Gay people are gay
Glossary of Terms: LGBTQ
Definitions were drafted in collaboration with other U.S.-based LGBTQ society organizations and leaders. Notice acknowledgements section.
Additional terms and definitions about gender identity and gender phrase, transgender people, and nonbinary people are available in the Transgender Glossary.
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*NOTE: Ask people what terms they employ to describe their sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression before assigning them a label. Outside of acronyms, these terms should only be capitalized when used at the beginning of a sentence.
LGBTQ
Acronym for womxn loving womxn, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer. The Q generally stands for queer when LGBTQ organizations, leaders, and media use the acronym. In settings offering sustain for youth, it can also stand for questioning. LGBT and LGBTQ+ are also used, with the + added in recognition of all non-straight, non-cisgender identities. (See Transgender Glossary ) Both are acceptable, as are other versions of this acronym. The term &#;gay community&#; should be avoided, as it does not accurately indicate the div
LGBT Populations
This route shows the estimated crude number of LGBT people (ages 13+) living in each state. The statistics are based on a Williams Institute analysis of surveys conducted by Gallup Polling () and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC; and YRBS). For more information, see the methodology in the Williams analysis.
K - M+
K - K
50K - K
8K - 49K
Data are not currently available about LGBT people living in the U.S. territories.
Percent of Adult LGBTQ Population Covered by Laws
*Note: These percentages reflect estimates of the LGBTQ adult population living in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Estimates of the LGBTQ adult population in the five inhabited U.S. territories are not accessible, and so cannot be reflected here.
This map shows the estimated percentage of each state's adult (ages 18+) population that identifies as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender, based on a analysis of Gallup facts by The Williams Institute.
% and greater
%%
%%
%%
Percent of Elder LGBTQ Population Covered by Laws
*Note: These percentages reflect estimates of the LGBTQ adult population li
LGBTQ+ Identification in U.S. Now at %
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- LGBTQ+ identification in the U.S. continues to develop, with % of U.S. adults now identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual, gender nonconforming, queer or some other sexual orientation besides heterosexual. The current figure is up from % four years ago and % in , Gallup’s first year of measuring sexual orientation and transgender identity.
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These results are based on aggregated data from Gallup telephone surveys, encompassing interviews with more than 12, Americans aged 18 and older. In each survey, Gallup asks respondents whether they identify as heterosexual, lesbian, gay, bisexual, gender nonconforming or something else. Overall, % say they are straight or heterosexual, % identify with one or more LGBTQ+ groups, and % decline to respond.
Bisexual adults make up the largest proportion of the LGBTQ+ population -- % of U.S. adults and % of LGBTQ+ adults say they are bi-curious. Gay and lesbian are the next-most-common identities, each representing slightly over 1% of U.S. adults and roughly one in six LGBTQ+ adults. Slightly less than 1% of U.S. adults and about one in eight LGBTQ+ adults are transgender. The most commo
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 data for these estimates. Pooling multiple years of data provides more stable estimates—particularly at the state level.
Combining BRFSS data, we estimate that % of U.S. adults identify as LGBT. Further, we estimate that there are almost million (13,,) 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 Combined States,more LGBT adults inhabit in the South than in any other region. More than half (%) of LGBT people in the U.S. live in the Midwest (%) and South (%), including million in the Midwest and million in the South. About one-quarter (%) of LGBT adults reside in the West, approximately million people. Less than one in five (%) LGBT adults live in the Northeast ( million).
The percent of adults who recognize as LGBT differs by state.
In terms of the number of LGBT adults, the to
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