LGBT demographics of the United States

The demographics of sexual orientation and gender identity in the United States have come to light 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 considered themselves bisexual.[1] In a Williams Institute review based on an June-September 2012 Gallup poll, approximately 3.4 percent of American adults identify themselves as being LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender).[2] An earlier report published in April 2011 by the Williams Institute estimated that 3.8 percent of Americans identified as gay: 1.7 percent as lesbian or gay, 1.8 percent as bisexual, and 0.3 percent as transgender.[3] The 2011 Williams Institute report also states that 8.2 percent of Americans reported that they had engaged in same-sex sexual behavior, and 11 percent reported some same-sex attraction. Studies from several nations, including the U.S., conducted at varying time periods, have produced a statistical range of 1.2 to 5.6 percent of the adult population identifying as LGBT.[3]

Writing in the opinion section of The New York Times in 2013, Seth Stephens-Davidowitz estimated that roughly 5 percent of American men are "primarily attracted to men". First, using Facebook data and Gallup poll results, he correlated the percentage of men who are openly gay with their state of birth and residence. Second, he measured what percentage of Google pornographic searches were for gay porn. The first method gave between 1 and 3 percent. The second showed that roughly 5 percent of men search for gay porn in every state. The figure was slightly higher in states considered gay-tolerant than in others.[4]

