained in two separate surveys.
Respondents to the Gallup survey could select multiple sexualities, so use this figure with caution.
This number could be smaller if individual respondents selected multiple sexualities in Gallup’s survey data, where most of these figures originated.
Using the total above, about 18 million US adults have a minority sexual orientation.
Striving for a grand total
Calculating a grand total for the number of LGBT Americans is tricky for several reasons.
Once again, it’s worth mentioning that the numbers we have reflect people who identify as LGBT who are willing to disclose that information in a survey.
As mentioned above, polling firms don’t survey children and adolescents about their sexual orientation or gender identity.
We also don’t have survey data regarding how many Americans identify as intersex.
Regarding the survey results we do have, it’s not necessarily as easy as adding together each of the subcategories.
There are overlaps between these groups, i.e., there are trans women who are lesbians, nonbinary people who are bisexual, etc.
So adding all of the subcategories together would create a total that’s too large, due to double counting.
Alternatively, we could rely on Gallup’s survey, which asked about both sexual orientation and gender identity.
Gallup asked respondents if they identified as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, or Transgender. Respondents could select as many terms as they wanted, as well as volunteer identities not specifically listed.
Comparing Gallup’s results to those of other surveys reveals that Gallup’s volunteered responses for asexual and nonbinary are less than those found in other surveys.
Gallup was able to create a total prevalence rate for US adults who identify as LGBT, but that total is likely too small, because some identities weren’t specifically mentioned in Gallup’s question.
With these notes of caution, let’s calculate the total both ways, knowing that the answer is likely somewhere in between.
Once again, these numbers reflect LGBT Americans who are willing to disclose their sexual and gender identities in surveys.
Adding it all up
Adding all the subcategories together gives us a total of 8.5% of US adults.
Those subcategories are bisexual (4.2%), gay (1.4%), lesbian (1%), nonbinary (1%), binary transgender (0.6%), and asexual (0.3%).
That would mean 22 million US adults are LGBT.
Florida, the third largest state, has a population of about 23 million.
As a brief aside, current and former LGBT residents of Florida have my sympathies, considering the horrors Tyrant Governor Ron DeSantis has unleashed upon the state through his homophobic and transphobic policies.
Returning to racial identity, the US Census estimates 6.3% of US residents, or 21 million people, are exclusively Asian American.
Gallup’s total for LGBT Americans
Gallup calculated 7.2% of US Adults identify as LGBT.
Based on Gallup’s total, there are 19 million LGBT American adults.
That’s almost as many people who live in New York, the fourth largest state, which is home to about 20 million people.
How many American adults are LGBT?
Adding together the subcategories led to an estimate of 22 million, and Gallup’s total led to an estimate of 19 million.
So our
answer is about 20 million.
Conclusion
No matter how you look at it, there are millions of LGBT Americans, and that number is growing every year.
These numbers reflect social changes that have already happened and continue to take place.
Hopefully, that will make it harder, rather than easier, for conservative politicians to fearmonger about us and attack our rights.
We’ve covered a lot in this series, from sexual orientation to gender identity, all while discussing many LGBT identities that aren’t as well known.
Thank you for joining me on this exploration of LGBT identity, by the numbers.
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