Record LGBTQ+ Identification Hits 12% of U.S. Adults as Public Support Eases

The Human Rights Campaign Foundation (HRC) analysis estimates that more than 25 million U.S. adults—about 12 percent of the adult population—identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer. This marks one of the highest counts ever reported. The study finds LGBTQ+ adults constitute over 10 percent of adults in 40 of the 50 states, with the highest concentrations in the District of Columbia (22.6 percent) and in Washington, Oregon, Colorado, California and Alaska (each around 14 percent or higher). California alone accounts for over 3.1 million LGBTQ+ adults, followed by Texas with roughly 2.2 million.

Newsweek

HRC’s estimates draw on roughly 2.2 million responses to the U.S. Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey collected between 2021 and 2024. The data show that about 54 percent of the LGBTQ+ population is younger than 35. Among those who identified, roughly 65 percent described themselves as bisexual, 30 percent as lesbian or gay, and 5 percent as transgender or gender-expansive. Racial-ethnic composition differs from the broader population: Hispanic adults represent 18 percent of LGBTQ+ adults (versus 13 percent of non-LGBTQ+ adults) and Black adults about 9 percent.

Newsweek

Polls indicate that while the community’s size has grown, support for key LGBTQ+ issues has slipped. A 2025 Gallup poll reported that about 9 percent of U.S. adults identify as LGBTQ+, lower than HRC’s 12 percent estimate. A Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) survey conducted from February 28 to December 8, 2025 found that 65 percent of respondents support same-sex marriage, down from 69 percent in a comparable 2022 survey. Support remains strongest among Democrats (83 percent) and independents (69 percent) but lags among Republicans (49 percent). Only Mississippi (47 percent) and Arkansas (50 percent) lack majority support for same-sex marriage.

Newsweek

The findings emerge less than 100 days before the upcoming midterm elections, positioning LGBTQ+ Americans as a sizable constituency that could influence closely contested races. At the same time, some Republican lawmakers have introduced measures urging the U.S. Supreme Court to revisit *Obergefell v. Hodges*, signaling renewed legislative challenges to same-sex marriage.

Newsweek