Gallup reports the percentage of U.S. adults who self-identify as LGBTQ has doubled from 3.5% in 2012 to a new high of 7.1% in 2021.
Since 2012, Gallup routinely asks Americans how they personally identify in regard to sexual orientation and/or gender identity as part of the demographic information it collects on all U.S. telephone surveys.
That same report included that 86.3% say they are straight or heterosexual, and 6.6% didn’t offer a response. These figures are based on aggregated data made up of interviews with more than 12,000 U.S. adults in 2021.
Gallup attributes much of the increase in self-identifying LGBTQ adults to Generation Z (born 1997-2003) respondents. In 2017, when Gen Zers were just coming to adulthood, 10.5% identified as LGBTQ, today that figure has doubled to nearly 21%.
Related: 1 in 6 Gen Z Adults Identify As LGBTQ
The number of Millennials (born 1981-1996) who identify as queer rose from 7.8% in 2017 to 10.5% in 2021.
Meanwhile, Generation X (born 1965-1980) and Baby boomers (born 1946-1964) have remained pretty steady (and at much lower numbers) at 4.2% and 2.6% respectively.
Researchers believe the percentage of LGBTQ Americans will rise at an increasing rate as more Gen Zers become adults replacing older generations who generally identify as heterosexual and cisgender.
Bisexuals make up the most common LGBTQ identity at almost 57%, which accounts for about 4% of the entire U.S. population. Gays account for 20.7% of the queer demo and 13.9% raise their hands as lesbian. Ten percent of LGBTQs identify as transgender.
Gallup sums up its findings noting that the percentage of Americans identifying as LGBTQ is growing at a faster pace than in previous years in part because more of Gen Z is reaching adulthood.
Gallup credits this with the increasing acceptance of LGBTQ people as well as passage of legal protections against discrimination.
(source: Gallup)
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