Gays are less than 1 percent of the population
Adult LGBT Population in the United States
This report provides estimates of the number and percent of the U.S. adult population that identifies as LGBT, overall, as well as by age. Estimates of LGBT adults at the national, state, and regional levels are included. We rely on BRFSS 2020-2021 facts for these estimates. Pooling multiple years of facts provides more stable estimates—particularly at the state level.
Combining 2020-2021 BRFSS data, we estimate that 5.5% of U.S. adults identify as LGBT. Further, we estimate that there are almost 13.9 million (13,942,200) LGBT adults in the U.S.
Regions and States
LGBT people reside in all regions of the U.S. (Table 2 and Figure 2). Consistent with the overall population in the United States,more LGBT adults live in the South than in any other region. More than half (57.0%) of LGBT people in the U.S. live in the Midwest (21.1%) and South (35.9%), including 2.9 million in the Midwest and 5.0 million in the South. About one-quarter (24.5%) of LGBT adults reside in the West, approximately 3.4 million people. Less than one in five (18.5%) LGBT adults survive in the Northeast (2.6 million).
The percent of adults who identify as LGBT
1 in 2 young people tell they are not 100% heterosexual
Asked to plot themselves on a 'sexuality scale', 23% of British people opt something other than 100% heterosexual – and the figure rises to 49% among 18-24 year olds
Invented by Alfred Kinsey in the 1940s, the Kinsey scale plots individuals on a range of sexual dispositions from exclusively heterosexual at 0 through to exclusively lgbtq+ at 6. Where the original research had a big number of methods for placing people, YouGov simply asked people to place themselves on the sexuality scale.
Taken as a whole, 72% of the British public place themselves at the completely heterosexual end of the scale, while 4% put themselves at the completely homosexual end and 19% say they are somewhere in between – classed as bisexual in varying degrees by Kinsey. Of the people that carry out place themselves in this 1-5 area, the majority incline away from homosexuality – 15% are closer to the heterosexual end, 2% directly in the middle and 2% are closer to the homosexual end.
With each generation, people see their sexuality as less fixed in stone. The results for 18-24 year-olds are particularly striking, as 43% place themselves in t
Diversity of sexual orientation
This report references studies from the 1950s to 2011. Please note that some of this knowledge has been superceded by more recent studies and is included here as an historical document.
This summary sheet is not intended to be a comparative analysis or recommendation of the studies referenced. Its purpose is to respond to inquiries received by the Institute by indicating the range of findings in the analyze literature, beginning with Alfred Kinsey's two studies, often referred to together as the Kinsey Reports.
Studies often differ sharply in: 1) definitions; 2) methodology; 3) response rates. The majority are based on nonrandom samples. Some look at current/previous year behavior only and others at extended time periods in respondents' lives. They are listed in chronological order.
Contents
The 1948 and 1953 Studies of Alfred Kinsey
Kinsey's samples are best for younger adults, particularly the college-educated; they are poorest for minorities and those from lower socioeconomic and educational levels. The original male sample included institutionalized men. Paul Gebhard (Gebhard 1979), a Kinsey research associate and later d
Census data reveals LGBT+ populations for first time
Dr Kevin Guyan, Research Fellow at the University of Glasgow and LGBT data maestro, has called the knowledge a "landmark moment for inclusion".
He urged that the figures be used to benefit communities.
"The facts will not, on its own, address issues negatively impacting many LGBT people such as the cost-of-living crisis, access to healthcare and affordable housing," he said. "It must be understood as the first step in a longer project of change."
Matthew Belfield, spokesperson for Manchester-based aid the LGBT Foundation, said the data will aide them better target services across the country.
He said: "Manchester is such a hot spot for the LGBTQ+ community, but other communities aren't so privileged.
"By asking these type of questions on a national level, it means that resources will be allocated in the proper way, that their communities will have their needs addressed."
Global survey finds 9% of adults identify as LGBTQ
Nearly 1 in 10 adults across 30 countries detect as LGBTQ, according to a new global survey, but that number tells only part of the story. Age and geographic location played a primary role in the findings, with younger respondents and those in more evolving countries significantly more likely to be included in that top-line number. Demographics, including gender, also figured noticeably in respondents' views on issues like gender diverse discrimination and same-sex marriage.
Ipsos, a market-research company, surveyed 22,514 participants in 30 countries in the Americas, Europe and Asia in February and March, and found that 3% identified as lesbian or queer , 4% as bisexual, 0.9% as pansexual or omnisexual, and 0.9% as asexual.
Survey respondents in Generation Z (born after 1997) were two times as likely as millennials (born in 1981 to 1996) to identify as bisexual, pansexual, omnisexual or asexual, and four times as likely as those in Generation X (1965 to 1980) or baby boomers (1948 to 1964).
When survey results were broken down by geography, respondents in Spain were the most likely (6%) to identify as gay or lesbian, whil