LGBT demographics of the United States

LGBT Adult Percentage by State in 2012.

The demographics of sexual orientation and gender identity in the United States have been more accurately studied in the social sciences in recent decades. In the first large-scale government survey measuring Americans’ sexual orientation, the NHIS reported in July 2014 that 1.6 percent of Americans identify as gay or lesbian, and 0.7 percent identify as bisexual.^[1] In a Williams Institute review based on an June–September 2012 Gallup poll, approximately 3.4 percent of American adults identify themselves as being LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender).^[2] An earlier report published in April 2011 by the Williams Institute estimated that 3.8 percent of Americans identified as gay/lesbian, bisexual, or transgender: 1.7 percent as lesbian or gay, 1.8 percent as bisexual, and 0.3 percent as transgender.^[3] The 2011 Williams Institute report also states that 8.2 percent of Americans reported that they had engaged in same-sex sexual behavior, and 11 percent reported some same-sex attraction. Studies from several nations, including the U.S., conducted at varying time periods, have produced a statistical range of 1.2^[3] to 6.8^[4] percent of the adult population identifying as LGBT. Online surveys tend to yield higher figures than other methods,^[4] a likely result of the higher degree of anonymity of Internet surveys, which elicit reduced levels of socially desirable responding.^[5]

State-by-state summary

Pop. Rank	% Rank	State or Territory	2012 LGBT Adult Percentage Estimate[6]	2012 State Total Population Estimate[7]	2012 LGBT Adult Population Estimate	2000 Same-Sex Couple Households[8]	2010 Same-Sex Couple Households[9]	2000 to 2010 Couple Households Growth[10]	LGB Employment Discrimination	Transgender Employment Discrimination
1	10	California	4.0%	38,041,430	1,338,164	92,138	98,153	6.53%	Protections for all employment	Protections for all employment
2	32	Texas	3.6%	26,059,203	579,968	42,912	46,401	8.13%	No state-level protections	No state-level protections
3	14	New York	3.8%	19,570,261	570,388	46,490	48,932	4.05%	Protections for all employment	Protections only in public employment
4	23	Florida	3.5%	19,317,568	513,847	41,048	48,496	18.15%	No state-level protections	No state-level protections
5	16	Illinois	3.8%	12,875,255	362,048	22,887	23,049	0.07%	Protections for all employment	Protections for all employment
6	21	Ohio	3.6%	11,544,225	315,592	18,937	19,684	3.95%	Protections only in public employment	No state-level protections
7	15	Michigan	3.8%	9,883,360	285,431	15,368	14,598	-5.0%	Protections only in public employment	Protections only in public employment
8	22	Georgia	3.5%	9,919,945	263,870	19,288	21,318	10.52%	No state-level protections	No state-level protections
9	44	Pennsylvania	2.7%	12,763,536	262,308	21,166	22,336	5.50%	Protections only in public employment	Protections only in public employment
10	18	New Jersey	3.7%	8,864,590	249,273	16,604	16,875	1.60%	Protections for all employment	Protections for all employment
11	31	North Carolina	3.3%	9,752,073	244,582	16,198	18,309	11.36%	No state-level protections	No state-level protections
12	7	Massachusetts	4.4%	6,646,144	247,247	17,099	20,256	18.46%	Protections for all employment	Protections for all employment
13	11	Washington	4.0%	6,897,012	209,670	15,900	19,003	19.51%	Protections for all employment	Protections for all employment
14	13	Arizona	3.9%	6,553,255	194,238	12,332	15,817	28.25%	Protections only in public employment	No state-level protections
15	19	Indiana	3.7%	6,537,334	183,829	10,219	11,074	8.37%	Protections only in public employment	Protections only in public employment
16	37	Virginia	2.9%	8,185,867	180,416	13,802	14,243	3.20%	Protections only in public employment	Protections only in public employment
17	30	Missouri	3.3%	6,021,988	151,032	9,428	10,557	10.70%	Protections only in public employment	No state-level protections
