In 2021, around ** percent of individuals living in the District of Columbia identified as LGBT. Colorado, Arizona, Nevada, and Oregon also had high rates, exceeding *** percent. Mississippi and North Dakota had the lowest rates of LGBT populations, the only states with less than **** percent.

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.

In 2024, 14.2 percent of Millennials in the United States stated that they identify as LGBTQ+, while in 2012, less than six percent of respondents from the same generation said the same. Members of Generation Z were the most likely to identify as LGBTQ+, at over 23 percent.

As of 2021, the Mexican federal entity with the highest amount of people self-identifying as a part of the LGBTQ+ community was for the State of Mexico with almost half a million people, followed by Mexico City with ******* people.

In 2023, 8.5 percent of female respondents in the United States stated they identify as LGBT, while 4.7 percent of male respondents said the same. This is an increase from 2012, when 3.5 percent of female respondents and 3.4 percent of male respondents identified as LGBT.

About this dataset

Context

The dataset tabulates the Non-Hispanic population of Gay by race. It includes the distribution of the Non-Hispanic population of Gay across various race categories as identified by the Census Bureau. The dataset can be utilized to understand the Non-Hispanic population distribution of Gay across relevant racial categories.

Key observations

Of the Non-Hispanic population in Gay, the largest racial group is White alone with a population of 84 (98.82% of the total Non-Hispanic population).

Content

When available, the data consists of estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS) 2018-2022 5-Year Estimates.

Racial categories include:

• White
• Black or African American
• American Indian and Alaska Native
• Asian
• Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander
• Some other race
• Two or more races (multiracial)

Variables / Data Columns

• Race: This column displays the racial categories (for Non-Hispanic) for the Gay
• Population: The population of the racial category (for Non-Hispanic) in the Gay is shown in this column.
• % of Total Population: This column displays the percentage distribution of each race as a proportion of Gay total Non-Hispanic population. Please note that the sum of all percentages may not equal one due to rounding of values.

Good to know

Margin of Error

Data in the dataset are based on the estimates and are subject to sampling variability and thus a margin of error. Neilsberg Research recommends using caution when presening these estimates in your research.

Custom data

If you do need custom data for any of your research project, report or presentation, you can contact our research staff at research@neilsberg.com for a feasibility of a custom tabulation on a fee-for-service basis.

Inspiration

Neilsberg Research Team curates, analyze and publishes demographics and economic data from a variety of public and proprietary sources, each of which often includes multiple surveys and programs. The large majority of Neilsberg Research aggregated datasets and insights is made available for free download at https://www.neilsberg.com/research/.

Recommended for further research

This dataset is a part of the main dataset for Gay Population by Race & Ethnicity. You can refer the same here

In 2022, about ** percent of male-male couples in the United States were White, compared to *** percent of gay couples who were Black or African American. Gay marriage in the United States In the mid-1990s, a majority of the U.S. population believed that same-sex couples should not be recognized by law, although this figure has been on the decline since then. In 2011, more than ** percent of Americans believed the opposite, saying that homosexual couples should be recognized by law. 2015 saw a spike in support, and on June 26 of that year, the United States Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage in all 50 states in the case of Obergefell v. Hodges. Being LGBT in America The share of Americans who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT) has been on the rise since 2012 and it is estimated that there are about *********** same-sex couples in the U.S. Additionally, about **** of surveyed people in 2019 believe that one is born gay or lesbian – a significant increase from 1977, when only ** percent of respondents said the same.

PurposeIntimate partner violence (IPV) is becoming more recognized as a public health concern among sexual minority men, including bisexual and gay men. Guided by the Minority Stress Model, we assessed the relationship between perceived discrimination and three forms of IPV among a sample of bisexual and gay men living in the United States.MethodsWe analyzed data as part of the Men’s Body Project, a cross-sectional study launched in 2020 to assess health behaviors of bisexual and gay men.ResultsA total of 549 individuals participated in the survey, of which 52% were gay and 48% were bisexual men. Perceived discrimination was significantly associated with elevated odds ratios ranging from 1.15 to 1.18 across three forms of IPV, with Physical IPV odds ratio being highest.ConclusionGiven the significant association between perceived discrimination and IPV, interventions aimed at addressing IPV experiences among sexual minority men must consider the role of minority stress.

This table lists proposed anti-LGBTQ+/anti-gender US state-level Bills submitted at House/Senate/Assembly levels from 2018 to 2025 including pre-filed for 2026. It lists the year across the horizontal axis of the table. Vertically it lists the form of bill according to Jones' analyses, it lists the states by abbreviations most commonly used in the US. It then lists the bill no. and uses HB or HF to indicate House Bills or Files, SB or SF to indicate Senate Bills or Files, AB or AF to indicate Assembly Bills or Files. It finally lists the status of the bill (e.g. passed, dead, referred to committee or similar as at 2025 or as pre-filed for 2026).

