american transgender population
Findings in this report are based on two main data sources: This report is based primarily on a Pew Research Center survey of the LGBT population conducted April 11-29, 2013, among a nationally representative sample of 1,197 self-identified lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender adults 18 years of age or older. More Information. • There are nearly 700,000 transgender individuals in the U.S., or 0.3% of the adult population. • Of those who identify as transgender, a majority have taken some steps to transition from one gender to another. • There are more than 8 million adults who identify as LGB in the U.S., or 3.5% of the adult population. • An unknown number of transgender individuals also identity as LGB, so there is some overlap. • Among adults who identify as LGB, bisexuals comprise a slight majority, 1.8% compared to 1.7% lesbian or gay. Anti-discrimination laws in most U.S. cities and states do not protect transgender people from discrimination based on gender identity or gender expression. Consequently, transgender people in most cities and states face discrimination in nearly every aspect of their lives. An estimated 0.6% of adults, about 1.4 million, identify as transgender in the United States. percentage of residents who identify as transgender (See Table 1). who identify as transgender, approximately 0.8% of adults, and North Dakota has the lowest percentage, at 0.3%. the national average. Table 1. Thanks to the likes of Caitlyn Jenner and Laverne Cox, the numbers of Americans who fall into that last camp are growing. But we still have a long way to go on the awareness front. Here, a look at the landscape of being transgender today. These numbers and statistics give you only a glimpse into the community—this is territory that research, science, and society are only on the cusp of breaching. But at least we've started. 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. 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. Four-in-ten respondents to the Pew Research Center survey identify themselves as bisexual. Gay men are 36% of the sample, followed by lesbians (19%) and transgender adults (5%). While these shares are consistent with findings from other surveys of the LGBT population, they should be treated with caution. Many identities fall under the transgender umbrella. The term transsexual refers to people whose gender identity is different from their assigned sex. Often, transsexual people alter or wish to alter their bodies through hormones, surgery, and other means to make their bodies as congruent as possible with their gender identities.
An estimated 0.6% of adults, about 1.4 million, identify as transgender in the United States.