State-by-state summary

Pop.
Rank		 %
Rank		 State or Territory 2012 LGBT
Adult Percentage
Estimate[5]		 2012 State
Total Population
Estimate[6]		 2012 LGBT
Adult Population
Estimate		 2000
Same-Sex Couple
Households[7]		 2010
Same-Sex Couple
Households[8]		 2000 to 2010
Couple Households
Growth[9]		 Same-Sex
Marriage
Legal Status[10]
1 10  California 4.0% 38,041,430 1,338,164 92,138 98,153 6.53% Legal
2 32  Texas 3.6% 26,059,203 579,968 42,912 46,401 8.13% Constitutional Ban (Declared unconstitutional pending)
3 14  New York 3.8% 19,570,261 570,388 46,490 48,932 4.05% Legal
4 23  Florida 3.5% 19,317,568 513,847 41,048 48,496 18.15% Legal
5 16  Illinois 3.8% 12,875,255 362,048 22,887 23,049 0.07% Legal
6 21  Ohio 3.6% 11,544,225 315,592 18,937 19,684 3.95% Constitutional Ban (Ban on out-of-state marriage recognition declared unconstitutional pending)
7 15  Michigan 3.8% 9,883,360 285,431 15,368 14,598 -5.0% Constitutional Ban (Declared unconstitutional pending)
8 22  Georgia 3.5% 9,919,945 263,870 19,288 21,318 10.52% Constitutional Ban
9 44  Pennsylvania 2.7% 12,763,536 262,308 21,166 22,336 5.50% Legal
10 18  New Jersey 3.7% 8,864,590 249,273 16,604 16,875 1.60% Legal
11 31  North Carolina 3.3% 9,752,073 244,582 16,198 18,309 11.36% Legal
12 7  Massachusetts 4.4% 6,646,144 247,247 17,099 20,256 18.46% Legal
13 11  Washington 4.0% 6,897,012 209,670 15,900 19,003 19.51% Legal
14 13  Arizona 3.9% 6,553,255 194,238 12,332 15,817 28.25% Legal
15 19  Indiana 3.7% 6,537,334 183,829 10,219 11,074 8.37% Legal
16 37  Virginia 2.9% 8,185,867 180,416 13,802 14,243 3.20% Legal
17 30  Missouri 3.3% 6,021,988 151,032 9,428 10,557 10.70% Constitutional Ban (Declared unconstitutional pending, Legal in 3 Jurisdictions)
18 29  Maryland 3.3% 5,884,563 147,584 11,243 12,538 11.52% Legal
19 4  Oregon 4.9% 3,899,353 145,212 8,932 11,773 31.80% Legal
20 12  Kentucky 3.9% 4,380,415 129,836 7,114 7,195 1.13% Constitutional Ban (Declared unconstitutional pending)
21 48  Tennessee 2.6% 6,456,243 127,526 10,189 10,898 6.95% Constitutional Ban
22 34  Colorado 3.2% 5,187,582 126,162 10,045 12,424 23.70% Legal
23 41  Wisconsin 2.8% 5,726,398 121,858 8,232 9,179 10.32% Legal
24 36  Minnesota 2.9% 5,379,139 118,556 9,147 10,207 11.60% Legal
25 33  Louisiana 3.2% 4,601,893 111,918 8,808 8,076 -8.31% Constitutional Ban (Declared constitutional)
26 38  South Carolina 2.9% 4,723,723 104,111 7,609 7,214 5.20% Legal
27 43  Alabama 2.8% 4,822,023 102,613 8,109 6,582 -18.80% Legal
28 27  Oklahoma 3.4% 3,814,820 98,575 5,763 6,134 6.44% Legal
29 9  Nevada 4.2% 2,758,931 88,065 4,973 7,140 43.60% Legal
30 20  Kansas 3.7% 2,885,905 81,152 3,973 4,009 0.09% Legal
31 24  Arkansas 3.5% 2,949,131 78,441 4,423 4,226 -4.45% Constitutional Ban (Declared unconstitutional pending)
32 25  Connecticut 3.4% 3,590,347 92,775 7,386 7,852 6.30% Legal
33 42  Iowa 2.8% 3,074,186 65,419 3,698 4,093 10.70% Legal
34 49  Mississippi 2.6% 2,984,926 58,982 4,774 3,484 -27.00% Constitutional Ban (Declared unconstitutional pending)
35 47  Utah 2.7% 2,855,287 58,591 3,360 5,814 73.03% Legal
36 2  Hawaii 5.1% 1,392,313 53,966 2,389 3,239 35.45% Legal
37 5  Maine 4.8% 1,329,192 48,489 3,394 3,958 16.61% Legal
38 1  District of Columbia 10.0% 632,323 48,057 3,678 4,822 31.10% Legal
39 40  New Mexico 2.9% 2,085,538 45,965 4,496 5,825 25.56% Legal
40 35  West Virginia 3.1% 1,855,413 43,713 2,916 2,848 -2.33% Legal
41 45  Nebraska 2.7% 1,855,525 38,075 2,332 2,356 0.01% Constitutional Ban
42 17  New Hampshire 3.7% 1,320,718 31,138 2,703 3,260 20.60% Legal
43 6  Rhode Island 4.5% 1,050,292 35,920 2,471 2,785 12.71% Legal
44 46  Idaho 2.7% 1,595,728 32,744 1,873 2,042 9.02% Legal
45 8  South Dakota 4.4% 833,354 27,867 826 714 -13.36% Constitutional Ban (Declared unconstitutional pending)
46 26  Delaware 3.4% 917,092 23,698 1,868 2,646 41.65% Legal
47 3  Vermont 4.9% 626,011 23,313 1,933 2,143 10.61% Legal
48 50  Montana 2.6% 1,005,141 19,862 1,218 1,848 10.70% Legal
49 28  Alaska 3.4% 731,449 24,869 1,180 1,228 4.06% Legal
50 39  Wyoming 2.9% 576,412 16,716 807 657 -18.60% Legal
51 51   North Dakota 1.7% 699,628 9,040 703 559 -20.50 Constitutional Ban
— — Total 3.8% Total Population 313,914,039: Adult Population 238,574,670:[11] 9,083,558 [12] 594,391 646,464 8.76% —

By locality

The American cities with the highest gay populations are New York City with 272,493, Los Angeles with 154,270, Chicago with 114,449, and San Francisco with 94,234, as estimated by the Williams Institute in 2006.[13] However, one is much more likely to encounter gay residents in San Francisco, Seattle, Atlanta, Minneapolis, and Boston as a higher percentage of those cities' residents are gay.