As bisexual individuals in the United States (U.S.) face significant health disparities, researchers have posited that these differences may be fueled, at least in part, by negative attitudes, prejudice, stigma, and discrimination toward bisexual individuals from heterosexual and gay/lesbian individuals. Previous studies of individual and social attitudes toward bisexual men and women have been conducted almost exclusively with convenience samples, with limited generalizability to the broader U.S. population. Our study provides an assessment of attitudes toward bisexual men and women among a nationally representative sample of heterosexual, gay, lesbian, and “other”-identified adults in the U.S. Data were collected from the 2015 National Survey of Sexual Health and Behavior (NSSHB), via an online questionnaire with a probability sample of adults (18 and over) from throughout the U.S. We included two modified 5-item versions of the Bisexualities: Indiana Attitudes Scale (BIAS), validated sub-scales that were developed to measure attitudes toward bisexual men and women. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, gamma regression, and paired t-tests. Gender, sexual identity, age, race/ethnicity, income, and educational attainment were all significantly associated with participants' attitudes toward bisexual individuals. In terms of responses to individual scale items, participants were most likely to “neither agree nor disagree” with attitudinal statements. Across sexual identities, self-identified "other" participants reported the most positive attitudes, while heterosexual male participants reported the least positive attitudes. Overall, attitudes toward bisexual men were significantly less positive than toward bisexual women across identities. As in previous research on convenience samples, we found a wide range of demographic characteristics were related with attitudes toward bisexual individuals in our nationally-representative study of heterosexual, gay/lesbian, and "other"-identified adults in the U.S. Additionally, as in previous studies, gender emerged as a significant characteristic; female participants’ attitudes were more positive than male participants’ attitudes, and all participants’ attitudes were generally more positive toward bisexual women than bisexual men. While population data suggest a marked shift in more positive attitudes toward gay men and lesbian women in the general population of the U.S., the largest proportions of participants in our study reported a relative lack of agreement or disagreement with the affective-evaluative statements in the BIAS scales. Findings document the absence of positive attitudes toward bisexual individuals among the general population of adults in the U.S. Our findings highlight the need for developing intervention approaches to promote more positive attitudes toward bisexual individuals, targeted toward not only heterosexual and but also gay/lesbian individuals and communities.

Vermont was the first state in the United States to legalize same-sex relationships in mid-2000, so that same-sex couples could have the same legal rights as heterosexual married couples at the state level. Same-sex couples came to Vermont from all over the country to legalize their relationships. During the first year that this legislation was enacted, 80 percent of civil unions were acquired by out-of-state residents. In 2002, a project was conducted that compared couples who had civil unions in Vermont during the first year of that new legislation (July 2000-June 2001) with same-sex couples in their friendship circles who had not had civil unions, and with heterosexual married siblings (Solomon, Rothblum, and Balsam, 2004; 2005). The focus was on demographic factors, length of relationship, social support from family and friends, contact with families of origin, social and political activities, degree of "outness," and division of housework, child care, and finances. This was the first study to focus on same-sex couples in legalized relationships in the United States. It was also the first study to examine same-sex couples recruited from a population instead of a convenience sample, because civil unions are a matter of public record. Results indicated very few differences between same-sex couples in civil unions and those not in civil unions, particularly for women. Women in civil unions were more "out" about their sexual orientation, and more likely to consider themselves married than were women not in civil unions. Men in civil unions were more likely to have children, joint bank accounts with their partner, mutual friends with their partner, more connection with their family of origin, and to consider themselves married. They were less likely to have seriously discussed ending their relationship than men not in civil unions (Solomon et al., 2004). In contrast, both types of same-sex couples differed from heterosexual married couples in numerous ways. Same-sex couples were in their current relationship for a shorter duration, less religious, less likely to have children, more likely to share housework and finances, and less close to their family of origin than heterosexual couples. Women in same-sex relationships were more highly educated and perceived less social support from their family of origin than heterosexual married women. Men in same-sex relationships lived in larger cities, were less monogamous and more likely to agree that non-monogamy was acceptable, and perceived more social support from their friends than heterosexual married men. It is not surprising that same-sex couples differed from heterosexual couples. Prior research on lesbians and gay men from convenience samples that compared them to (a) United States census data (e.g., Bradford and Ryan, 1988), (b) their heterosexual siblings (e.g., Rothblum, et al., 2004; Rothblum and Factor, 2001), and (c) representative national samples (e.g., Laumann, Gagnon, Michael and Michaels, 1994) have consistently indicated demographic differences. It was also not surprising that same-sex couples in civil unions were quite similar to same-sex couples not in civil unions given that the first study was conducted after the first year of the new legislation. Consequently, that study was more about who chooses to have a civil union versus those who do not. It was less about how being in a civil union changes a relationship -- for that, follow-up research is needed. Demographic variables include age, race, education, religion, sexual orientation, income, and occupation.

