Report finds that LGBTQ people now make up 9.3% of US population

More than 9% of the US population identifies as LGBTQ, according to a new report by Gallup, marking yet another year-over-year increase — and the most growth in one year since Gallup first started tracking the data in 2012.

The report, based on phone interviews conducted in 2024 with more than 14,000 adults, found that 85.7% of respondents are straight, 5.2% are bisexual, 2% are gay, 1.4% are lesbian, 1.3% are transgender, and less than 1% mention a different LGBTQ identity.

Among LGBTQ respondents, 56% are bisexual, 21% are gay, 15% are lesbian, 14% are transgender, and 6% are something other than those labels. Some of those respondents report more than one LGBTQ identity.

Gallup’s latest report shows significant differences in LGBTQ identity depending on generation. While LGBTQ people make up just 1.8% of the Silent Generation, which comprises of those born 1945 or earlier, the percentage of the population identifying as LGBTQ goes up with each subsequent generation. Among baby boomers (born 1946-1964), 3% of the population identifies as LGBTQ, but it goes up to 5.1% for Generation X (born 1965-1980), 14% for Millennials (born 1981-1996), and 23.1% for Generation Z (born 1997-2006).

Millennials have seen LGBTQ representation increase from 10.3% to 12%, and Generation X has ticked up to 4.8% from 3.8%.

The shifts have been more pronounced among younger generations. Older generations, the report notes, have seen little change over the years compared to Generation Z, which has seen its LGBTQ identification climb from 18.8% in 2020 to 22.7% in each of the last two years.

When broken down by political affiliation, 14% of Democrats and 11% of independents are LGBTQ, but that number dips to just 3% among Republicans. There are also differences based on gender and geographic location: 10% of women identify as LGBTQ compared to 6% of men, while 11% of urban residents, 10% of suburban residents, and 7% of rural residents identify as LGBTQ.

Gallup’s first report on the LGBTQ population in 2012 found that 3.5% of the population identified as LGBTQ at the time. It gradually increased, hitting 4% in 2016, 5.6% in 2020, 7.2% in 2022, and 9.3% in 2024.

This story first appeared on our sister publication gaycitynews.com.

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