Data shows that in 2024 more than 1 in 5 GenZ adults, defined as those born between 1997 and 2006 (ages 18 to 27), identified as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or something other than heterosexual. This is a more than one percentage point increase from 2023. The figure has nearly doubled since 2020, according to Gallup. Overall, nearly 1 in 10 American adults, 9.3 percent, are identifying as LGBTQ+.
Older generations had much lower LGBTQ+ identification rates, with only 1.8 percent of the oldest Americans identifying as non-heterosexual, per the report. Millennials, defined as those born between 1981 and 1996, reported the second-highest LGBTQ+ identities at 14.2 percent in 2024.
Between 2020 and 2022, 18.8 percent of GenZ adults identified as LGBTQ+. That number has increased to 22.7 percent over the past two years, the report shows. Those in older generations experienced a slower increase rate during the same time frame, with the Silent Generation and Baby Boomers experiencing no significant transformation. Generation X increased from 3.8 percent to 4.8 percent, while Millennials increased from 10.3 percent to 12 percent.
The study also found that Democrats (14 percent) are more likely to have an LGBTQ+ identity compared to Republicans (3 percent) and Independents (11 percent). Additionally, more women (10 percent) than men (6 percent) identified as LGBTQ+.
The most recent findings are derived from interviews with over 14,000 US adults. Respondents were asked in a telephone survey whether they identified as straight, heterosexual, lesbian, homosexual, bisexual, transgender, or any other category. Nearly 900 respondents reported an LGBTQ+ identity. 56 percent of them identified as bisexual, 21 percent identified as homosexual, 15 percent as lesbian, 14 percent as transgender, and 6 percent as another category.