Context

FRA (Fundamental Rights Agency) conducted an online survey to identify how lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people living in the European Union and Croatia experience the fulfilment of their fundamental rights. The evidence produced by the survey will support the development of more effective laws and policies to fight discrimination, violence and harassment, improving equal treatment across society. The need for such an EU-wide survey became evident after the publication in 2009 of the first FRA report on homophobia and discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation or gender identity, which highlighted the absence of comparable data. The European Commission then requested FRA to collect comparable data across the EU on this issue. FRA organised the data collection in the form of an online survey covering all EU Member States and Croatia. The respondents were persons aged 18 years and over, who identify themselves as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender, anonymously. The survey was made available online, from April to July 2012, in all 23 official EU languages (except Irish) plus Catalan, Croatian, Luxembourgish, Russian and Turkish. In total, 93,079 LGBT persons completed the survey. FRA’s inhouse experts designed the survey which was implemented by Gallup, one of the market leaders in large-scale surveys. In addition, civil society organisations including ILGA-Europe (European Region of the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association) and Transgender Europe (TGEU) provided advice on how to best approach LGBT people.

More about methodology of the survey can be found in EU LGBT survey Technical report. Methodology, online survey, questionnaire and sample.

Content

Data set consist of 5 .csv files that represent 5 blocks of questions: Daily Life, Discrimination, Violence and Harassment, Rights Awareness, Transgender Specific Questions.

The schema of all the tables is identical:

• CountryCode - name of the country
• subset - Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual women, Bisexual men or Transgender (for Transgender Specific Questions table the value is only Transgender)
• question_code - unique code ID for the question
• question_label - full question text
• answer - answer given
• percentage
• notes - [0]: small sample size; [1]: NA due to small sample size; [2]: missing value

Acknowledgements

Main results performed by FRA

Inspiration

Various of questions can be asked: do LGBT people feel safe in countries they live in? Do LGBT people where to go if someone discriminate their rights? Is there work/in-house harassment in against LGBT people?

Banner photo by Sharon McCutcheon from Pexels

The EU Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Survey (EU LGBT) was conducted by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA). It is the first ever EU-wide online survey to establish an overview concerning the lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans people (18 years or older) and their experiences with regard to fundamental rights in the 28 EU Member States. Up until now, there has been very little comparable data collected across the EU about the everyday experiences of LGBT people with respect to discrimination, and lot of the available information is limited to occasional news reports and court judgements. As the first EU-wide survey of its kind, the results support the development of equal treatment policies for LGBT people in the European Union and set the agenda for years to come. Based on the survey results, national and European policy makers, as well as non-governmental organisations, are able to better target their advocacy strategies and activities to support LGBT communities to live and express themselves freely in a non-discriminatory environment. The survey was completely anonymous (no additional data on the participants and their sessions were logged in any way). The survey data collection operated by Gallup Europe, a professional survey and consultancy firm. In order to ensure that the survey delivers evidence needed for policy making, the EU LGBT Survey counted on the participation of a large and diverse group of lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans people from each country. Hence, it was vitally important for the success of the survey that FRA and Gallup worked together with civil society organisations to reach a wide audience and raise awareness concerning the survey, including participants emailing the survey, sharing it through social media or simply inviting LGBT friends to take part.

