According to Gallup's estimates, 9% of American adults personally identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or something other than heterosexual. This percentage has remained essentially unchanged from last year but is still more than double the 3.5% recorded in 2012, the first year Gallup measured the prevalence of LGBTQ+ identities. The current figure is also higher than the roughly 7% recorded between 2021 and 2023.

The latest results are based on aggregated data from Gallup’s 2025 telephone interviews with over 13,000 American adults. In each of its surveys, Gallup asks respondents whether they identify as heterosexual, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or something else.

The overwhelming majority, 86%, identify as heterosexual, while 9% identify with an LGBTQ+ identity, and 5% do not respond.

The largest segment of LGBTQ+ adults identifies as bisexual, representing more than half of that subgroup and about 5% of the entire American adult population. Meanwhile, 17% of LGBTQ+ adults identify as gay, 16% as lesbian, and 12% as transgender, which accounts for 1-2% of all American adults. An additional 6% of LGBTQ+ adults provide other identities, such as queer or pansexual, beyond those listed in the survey.

Self-identification among Americans as LGBTQ dipped slightly. A majority of the community identified themselves as bisexual.

The bisexual identity has consistently been the most common LGBTQ+ identity and has sharply increased since Gallup began measuring lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender identities as separate categories in 2020. That year, 3.1% of American adults identified as bisexual, compared to the current 5.3%. Other LGBTQ+ identities have also grown over the past six years.

Self identification of Americans as LGBT dipped a bit. A majority of the community identified themselves as Bisexual.
📷Gallup pic.twitter.com/yVMZjgKfFy

— DeusXMachina (@DeusXMachina14) February 19, 2026

Higher LGBTQ+ Identity Among Younger Adults

As Gallup previously indicated, the recent increase in LGBTQ+ identification in the United States is primarily due to higher rates among younger generations, although overall it has decreased.

Survey data released by Gallup on Monday shows the number of adults in the United States identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT) fell slightly last year to 9 percent. The total number is down slightly since the survey was conducted …https://t.co/e9T2zTP7uA

— Tennessee Star (@TheTNStar) February 18, 2026

The latest data shows that 23% of adults under 30 identify as LGBTQ+, compared to 10% of those aged 30 to 49 and 3% or fewer of those aged 50 and older.

LGBTQ+ identification is also higher among women than men, largely because women are much more likely to identify as bisexual. A small proportion of American adults who identify as non-binary predominantly identify as LGBTQ+, particularly as bisexual or transgender.

Democrats are significantly more likely to identify as LGBTQ+ than Republicans. This pattern likely arises from LGBTQ+ individuals aligning with the Democratic Party, given the positions of both parties on same-sex marriage and other LGBTQ+ rights issues.

Urban residents are also more likely to identify as LGBTQ+ than those living in suburban or rural areas, while the proportions are similar across major racial and ethnic groups in the United States.