18	29	Maryland	3.3%	5,884,563	147,584	11,243	12,538	11.52%	Protections for all employment	Protections for all employment
19	4	Oregon	4.9%	3,899,353	145,212	8,932	11,773	31.80%	Protections for all employment	Protections for all employment
20	12	Kentucky	3.9%	4,380,415	129,836	7,114	7,195	1.13%	Protections only in public employment	Protections only in public employment
21	48	Tennessee	2.6%	6,456,243	127,526	10,189	10,898	6.95%	No state-level protections	No state-level protections
22	34	Colorado	3.2%	5,187,582	126,162	10,045	12,424	23.70%	Protections for all employment	Protections for all employment
23	41	Wisconsin	2.8%	5,726,398	121,858	8,232	9,179	10.32%	Protections for all employment	No state-level protections
24	36	Minnesota	2.9%	5,379,139	118,556	9,147	10,207	11.60%	Protections for all employment	Protections for all employment
25	33	Louisiana	3.2%	4,601,893	111,918	8,808	8,076	-8.31%	No state-level protections	No state-level protections
26	38	South Carolina	2.9%	4,723,723	104,111	7,609	7,214	5.20%	No state-level protections	No state-level protections
27	43	Alabama	2.8%	4,822,023	102,613	8,109	6,582	-18.80%	No state-level protections	No state-level protections
28	27	Oklahoma	3.4%	3,814,820	98,575	5,763	6,134	6.44%	No state-level protections	No state-level protections
29	9	Nevada	4.2%	2,758,931	88,065	4,973	7,140	43.60%	Protections for all employment	Protections for all employment
30	20	Kansas	3.7%	2,885,905	81,152	3,973	4,009	0.09%	No state-level protections	No state-level protections
31	24	Arkansas	3.5%	2,949,131	78,441	4,423	4,226	-4.45%	No state-level protections	No state-level protections
32	25	Connecticut	3.4%	3,590,347	92,775	7,386	7,852	6.30%	Protections for all employment	Protections for all employment
33	42	Iowa	2.8%	3,074,186	65,419	3,698	4,093	10.70%	Protections for all employment	Protections for all employment
34	49	Mississippi	2.6%	2,984,926	58,982	4,774	3,484	-27.00%	No state-level protections	No state-level protections
35	47	Utah	2.7%	2,855,287	58,591	3,360	5,814	73.03%	Protections for all employment	Protections for all employment
36	2	Hawaii	5.1%	1,392,313	53,966	2,389	3,239	35.45%	Protections for all employment	Protections for all employment
37	5	Maine	4.8%	1,329,192	48,489	3,394	3,958	16.61%	Protections for all employment	Protections for all employment
38	1	District of Columbia	7.6%	632,323	48,057	3,678	4,822	31.10%	Protections for all employment	Protections for all employment
39	40	New Mexico	2.9%	2,085,538	45,965	4,496	5,825	25.56%	Protections for all employment	Protections for all employment
40	35	West Virginia	3.1%	1,855,413	43,713	2,916	2,848	-2.33%	No state-level protections	No state-level protections
41	45	Nebraska	2.7%	1,855,525	38,075	2,332	2,356	0.01%	No state-level protections	No state-level protections
42	17	New Hampshire	3.7%	1,320,718	31,138	2,703	3,260	20.60%	Protections for all employment	No state-level protections
43	6	Rhode Island	4.5%	1,050,292	35,920	2,471	2,785	12.71%	Protections for all employment	Protections for all employment
44	46	Idaho	2.7%	1,595,728	32,744	1,873	2,042	9.02%	No state-level protections	No state-level protections
45	8	South Dakota	4.4%	833,354	27,867	826	714	-13.36%	No state-level protections	No state-level protections
46	26	Delaware	3.4%	917,092	23,698	1,868	2,646	41.65%	Protections for all employment	Protections for all employment
47	3	Vermont	4.9%	626,011	23,313	1,933	2,143	10.61%	Protections for all employment	Protections for all employment
48	50	Montana	2.6%	1,005,141	19,862	1,218	1,848	10.70%	Protections only in public employment	No state-level protections
49	28	Alaska	3.4%	731,449	24,869	1,180	1,228	4.06%	Protections only in public employment	No state-level protections
50	39	Wyoming	2.9%	576,412	16,716	807	657	-18.60%	No state-level protections	No state-level protections
51	51	North Dakota	1.7%	699,628	9,040	703	559	-20.50	No state-level protections	No state-level protections
—	—	Total	3.8%	Total Population 313,914,039: Adult Population 238,574,670:[11]	9,083,558 [12]	594,391	646,464	8.76%