More information can be found on the FRA website

BackgroundIn the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), veterans who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and similar gender and sexual minoritized people (LGBTQ+) experience health disparities compared to cisgender, heterosexual veterans. VA’s LGBTQ+ Health Program created two healthcare policies on providing LGBTQ+ affirming care (healthcare that is inclusive, validating, and understanding of the LGBTQ+ population). The current project examines providers’ barriers and facilitators to providing LGBTQ+ affirming care and LGBTQ+ veterans’ barriers and facilitators to receiving LGBTQ+ affirming care.MethodsData collection and analysis were informed by the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research, which was adapted to include three health equity domains. Data collection involved telephone interviews conducted with 11 VA providers and 12 LGBTQ+ veterans at one rural and one urban VA medical center, and one rural VA community clinic. Qualitative data were rapidly analyzed using template analysis, a data reduction technique.ResultsProviders described limited education, limited time, lack of experience with the population, and a lack of awareness of resources as barriers. Providers discussed comfort with consulting trusted peers, interest in learning more about providing LGBTQ+ affirming care, and openness and acceptance of the LGBTQ+ community as facilitators. LGBTQ+ veterans described a lack of provider awareness of their needs, concerns related to safety and discrimination, and structural discrimination as barriers. LGBTQ+ veterans described positive relationships with providers, knowledge of their own healthcare needs, and ability to advocate for their healthcare needs as facilitators. Although VA’s LGBTQ+ affirming care policies are in place, providers and veterans noted a lack of awareness regarding specific healthcare processes.ConclusionAllowing more time and capacity for education and engaging LGBTQ+ veterans in determining how to improve their healthcare may be the path forward to increase adherence to LGBTQ+ affirming care policies. Engaging patients, especially those from marginalized backgrounds, in strategies focused on the uptake of policy may be a path to improve policy implementation. It is possible that creating truly collaborative structures in which patients, staff, providers, leadership, and policymakers can work together towards policy implementation may be a useful strategy. In turn, improved policy implementation would result in increased physical and mental health for LGBTQ+ veterans.

This poll, fielded May 20-24, 2010, is part of a continuing series of monthly surveys that solicits public opinion on the presidency and on a range of other political and social issues. Respondents were asked whether they approved of the way Barack Obama was handling his job as president, whether things in the United States were going in the right direction, and how they would rate the condition of the national economy. Respondents were also asked what they thought was the most important problem facing the United States today, whether they approved or disapproved of the way President Obama was handling the economy, the situation with Afghanistan, health care, and the threat of terrorism. They were also asked whether they approved of the way Congress was handling its job, whether most members of Congress have done a good enough job to deserve re-election, and whether they felt the economy is getting better or worse. They were also queried on their feelings for the Democratic and Republican parties, about the way things are going in Washington, DC, how important they thought it was for there to be another woman on the Supreme Court, and their opinion of Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan. Respondents were asked how serious a problem they thought illegal immigration was, whether they thought the Arizona documentation policy went too far in dealing with illegal immigration, whether the federal government should have provided financial help to United States homeowners who were having trouble repaying their mortgages, whether the federal government should have provided financial help to United States automakers who were in financial trouble, and whether the federal government should have provided financial help to United States banks and financial institutions who were in financial trouble. Respondents were asked about the new health care reform bill and whether they approved it, and whether this new reform bill will mostly help, hurt, or not affect them. They were also queried on whether they favored increased drilling for oil and natural gas off the coast of the United States, whether they approved of the way the Obama Administration was handling the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, and whether they approved the way BP was handling the same oil spill. They were asked to rate their family financial situation, how concerned they were about making ends meet financially in the next 12 months, how concerned they were in the next 12 months they or someone in their household might be out of work, how much the economic recession affected them and their family, and whether the economic recession affected plans for their children's future. They were also asked their opinion of the Tea Party movement and whether they considered themselves to be a supporter of the Tea Party movement. They were also asked whether they thought being gay or homosexual was a choice, whether same-sex relations between consenting adults is wrong, whether it is necessary to have laws to protect gays and lesbians from discrimination in housing and employment, and whether they personally know someone who is gay or lesbian. Demographic information includes sex, age, race, education level, household income, military service, religious preference, reported social class, type of residential area (e.g., urban or rural), political party affiliation, political philosophy, voter registration status, and whether respondents thought of themselves as born again Christians.

In the United States, 51 percent of LGBTQ characters on cable networks in the 2023-24 season were white, while 30 percent of the characters were Black people. Moreover, the share of Latino characters was 7 percent.

BackgroundQueer youth experience high rates of depression and suicidality. These disparities stem from stigma-based stressors, including internalized stigma (i.e., negative social views that minoritized individuals internalize about their own identity). Given the importance of this factor in understanding mental health disparities among queer youth, we completed a systematic review and meta-analysis examining the relationships between internalized stigma and outcomes of depression and suicide risk (i.e., suicidal ideation, non-suicidal self-injury, and suicidal behavior).MethodsWe followed the PRISMA standards. Six bibliographic databases were searched for studies in the United States from September 2008 to March 2022. Dual independent screening of search results was performed based on a priori inclusion criteria.ResultsA total of 22 studies were included for data extraction and review. Most studies examined general internalized homophobia, with few examining internalized biphobia or transphobia. Many studies examined depression as an outcome, few studies examined suicidal ideation or behavior, and no studies examined non-suicidal self-injury. Meta-analyses model results show the association between general internalized queer stigma and depressive symptoms ranged r = 0.19, 95% CI [0.14, 0.25] to r = 0.24, 95% CI [0.19, 0.29], the latter reflecting more uniform measures of depression. The association between internalized transphobia and depressive outcomes was small and positive (r = 0.21, 95% CI [−0.24, 0.67]). General internalized queer stigma and suicidal ideation had a very weak positive association (r = 0.07, 95% CI [−0.27, 0.41]) and an even smaller, weaker positive association with suicide attempt (r = 0.02, 95% CI [0.01, 0.03]).ConclusionImplications for clinical practice, policy, and future research are discussed.