The U.S. metropolitan areas with the most gay residents are the New York, New York–Northern New Jersey–Long Island, New York metro with 568,903; followed by Los Angeles–Long Beach–Santa Ana, California with 442,211; and the Chicago-Naperville-Joliet, Illinois-Indiana-Wisconsin metro with 288,748.[14]

The charts below show a list of the top U.S. cities (in alphabetical order), metropolitan areas, and states with the highest population of gay residents and the highest percentage of gay residents (GLB population as a percentage of total residents based on available census data).[13] The numbers given are estimates based on American Community Survey data for the year 2000.[15]

By city

City Pop.
Rank		 %
Rank		 2006
LGB
Percentage
Estimate[16]		 2006
LGB
Population
Estimate[16]
Atlanta 10 3 12.8% 39,805
 Boston 9 5 12.3% 50,450
 Chicago 3 — 5.7% 114,449
Denver — 8 8.2% 33,698
 Houston 6 — 4.4% 61,976
 Los Angeles 2 — 5.6% 154,270
 Minneapolis — 4 12.5% 34,295
 New York City 1 — 4.5% 272,493
Orlando — 10 7.7% 12,508
Phoenix 5 — 6.4% 63,222
Portland, OR — 7 8.8% 35,413
Sacramento — 6 9.8% 32,108
San Diego 7 — 6.8% 61,945
San Francisco 4 1 15.4% 94,234
Seattle 8 2 12.9% 57,993
Washington, D.C. — 9 8.1% 32,599

By metropolitan area

%
Rank		 Metropolitan Area 2006
LGB % Est.		 Pop.
Rank		 2006
LGB Pop. Est.
1 San Francisco Bay Area 8.2% 4 256,313
2 Seattle Metro. Area 6.5% 11 154,835
3 Greater Boston 6.2% 5 201,344
4 Portland Metro. Area 6.1% 21 94,027
5 Tampa Bay Area 5.9% 16 119,044
6 Greater Austin 5.9% 29 61,732
7 Denver-Aurora-Lakewood 5.8% 19 99,027
8 Minneapolis–Saint Paul 5.7% 15 130,472
9 Greater Orlando 5.7% 24 81,272
10 Greater Hartford 5.6% 33 49,000

By consolidated metropolitan statistical area

Pop.
Rank		 Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Area 2006
LGB
Pop.		 2006
LGB
%
1 New York Metropolitan Area 568,903 2.6%
2 Los Angeles Metropolitan Area 442,211 2.7%
3 Chicago Metropolitan Area 288,748 3.2%
4 San Francisco–Oakland–Fremont 256,313 3.6%
5 Greater Boston 201,344 3.4%
6 Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Area 191,959 2.5%
7 Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex 183,718 3.5%
8 Miami Metropolitan Area 183,346 4.7%
9 Atlanta Metropolitan Area 180,168 4.3%
10 Delaware Valley 179,459 2.8%

Statistics by year

1990s

1990

"Homosexuality/Heterosexuality: Concepts of Sexual Orientation" published findings of 13.95% of males and 4.25% of females having had either "extensive" or "more than incidental" homosexual experience.[17]

1990

An extensive study on sexuality in general was conducted in the United States. A significant portion of the study was geared towards homosexuality. The results found that 8.6% of women and 10.1% of men had at one point in their life experienced some form of homosexuality. Of these, 87% of women and 76% of men reported current same-sex attractions, 41% of women and 52% of men had sex with someone of the same gender, and 16% of women and 27% of men identified as LGBT.[18]

1990–92

The American National Health Interview Survey conducts household interviews of the civilian non-institutionalized population. The results of three of these surveys, done in 1990–91 and based on over 9,000 responses each time, found between 2–3% of the people responding said yes to a set of statements which included "You are a man who has had sex with another man at some time since 1977, even one time."[19]

1992

The National Health and Social Life Survey asked 3,432 respondents whether they had any homosexual experience. The findings were 1.3% for women within the past year, and 4.1% since 18 years; for men, 2.7% within the past year, and 4.9% since 18 years.[20]

1993

The Alan Guttmacher Institute of sexually active men aged 20–39 found that 2.3% had experienced same-sex sexual activity in the last ten years, and 1.1% reported exclusive homosexual contact during that time.[21]