By locality

The American cities with the highest gay populations are New York City with 272,493, Los Angeles with 154,270, Chicago with 114,449, and San Francisco with 94,234, as estimated by the Williams Institute in 2006.^[13] However, one is much more likely to encounter gay residents in San Francisco, Seattle, Atlanta, Minneapolis, and Boston as a higher percentage of those cities' residents are gay or lesbian.

The U.S. metropolitan areas with the most gay residents are the New York, New York–Northern New Jersey–Long Island, New York metro with 568,903; followed by Los Angeles–Long Beach–Santa Ana, California with 442,211; and the Chicago-Naperville-Joliet, Illinois-Indiana-Wisconsin metro with 288,748.^[14]

The charts below show a list of the top U.S. cities (in alphabetical order), metropolitan areas, and states with the highest population of gay residents and the highest percentage of gay residents (GLB population as a percentage of total residents based on available census data).^[13] The numbers given are estimates based on American Community Survey data for the year 2000.^[15]

By city

Cities with the highest percentage of LGBTs in 2006.

% Rank	City	2005 LGB Percentage Estimate[16]	2005 LGB Population Estimate[16]
1	San Francisco	15.4%	94,234
2	Seattle	12.9%	57,993
3	Atlanta	12.8%	39,805
4	Minneapolis	12.5%	34,295
5	Boston	12.3%	50,450
6	Sacramento	9.8%	32,108
7	Portland, OR	8.8%	35,413
8	Denver	8.2%	33,698
9	Washington, D.C.	8.1%	32,599
10	Orlando	7.7%	12,508
11	Salt Lake City	7.6%	10,726
12	Dallas	7.0%	58,473
13	Baltimore	6.9%	30,778
14	Hartford	6.8%	5,292
15	Rochester	6.8%	9,371
16	San Diego	6.8%	61,945
17	St. Louis	6.8%	16,868
18	Columbus	6.7%	34,952
19	Kansas City	6.7%	22,360
20	Phoenix	6.4%	63,222
21	Tampa	6.1%	14,119
22	San Jose	5.8%	37,260
23	Chicago	5.7%	114,449
24	Birmingham	5.6%	9,263
25	Los Angeles	5.6%	154,270
26	Miami	5.5%	15,227
27	Nashville-Davidson	5.1%	20,313
28	New Orleans	5.1%	16,554
29	Austin	4.8%	24,615
30	Indianapolis	4.8%	26,712
31	Providence	4.8%	5,564
32	Las Vegas	4.6%	17,925
33	Milwaukee	4.6%	18,243
34	New York City	4.5%	272,493
35	Houston	4.4%	61,976

