As of February 10, 2025, the majority of the transgender population aged 13 and over in the United States were living in a state with no ban on transgender people's use of bathrooms or facilities. However, 10 percent of the transgender population were living in a state which banned transgender people from using bathrooms and facilities consistent with their gender identity in K-12 schools only, while eight percent were living in a state which banned transgender people from using bathrooms and facilities corresponding to their gender identity in all government-owned buildings and spaces, including schools, colleges, and more. A further seven percent were living in a state which restricted transgender people from using bathrooms and facilities consistent with their gender identity in K-12 schools and at least some government-owned buildings as well. Anti-education legislation Statewide legislation affecting LGBTQ+ people in the U.S. has been on the rise recently, especially in K-12 schools. Many states have taken legal action to restrict schools from teaching topics of racism, sexism, gender identity, sexual orientation, and systemic inequality to students. However, studies show that Americans typically remain politically divided over how these topics should be taught; in 2022, the majority of Democratic parents were found to believe that children should be taught that the legacy of slavery still affects the position of Black people in American society today while the majority of Republican parents thought that children should be taught that slavery is a part of American history but does not affect the position of Black people in American society today. Book bans Censorship of these topics has also been seen in K-12 libraries, with book bans occurring in multiple states throughout the country. As of 2022, Texas had the highest number of books banned in the U.S., followed by Florida. Florida's Parental Rights in Education Act, which is often referred to as the "Don't Say Gay" law, has been particularly controversial as it aims to prevent discussion of gender identity or sexual orientation and remove books featuring LGBTQ+ characters in K-12 schools and libraries. Along with potentially harming LGBTQ+ students, K-12 teachers have also highlighted how these laws and debates over what topics should be taught in the classroom may negatively impact their ability to do their job.

A survey conducted in 2021 found that around **** percent of people assigned male at birth still identify as male, while *** percent identified as female, and *** percent identified as transgender.

As of April 2024, 55 percent of the LGBT population lived in the 50 states and the District of Columbia where private health insurance service providers weren't allowed to deny coverage for transgender-related health care services, such as sex reassignment surgery. However, only 40 percent lived in states where health insurance protections included sexual orientation and gender identity.

LGBT Americans The share of Americans self-identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender has grown in recent years. This suggests that insurance protections which cover LGBT-related health care services will also continue to grow in importance. The prevalence of younger Americans self-identifying as LGBT when compared with older generations confirms this. Millennials and Gen Xers are much more likely to personally identify as LGBT than previous generations were. Growing acceptance and tolerance in wider society means that more people are willing to be open about their gender identity and sexual orientation. For instance, support for same-sex marriage in the U.S. underwent a huge shift over the past two decades with the majority of Americans being in favor of it since 2011.

According to a survey conducted in 2024, 42 percent of Americans thought that society has gone too far in accepting people who are transgender in the United States. 46 percent of white Americans and 41 percent of Hispanic Americans also shared this belief, compared to only 26 percent of Black Americans.

According to a survey in 2023, more than two thirds of Americans believed that transgender people were discriminated against at least to some extent in the United States. Meanwhile, only ten percent felt transgender people did not receive discrimination.

The IPUMS Contextual Determinants of Health (CDOH) data series includes measures of disparities, policies, and counts, by state or county, for historically marginalized populations in the United States including Black, Asian, Hispanic/Latina/o/e/x, and LGBTQ+ persons, and women. The IPUMS CDOH data are made available through ICPSR/DSDR for merging with the National Couples' Health and Time Study (NCHAT), United States, 2020-2021 (ICPSR 38417) by approved restricted data researchers. All other researchers can access the IPUMS CDOH data via the IPUMS CDOH website. Unlike other IPUMS products, the CDOH data are organized into multiple categories related to Race and Ethnicity, Sexual and Gender Minority, Gender, and Politics. The CDOH measures were created from a wide variety of data sources (e.g., IPUMS NHGIS, the Census Bureau, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Movement Advancement Project, and Myers Abortion Facility Database). Measures are currently available for states or counties from approximately 2015 to 2020. The Sexual and Gender measures in this release include the proportion of a state's population identifying as LGBTQ+ in the U.S. Census Bureau's Household Pulse Survey, Phases 3.2 (07/21/2021-10/11/2021), 3.3 (12/01/2021-02/07/2022), 3.4 (03/02/2022-05/09/2022), and 3.5 (06/01/2022-08/08/2022). To work with the IPUMS CDOH data, researchers will need to first merge the NCHAT data to DS1 (MATCH ID and State FIPS Data). This merged file can then be linked to the IPUMS CDOH datafile (DS2) using the STATEFIPS variable.

