Yaasss: New Gallup Poll Reinforces Growing Power of LGBTQ Community

Last week, Gallup, released a new poll that shows a growing percentage of adults in the U.S. who self-identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or something other than heterosexual. This number has increased 7.1 percent,  which is a percentage very close to the one Human Right Campaign found in the Census Bureau’s recent Household Pulse Survey, which found roughly 8 percent of responders identified themselves as LBGTQ. 

“The LGBTQ+ community is a diverse and ever-growing force in the United States as the number of American adults who identify as LGBTQ+ continues to grow each year,” saya Joni Madison, Interim Human Rights Campaign President, in a press release.

 “This growth shows the impact of a more inclusive society and, closely mirrors HRC findings. Both emphasize the need to codify legal protections against discrimination and implement LGBTQ inclusive data collection at federal, state, local and private levels.” Madison says. “ With more LGBTQ+ people than ever before living openly and embracing their identity, the fight for LGBTQ+ equality in America must continue to represent this ever-growing and beautiful community.”

Key Points from the poll:

• Results from a 2021 Gallup poll showed the estimate of LGBTQ+-identifying American adults has risen by more than a full percentage point from Gallup’s previous 2020 update, and doubled in size from the 2012 estimate, when Gallup first measured it.
  • 7.1 percent of U.S. adults identify as LGBTQ+. The current estimate is up from 5.6 percent in Gallup’s 2020 data and 4.5 percent in Gallup’s 2017 data.
  • One in five Gen Z adults (those aged 18 to 24 at the time of the survey) identifies as LGBTQ+, more than any previous generation.
  • LGBTQ+ identification has grown across all identities over the last year.
  • Bisexual identification is most common, accounting for more than 56 percent of all LGBTQ+-identified adults and approximately 4 percent of the U.S. adult population.
  • An additional third of LGBTQ+ adults identified as gay (20.7 percent) and/or lesbian (13.9 percent), accounting for approximately 2.5 percent of the U.S. adult population.
  • An estimated one in 10 LGBTQ+ adults identifies as transgender, accounting for 0.7 percent of the U.S. adult population. This includes approximately 2.1 percent of Gen Z adults, 1 percent of Millennials, 0.8 percent of women, and 0.6 percent of men.

The increase in LGBTQ identification in recent years largely reflects the higher prevalence of such identities among the youngest U.S. adults compared with the older generations they are replacing in the U.S. adult population.

The results are based on aggregated 2021 data, including interviews with more than 12,000 American adults. While LGBTQ identification has been stable amid older generations, it is consistently rising among younger generations.