Gen Z and Millennials adults are far more likely than those in older generations to identify as LGBTQ+, new results from Gallup show. Notably, each younger generation is about twice as likely as the generation that came before it to identify as LGBTQ+.
According to Gallup data published today and gathered in 2023 in which more than 12,000 Americans aged 18 and older were surveyed, more than a fifth of Gen Z adults (aged 18 to 26) identify as LGBTQ+. When considering the Millennial generation, nearly one in 10 adults aged 27 to 42 identified as LGBTQ+. Numbers fell to less than 5% of Generation X, 2% of Baby Boomers and 1% of the Silent Generation.
This year’s report also marks the first time that data has been collected by gender as well as sexuality, which reveals more interesting aspects to the findings.
While, overall, bisexuality is the most common LGBTQ+ status among Gen Z, millennials, and Gen X, representing more than two-thirds of those with an LGBTQ+ identification, women most commonly identify as bisexual, while men are equally likely to identify as bisexual or gay. Among older generations, LGBTQ+ populations are more, or equally as likely, to say they are gay or lesbian than bisexual.
“Almost 30% of Gen Z women identify as LGBTQ+, most as bisexual,” Jeffrey Jones, a senior editor at Gallup, said in a report from NBC News. “That’s where a lot of the growth seems to be happening.”
Gallup did not find “sufficient cases” among nonbinary Americans for 2023 alone in order to share estimates for LGBTQ+ identification among that population. Their combined data from 2022 and 2023 shows that about 80% of nonbinary adults identify as LGBTQ+, with one-third being bisexual and one-third transgender.
The main takeaways are clear: since Gallup first began asking about sexual identification and transgender identity in 2012, the percentage of U.S. adults who self-identify as non-heterosexual has more than doubled. And, according to Gallup analysis, young Americans lead the shift-change, and generational trends point to higher rates of LGBTQ+ populations in the future. “If current trends continue, it is likely that the proportion of LGBTQ+ identifiers will exceed 10% of U.S. adults at some point within the next three decades,” Gallup said in a statement.