By metropolitan area

Metropolitan Area	2006 % LGB Est.[13]	2006 LGB Pop. Est.[13]	2012-2014 % LGB Est.[17]	2006-2014 Change in % LGB Est.[17]
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont	8.2%	256,313	6.2%	-2.0%
Portland-Vancouver-Beaverton	6.1%	94,027	5.4%	-0.7%
Austin-Round Rock	5.9%	61,732	5.3%	-0.6%
New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner	3.7%	35,230	5.1%	1.4%
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue	6.5%	154,835	4.8%	-1.7%
Boston-Cambridge-Quincy	6.2%	201,344	4.8%	-1.4%
Salt Lake City	3.7%	26,761	4.7%	1.0%
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana (Anaheim)	4.8%	442,211	4.6%	-0.2%
Denver-Aurora-Lakewood	5.8%	99,027	4.6%	-1.2%
Hartford-West Hartfod-East Hartford	5.6%	49,000	4.6%	-1.0%
Louisville/Jefferson County	4.2%	17,102	4.5%	0.3%
Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News	3.9%	44,689	4.4%	0.5%
Providence-New Bedford-Fall River (Warwick)	3.6%	43,417	4.4%	0.8%
Las Vegas-(Henderson)-Paradise	3.9%	48,532	4.3%	0.4%
Columbus	5.5%	68,300	4.3%	-1.2%
Jacksonville	4.0%	36,422	4.3%	0.3%
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Miami Beach (West Palm Beach)	4.5%	183,346	4.2%	-0.3%
Indianapolis-(Carmel-Anderson)	4.5%	52,963	4.2%	-0.3%
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta (Roswell)	5.1%	180,168	4.2%	-0.9%
Orlando-Kissimmee	5.7%	81,272	4.1%	-1.6%
Tampa-St.Petersburg-Clearwater	5.9%	119,044	4.1%	-1.8%
Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale	4.8%	132,960	4.1%	-0.7%
New York-Newark-Jersey City	4.1%	568,903	4.0%	-0.1%
San Antonio-(New Braunfels)	3.5%	46,188	4.0%	0.5%
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria	5.0%	191,959	4.0%	-1.0%
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario	4.9%	131,555	4.0%	-0.9%
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington	4.2%	179,459	3.9%	-0.3%
Baltimore-(Columbia)-Towson	5.2%	100,031	3.9%	-1.3%
Buffalo-(Cheektowaga)-Niagara Falls	3.3%	28,193	3.9%	0.6%
Detroit-Warren-Livonia (Dearborn)	3.0%	98,402	3.9%	0.9%
Sacramento-Roseville-Arden-Arcade	5.5%	81,759	3.9%	-1.6%
San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos	4.9%	102,016	3.9%	-1.0%
Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia	3.3%	36,464	3.8%	0.5%
Chicago-Naperville-Joliet (Elgin)	4.3%	288,748	3.8%	-0.5%
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington	4.5%	183,718	3.8%	-0.7%
Cleveland-Elyria-Mentor	4.3%	66,943	3.7%	-0.6%
Kansas City	5.1%	72,080	3.6%	-1.5%
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington	5.7%	130,472	3.6%	-2.1%
St. Louis	4.1%	83,769	3.6%	-0.5%
Oklahoma City	3.3%	28,288	3.5%	0.2%
Richmond	3.4%	28,750	3.5%	0.1%
Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro-(Franklin)	3.8%	57,027	3.5%	-0.3%
Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis	3.7%	40,407	3.5%	-0.2%
Houston-(The Woodlands)-Sugar Land-Baytown	4.1%	152,288	3.3%	-0.8%
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara	5.0%	63,941	3.2%	-1.8%
Raleigh			3.2%
Cincinnati-Middletown	3.8%	57,027	3.2%	-0.6%
Memphis	3.4%	30,531	3.1%	-0.3%
Pittsburgh	2.8%	50,994	3.0%	0.2%
Birmingham-Hoover	3.0%	24,276	2.6%	-0.4%

Statistics by year

1990s

1990

"Homosexuality/Heterosexuality: Concepts of Sexual Orientation" published findings of 13.95% of males and 4.25% of females having had either "extensive" or "more than incidental" homosexual experience.^[18]

1990

An extensive study on sexuality in general was conducted in the United States. A significant portion of the study was geared towards homosexuality. The results found that 8.6% of women and 10.1% of men had at one point in their life experienced some form of homosexuality. Of these, 87% of women and 76% of men reported current same-sex attractions, 41% of women and 52% of men had sex with someone of the same gender, and 16% of women and 27% of men identified as LGBT.^[19]

1990–92

The American National Health Interview Survey conducts household interviews of the civilian non-institutionalized population. The results of three of these surveys, done in 1990–91 and based on over 9,000 responses each time, found between 2–3% of the people responding said yes to a set of statements which included "You are a man who has had sex with another man at some time since 1977, even one time."^[20]

1992

The National Health and Social Life Survey asked 3,432 respondents whether they had any homosexual experience. The findings were 1.3% for women within the past year, and 4.1% since 18 years; for men, 2.7% within the past year, and 4.9% since 18 years.^[21]