1993

Researchers Samuel and Cynthia Janus surveyed American adults aged 18 and over by distributing 4,550 questionnaires; 3,260 were returned and 2,765 were usable. The results of the cross-sectional nationwide survey stated men and women who reported frequent or ongoing homosexual experiences were 9% of men and 5% of women.[22]

1994

Laumann et al. analyzed the National Health and Social Life Survey of 1992 which had surveyed 3,432 men and women in the United States between the ages of 18 and 59 and reported that the incidence rate of homosexual desire was 7.7% for men and 7.5% for women.[23]

1998

A random survey of 1672 males (number used for analysis) aged 15 to 19. Subjects were asked a number of questions, including questions relating to same-sex activity. This was done using two methods—a pencil and paper method, and via computer, supplemented by a verbal rendition of the questionnaire heard through headphones—which obtained vastly different results. There was a 400% increase in males reporting homosexual activity when the computer-audio system was used: from a 1.5% to 5.5% positive response rate; the homosexual behavior with the greatest reporting difference (800%, adjusted) was to the question "Ever had receptive anal sex with another male": 0.1% to 0.8%.[24]

2000s

2003

Smith's 2003 analysis of National Opinion Research Center data[25] states that 4.9% of sexually active American males have had a male sexual partner since age 18, but that "since age 18 less than 1% are [exclusively] gay and 4+% bisexual". In the top twelve urban areas however, the rates are double the national average. Smith adds, "It is generally believed that including adolescent behavior would further increase these rates." The NORC data has been criticised because the original design sampling techniques were not followed, and depended upon direct self-report regarding masturbation and same sex behaviors. (For example, the original data in the early 1990s reported that approximately 40% of adult males had never masturbated—a finding inconsistent with some other studies.)

2005

The American Community Survey from the U.S. Census estimated 776,943 same-sex couples in the country as a whole, representing about 0.5% of the population.[13]

2007

Cornell University, carrying out research into sexuality amongst a representative sample of more than 20 000 young Americans, published that 14.4% of young women self-identified as being sexual and either lesbian or bisexual, while 5.6% of young men self-identified as being sexual and either gay or bisexual.[26]

2008

Fried's 2008 analysis of General Social Survey data shows the percentage of United States males reporting homosexual activity for three time periods: 1988–92, 1993–98, and 2000–06. These results are broken out by political party self-identification, and indicate increasing percentages, particularly among Democrats (or, perhaps, reflecting a shift of political allegiance among gay Americans). (See graph, right.)[27]

2008

CNN exit polling showed self-identified gay, lesbian, and bisexual voters at 4% of the voting population in the United States presidential election, 2008.[28]

2010s

2010

The National Survey of Sexual Health and Behavior interviewed nearly 6,000 people nationwide between the ages of 14 and 94 found that 7 percent of women and 8 percent of men identify as gay, lesbian or bisexual.[29]

2012

A Gallup report published in October 2012 by the Williams Institute reported that 3.4% of US adults identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender. Minorities were more likely to identify as non-heterosexual; 4.6% of blacks, 4.0% of Hispanics and 3.2% of whites. Younger people, aged 18–29, were three times more likely to identify as LGBT than seniors over the age of 65, the numbers being 6.4% and 1.9%, respectively.[30][3]

2014

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.[31] 1.5 percent of women self-identify as lesbian and 0.9 consider themselves bisexual, while 1.8 percent of men consider themselves gay and 0.4 percent identify as bisexual.[32]