Context

Every year, along with the State-Sponsored Homophobia report, ILGA World publishes also maps of sexual orientation laws in the world.

https://ilga.org/maps-sexual-orientation-laws

Content

A useful tool for LGB human rights defenders, these images expose the arbitrariness of persecutory laws, and starkly indicate the absence of positive law in most parts of the world.

https://ilga.org/maps-sexual-orientation-laws

Acknowledgements

https://ilga.org/maps-sexual-orientation-laws

Photo by Sharon McCutcheon on Unsplash

Inspiration

LGBTQIA community.

"The negative attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who are identified or perceived as being lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT). The prejudice, aversion, hatred or antipathy, may be based on irrational fear and ignorance, and is often related to religious beliefs against LGBTQIA community." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homophobia

PurposeLesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) youth living in rural areas who feel isolated are at high risk of depression and suicidality. Given the lack of support in their offline communities, many rural-living LGBTQ youth turn to social media for social support. In this qualitative study, we examined rural LGBTQ youth's social media experiences and attitudes toward technology-based interventions for reducing perceived isolation.MethodIn Spring 2020, we conducted online interviews with LGBTQ youth aged 14-19, living in rural areas of the United States, who screened positive for perceived social isolation (n = 20; 11 cisgender sexual minority, 9 transgender). Interviews examined (1) supportive social media experiences, (2) personal strategies to improve social media experiences, and (3) perspective on potential digital intervention delivery modalities. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis.FindingsRelated to supportive content and interactions, themes included (1) positive representation of and connecting with LGBTQ groups on social media are important; (2) content from people with shared experience feels supportive, and (3) lack of feedback to one's experiences is isolating. Regarding personal strategies to improve social media experiences, themes were (1) selecting platforms to connect with different audiences helps make for a more enjoyable social media experience, and (2) several social media platform features can help make for a safer social media experience. Youth discussed advantages and disadvantages of intervention delivery via a mobile app, social media pages or groups, conversational agents (chatbots), and a dedicated website.ConclusionViewing positive representation of and connecting with LGBTQ groups, content from people shared experiences, and utilizing a wide array of platform features to increase the likelihood of positive connections are key to a positive social media experience among this group. Combining delivery modalities is key to engaging rural-living LGBTQ youth in digitally delivered support interventions to reduce perceived isolation. Our results inform future intervention research and conversations about social determinants of health between providers and rural LGBTQ patients.

IntroductionWhile research has explored racialized and gendered discourses in mathematics, there is a gap in understanding the experiences of Queer students and the discourses related to sexual identity in mathematics. This study aims to identify the discourses about mathematics that Queer STEM students describe in relation to their Queer identity and how they navigate these discourses.MethodsUsing phenomenology, individual interviews were conducted with 17 Queer STEM students at four universities in the United States. The interviews explored their life histories, experiences in mathematics, and responses to vignettes depicting mathematical scenarios. Grounded theory was leveraged to analyze the interviews to build a framework for Queer discourses and navigational strategies.ResultsSeven Queer discourses in mathematics were identified with underlying notions of exclusion and irrelevancy. The most prevalent discourses cast Queer identity as being irrelevant (erasure), unseen (heteronormative), or discriminated against (marginalized) in mathematics. At the same time there were some beliefs that Queer identity acceptance was unknown (ambiguous) was treated equally (normalized) or was accepted and even valued in math. Key findings from the study help theory build an exclusion-irrelevancy space to network together mathematical discourses and highlight how Queer marginalization is acted upon based on notions of rightful presence and not mathematical success.DiscussionThis study highlights the need to recognize and address the marginalization of Queer students in mathematics. By understanding the discourses and navigational strategies employed by these students, educators can create more inclusive and equitable STEM environments. It is critical to recognize and build upon the unique strengths of Queer students in mathematics, rather than focusing only on the challenges they face.