1993

The Alan Guttmacher Institute of sexually active men aged 20–39 found that 2.3% had experienced same-sex sexual activity in the last ten years, and 1.1% reported exclusive homosexual contact during that time.^[22]

1993

Researchers Samuel and Cynthia Janus surveyed American adults aged 18 and over by distributing 4,550 questionnaires; 3,260 were returned and 2,765 were usable. The results of the cross-sectional nationwide survey stated men and women who reported frequent or ongoing homosexual experiences were 9% of men and 5% of women.^[23]

1994

Laumann et al. analyzed the National Health and Social Life Survey of 1992 which had surveyed 3,432 men and women in the United States between the ages of 18 and 59 and reported that the incidence rate of homosexual desire was 7.7% for men and 7.5% for women.^[24]

1998

A random survey of 1672 males (number used for analysis) aged 15 to 19. Subjects were asked a number of questions, including questions relating to same-sex activity. This was done using two methods—a pencil and paper method, and via computer, supplemented by a verbal rendition of the questionnaire heard through headphones—which obtained vastly different results. There was a 400% increase in males reporting homosexual activity when the computer-audio system was used: from a 1.5% to 5.5% positive response rate; the homosexual behavior with the greatest reporting difference (800%, adjusted) was to the question "Ever had receptive anal sex with another male": 0.1% to 0.8%.^[25]

2000s

2000

During the 2000 US presidential election campaign, market research firm Harris Interactive studied the prevalence of a gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender identity employing three distinct methods. In phone interviews, 2% of the population self-identified as LGBT. Using in-person surveys with a blind envelope, that grew to 4%, and using online polls 6%. The group concluded that the difference between methods was due to the greater level of anonymity and privacy to online surveys, which provides more comfort to respondents to share their experiences.^[26]

2003

Smith's 2003 analysis of National Opinion Research Center data^[27] states that 4.9% of sexually active American males have had a male sexual partner since age 18, but that "since age 18 less than 1% are [exclusively] gay and 4+% bisexual". In the top twelve urban areas however, the rates are double the national average. Smith adds, "It is generally believed that including adolescent behavior would further increase these rates." The NORC data has been criticised because the original design sampling techniques were not followed, and depended upon direct self-report regarding masturbation and same sex behaviors. (For example, the original data in the early 1990s reported that approximately 40% of adult males had never masturbated—a finding inconsistent with some other studies.)

2003

In a telephone survey of 4,193 male residents of New York City, 91.3% of men identified as straight, 3.7% as gay, and 1.2% as bisexual. 1.7% said they were in doubt or were not sure and 2.1% declined to answer. 12.4% of men who responded to the sexual orientation question, reported sex exclusively with men in the 12 months prior to the survey. Most of them (~70%) identified as heterosexual.^[28]

2005

The American Community Survey from the U.S. Census estimated 776,943 same-sex couples in the country as a whole, representing about 0.5% of the population.^[13]

2006

Fried's 2008 analysis of General Social Survey data shows the percentage of United States males reporting homosexual activity for three time periods: 1988–92, 1993–98, and 2000–06. These results are broken out by political party self-identification, and indicate increasing percentages, particularly among Democrats (perhaps reflecting, in the authors' view, either a shift of political allegiance among gay Americans, or increasing likelihood of acknowledging a homosexual orientation).^[29]

2007

Cornell University, carrying out research into sexuality amongst a representative sample of more than 20,000 young Americans, published that 14.4% of young women were not strictly heterosexual in behavior, a group that included lesbian and bisexual women; 5.6% of young men self-identified as being gay or bisexual.^[30]

2008

CNN exit polling showed self-identified gay, lesbian, and bisexual voters at 4% of the voting population in the United States presidential election, 2008.^[31]

2010s

2003-2010

The National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys interviewed a nationally representative sample of 11,744 adults aged 20 to 59 between 2003 and 2010. One hundred and eighty (1.5%) self-reported a homosexual orientation and 273 (2.3%) a bisexual one.^[32]

2010

The National Survey of Sexual Health and Behavior surveyed nearly 6,000 people nationwide between the ages of 14 and 94 through an online methodology and found that 7 percent of women and 8 percent of men identify as gay, lesbian or bisexual.^[33]

