The number of American adults who identify as LGBTQ+ has trebled in the past decade, a new nationwide survey has revealed.
Gallup’s latest update on LGBTQ+ identification found that 9.3 percent of US adults identified as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or something other than heterosexual in 2024.
The figure has nearly doubled since 2020 and is up from 3.5 percent in 2012, when Gallup first measured it. Meanwhile, it represents an increase of more than a percentage point versus the prior estimate, from 2023.
The analysts say that the recent increase is ‘largely due to more adults in their late teens, 20s and 30s – particularly young women – saying they are bisexual’.
Looking ahead, they say that this rate of LGBTQ+ identification is ‘likely to continue to grow, given the generational shifts underway’.
Women were almost twice as likely as men to report being either lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, or queer, at 10 percent compared to 6 percent.
Gallup says this difference is because women are more likely than men to say they are bisexual.
Democrats (14 percent) and independents (11 percent) were more likely than Republicans (3 percent) to identify as LGBTQ+.
The number of American adults who identify as LGBTQ+ has trebled in the past decade, new findings show
Psychologists have debated whether the increase in LGBTQ+ numbers is a reflection of rising exposure to social media, where teens might be swayed by influencers to shun relationship and social norms, or it is simply a reflection of greater acceptance of sexual minorities.
Offering his opinion on the matter Patrick Brown, a research fellow at the conservative-leaning Ethics and Public Policy Center, told DailyMail.com: ‘The rapid rise of young adults self-identifying as LGBTQ+ suggests some degree of social contagion, or social premium in being able to claim minority status.
‘That said – while the headlines will focus on the rising share of young adults identifying as a sexual minority, we shouldn’t overlook that the recent increase is driven particularly by young women identifying as the most fluid category in LGBTQ+, which is bisexual.
‘Many who are in that category will end up in relationships with or marrying men, so the overall societal impact of these trends may be more muted.’
Another survey looking at LGBTQ+ identification around the world in 2024, got a slightly higher percentage for the US at 10 percent.
Market research firm Ipsos surveyed 18,515 individuals across 26 countries on their sexual orientation.
The country with the highest percentage of LGBTQ+ residents was found to be the Netherlands, with 14 percent of the population identifying with this category.
This was followed by Brazil (13 percent), while Germany, the UK, Canada and Chile all came joint third place with 11 percent of the population identifying as LGBTQ+.
Along with the US, other countries with the same percentage of LGBTQ+ residents (10 percent) were Thailand, Spain, Argentina, Australia, Belgium and Sweden.
When it came to differences across age ranges, Gallup revealed that more than one in five Gen Z adults – those born between 1997 and 2006, who were between the ages of 18 and 27 in 2024 – identified as LGBTQ+
In the US Gallup poll, LGBTQ+ identification was also found to be higher among people living in cities (11 percent) and suburbs (10 percent) than in rural areas (7 percent).
When it came to differences across age ranges, Gallup revealed that more than one in five Gen Z adults – those born between 1997 and 2006, who were between the ages of 18 and 27 in 2024 – identified as LGBTQ+.
LGBTQ+ identification rates among young people also increased, from an average 18.8 percent of Gen Z adults in 2020 through 2022 to an average of 22.7 percent over the past two years.
Meanwhile, the ‘older generations of adults’ had successively lower rates of identification, down to 1.8 percent among the oldest Americans, those born before 1946.
The latest results are based on interviews with more than 14,000 US adults across all 2024 Gallup telephone surveys.
Each respondent is asked whether they identify as straight or heterosexual, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or something else.
Overall, 85.7 percent said they were straight, 5.2 percent bisexual, 2 percent gay, 1.4 identified as lesbian and 1.3 percent as transgender.
Just under 1 percent mentioned some other LGBTQ+ identity, such as pansexual, asexual or queer.
Five percent of respondents decline to answer the question.