Footnotes

  1. ↑
  2. ↑ Special Report: 3.4% of U.S. Adults Identify as LGBT
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Gates, Gary J. (April 2011). "How many people are lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender?". Williams Institute, University of California School of Law.
  4. ↑ Stephens-Davidowitz, Seth. "How Many American Men Are Gay". nytimes.com. The New York Times. Retrieved 24 August 2014.
  5. ↑ "LGBT Percentage Highest in D.C., Lowest in North Dakota". State of the States. Gallup Politics. 15 February 2013. Retrieved 30 June 2013.
  6. ↑ Numbers are from List of U.S. states and territories by population.
  7. ↑ "Decennial Census Data on Same Sex Couples". Same Sex Couples. U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 30 June 2013..
  8. ↑ Williams Inst. Census Snapshot http://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/category/research/census-lbgt-demographics-studies/
  9. ↑ "Decennial Census Data on Same Sex Couples". Same Sex Couples. U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 30 June 2013..
  10. ↑ Main article: Same-sex marriage law in the United States by state. Includes explanation of color coding.
  11. ↑ 76% of Total Population over 18 2010 US Census http://www.census.gov/prod/cen2010/briefs/c2010/br-03.pdf
  12. ↑ 3.8% of Adult population
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 Gary J. Gates Same-sex Couples and the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual Population: New Estimates from the American Community Survey PDF (2.07 MiB). The Williams Institute on Sexual Orientation Law and Public Policy, UCLA School of Law October, 2006. Retrieved April 20, 2007.
  14. ↑ Note: the study cited is unclear as to the exact metro NY area that is included; on table 5, page 8, "New York–Northern New Jersey–Long Island" is included, but in Appendix 2, page 15, Pennsylvania also seems to be included as it states "New York–Northern New Jersey–Long Island, New York–NJ–PA"
  15. ↑ American Community Survey 2000
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 Gary J. Gates, PhD (October 2006). "Same-sex Couples and the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual Population: New Estimates from the American Community Survey" (PDF). The Williams Institute. The Williams Institute. Retrieved 30 June 2013.
  17. ↑ McWhirter, David P., Sanders, Stephanie A., & Reinisch, June Machover(Eds.). (1990). Homosexuality/Heterosexuality: Concepts of Sexual Orientation. The Kinsey Institute Series. New York: Oxford University Press.
  18. ↑ Laumann, Edward O. (1994). The Social Organization of Sexuality: Sexual Practices in the United States. University of Chicago Press. p. 299. ISBN 978-0-226-47020-7.
  19. ↑ Dawson, D. & Hardy, A.M. (1990–1992). National Center for Health Statistics, Centers for Disease Control, Advance Data, 204, 1990–1992.
  20. ↑ Summary of The National Health and Social Life Survey ("The Sex Survey")
  21. ↑ John O.G. Billy, Koray Tanfer, William R. Grady, and Daniel H. Klepinger, The Sexual Behavior of Men in the United States, Family Planning Perspectives, The Alan Guttmacher Institute, vol. 25, no. 2 (March/April 1993). Guttmacher Institute home page
  22. ↑ Janus, Samuel S. & Janus, Cynthia L. (1993). The Janus Report on Sexual Behavior. New York: John Wiley & Sons.
  23. ↑ Laumann, Edward O., Gagnon, John H., Michael, Robert T., and Michaels, Stuart (1994). The Social Organization of Sexuality: Sexual Practices in the United States. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 297.
  24. ↑ Turner CF, Ku L, Rogers SM, Lindberg LD, Pleck JH, Sonenstein FL (May 1998). "Adolescent sexual behavior, drug use, and violence: increased reporting with computer survey technology". Science 280 (5365): 867–73. doi:10.1126/science.280.5365.867. PMID 9572724.
  25. ↑ American Sexual Behavior: Trends, Socio-Demographic Differences, and Risk Behavior
  26. ↑ "Sax on Sex: The emerging science of sex differences". Psychology Today. 3 April 2010. Retrieved 3 April 2010.
  27. ↑ Fried, Joseph, Democrats and Republicans – Rhetoric and Reality (New York: Algora Publishing, 2008), 10.
  28. ↑ CNN.com. Retrieved on 2011-02-10.
  29. ↑ National Survey of Sexual Health and Behavior. Nationalsexstudy.indiana.edu. Retrieved on 2010-10-26.
  30. ↑ Gates, Gary J.; Newport, Frank (October 18, 2012). "Special Report: 3.4% of U.S. Adults Identify as LGBT". Gallup.
  31. ↑
  32. ↑