2010

Using a phone methodology, the National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey found, in a sample of about 10,000 women and 8,000 men, that 1.3% of women and 2% of men identify as gay or lesbian, and 1.2% of men and 2.2% of women identify as bisexual.^[34]

2012

A Gallup report published in October 2012 by the Williams Institute reported that 3.4% of US adults identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender. Minorities were more likely to identify as non-heterosexual; 4.6% of blacks, 4.0% of Hispanics and 3.2% of whites. Younger people, aged 18–29, were three times more likely to identify as LGBT than seniors over the age of 65, the numbers being 6.4% and 1.9%, respectively.^[3][35]

2012

The National Election Pool found that, among voters on Election Day, 5% identify as gay, lesbian, or bisexual.^[36][37]

2013

In the first large-scale government survey measuring Americans’ sexual orientation, the NHIS reported in July 2014 that 1.6 percent of Americans identify as gay or lesbian, and 0.7 percent identify as bisexual.^[1] 1.5 percent of women self-identify as lesbian and 0.9 consider themselves bisexual, while 1.8 percent of men consider themselves gay and 0.4 percent identify as bisexual.^[1]

2002-2013 National Survey of Family Growth

The National Survey of Family Growth is a nationally representative, multi-year survey of teenagers and adults aged 15-44. The sexual orientation items are presented only to interviewees over age 18. Results are presented separately for women and men.

• Women:

• Men:

2013

In a study, National Bureau of Economic Research reached the conclusion that the share of the population that is non-heterosexual has been significantly underestimated in surveys utilizing traditional questioning methods, even if anonymous. In this study, it was found that, in all three facets of sexual orientation (identity, attraction, and behavior), the percentage of individuals who recognized themselves as non-heterosexual was larger when the survey method in use was the item randomized response, known to reduce socially desirable responding, in lieu of questions with direct responses. Because the study was, however, based on online volunteer samples, researchers make no suggestion as to the real size of the LGBT population.^{[41][41][42][42]}

2013

Writing in the opinion section of The New York Times in 2013, Seth Stephens-Davidowitz estimated that roughly 5 percent of American men are "primarily attracted to men". First, using Facebook data and Gallup poll results, he correlated the percentage of men who are openly gay with their state of birth and residence. Second, he measured what percentage of Google pornographic searches were for gay porn. The first method gave between 1 and 3 percent. The second showed that roughly 5 percent of men search for gay porn in every state. The figure was slightly higher in states considered gay-tolerant than in others.^[43]

2014 General Social Survey behavior study

A study has also found that, based on the GSS, the proportion of men and women who self-report ever having had a same-sex sexual partner has steadily increased since the early 1990s. In the 1989-1994 period, 4.53% of men and 3.61% of women self-reported homosexual sex ever, which grew to 8.18% of men and 8.74% of women in the 2010-2014 period. The augmentation is mainly due to those who self-report sex with both genders; among those who have only had sex with the same gender, no clear pattern of increase emerged throughout the periods analyzed.^[44]

2014

The Public Religion Research Institute survey of 2,314 Millennials found that 88% identified as heterosexual, 4% as bisexual, 2% as gay, and 1% as lesbian. In a separate question, 1% identified as transgender. In total, 7% of Millennials identified as LGBT. Three percent refused to identify their sexual orientation. The unaffiliated were more likely to identify as LGBT than the religious, as were Democratic-leaning Millennials compared to the Republican-leaning. No differences were found among the races.^[45]

2014

In a nationally representative telephone survey of 35,071 Americans, Pew Research found that 1,604, or 4.6%, of the sample identified as gay, lesbian or bisexual, and 32,439 (or 92.4%) as heterosexual, with the remainder refusing or being unable to provide an answer, or identifying as something else.^[46]

2008-2014 General Social Survey identity polling

2015

In a Yougov survey of 1,000 adults, 2% of the sample identified as gay male, 2% as gay female, 4% as bisexual (of either sex), and 89% as heterosexual.^[48]

2016

According to CNN's exit poll of over 24,500 Election Day voters, 5% identify as LGBT.^[49]

Footnotes