In 2023, around 48 percent of the Black people interviewed in the United States thought transgender people face a great deal of discrimination. In comparison, the share of Hispanic and white people who shared this view was about 45 and 40 percent, respectively.

In 2022, around 80 percent of transgender people in the United States had considered suicide, while around 40 percent had attempted suicide. There has been an upward trend in both the considered and attempted suicide rate since 2000, when 61 percent of transgender people considered committing suicide and 28 percent had attempted it.

In 2022, 21 percent of transgender adults and 28 percent of transgender people of color reported that in the past year, providers had refused to provide them with reproductive or sexual health services due to their actual or perceived gender identity. Overall, transgender people of color in the U.S. experienced a higher rate of health care refusals from providers in comparison to white transgender people.

According to a survey conducted in 2024, Americans were most likely to support a policy expanding transgender rights by including protections for transgender people in hate-crime laws, with 58 percent of respondents supporting this policy. A further 57 percent supported a policy that would ban employers from firing employees based on their transgender identity.

In 2023, 7.6 percent of adults surveyed in the United States stated they identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT). This is an increase from 2012, when 3.5 percent of surveyed adults identified as LGBT. These four categories are among the most common sexual orientations and gender identities outside cis-heterosexuals.

Differences across ages and genders 

Zooming in, it is possible to see how the share of people identifying as LGBT changed considerably according to different demographics. Only two percent of Baby Boomers, indeed, reported being part of the LGBT community. On the other hand, among Generation Z individuals, this share reached almost 16 percent. Moreover, surveys suggest that women were more likely to identify as LGBT than men.

An ever-understanding society 

The fact that an increasing amount of people feel free and safe to openly identify as LGBT might be a consequence of the improved acceptance of the different sexual orientations and genders by the American people at large. While in 2001 more than half of U.S. citizens considered homosexual relationships to be morally wrong, 20 years later this percentage dropped to 30 percent. Support for same-sex marriage has also been consistently increasing, even among traditionally conservative political groups. Despite this, it is important to remember that every year hundreds of people are still victims of hate crimes in the United States simply because of their gender or sexual orientation.

A survey conducted in 2024 found that over a ***** of respondents were thought that society has gone too far in accepting transgender people. On the other hand, a further ***** believed that society has not gone far enough.

As of February 10, 2025, 37 percent of transgender adolescents aged 13 to 17 years in the United States were living in a state that banned best practice medication and surgical care for transgender youth, while three percent were living in a state that bans best-practice surgical care. Such legislation typically aims to restrict access to gender-affirming medical care for transgender people under 18, despite evidence to show that medical care bans increase the risk of harm for trans youth when they are forced to find care elsewhere. Laws targeting transgender students Recently, there has been a rise in state legislation restricting LGBTQ+ youth in the United States, particularly in K-12 schools. A growing number of transgender students have been banned from playing on school sports teams corresponding to their gender identity, and restricted from accessing their preferred bathrooms or locker rooms. Additionally, there has been an increase in laws that explicitly require teachers and staff to tell parents that their child is transgender, despite the risk of students facing harm from potentially unsupportive families.

In 2022, eight percent of LGBQ respondents, including 13 percent of LGBQ people of color and 16 percent of LGBQ+ transgender respondents reported that in the past year, they have experienced refusal by a health care provider to treat their family member, including a child or a same-sex spouse or partner. The statistic illustrates the share of U.S. LGBTQ+ adults who experienced various types of health care refusals by health care providers in the past year in the U.S. as of 2022, by sexuality and race.

In 2023, around 52 percent of U.S. transgender men aged between 13 and 24 years had considered suicide within the past 12 months, compared to 27 percent of cisgender men. The statistic illustrates the share of U.S. LGBTQ youth who had considered or attempted suicide within the past 12 months as of 2023, by gender identity.

In a global survey conducted in 2023, ***** percent of respondents from 30 countries identified themselves as transgender, non-binary/non-conforming/gender-fluid, or in another way. In Switzerland, around *** percent of the respondents stated to identify themselves with one of the listed genders.

A survey conducted in 2024 found that ** percent of Americans believe that transgender people face a lot of discrimination in the United States. A further ***** percent felt that trans people do not face any discrimination.

As of 2023, more than 60 percent of those who identified as Democrats in the United States thought transgender people faced a great deal of discrimination. In comparison, only a fifth of Republican respondents believed that to be the case.

As of June 2022, over half of transgender adults in the United States were white, while 21.7 percent were Latinx and 13 percent were Black.

In 2022, around 85.5 percent of transgender people assigned female at birth had considered suicide, compared to 77.2 percent of transgender people assigned male at birth. Approximately 42.7 percent of transgender people assigned female at birth had attempted suicide, compared to 37.2 percent of transgender people assigned male at birth.