WASHINGTON — New polling out today from Gallup, as reported in the New York Times, shows that almost 1 in 10 adults in the U.S. identify as part of the LGBTQ+ community, a breathtaking increase from a few years ago that shows how the rise in acceptance of LGBTQ+ identities over the course of the past few decades has made people more comfortable to be who they truly are — even in the face of state and national politicians weaponizing their power to try to strip away LGBTQ+ rights.

The polling of 14,000 adults showed that 9.3 percent identified as LGBTQ+, including 5.2 percent identifying as bisexual, 2 percent as gay, 1.4 percent as lesbian and 1.3 percent as transgender. Applied to a national population of 341 million people, that would be 31.7 million LGBTQ+ adults, including 17.7 million bisexual people, 6.8 million gay people, 4.8 million lesbians and 4.4 million transgender people.

“This polling reflects what we’ve been saying all along: the future that anti-equality politicians are fear mongering about is already here,” said Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson. “LGBTQ+ Americans have always been here, and we are not going anywhere. There are way too many of us to be ignored, there are way too many of us to drive us out of everyday life, and the politicians who think they can turn back the clock on LGBTQ+ acceptance will fail. It is a beautiful thing that growing acceptance over the course of recent decades has allowed more and more people to show up as their authentic selves, and we should all be working toward a future where everyone can be exactly who they are.”

According to Gallup, in 2020 less than 6 percent of the population identified as LGBTQ+, and in 2012 it was less than 4 percent. The Times noted that most of the growth in the LGBTQ+ population comes from young people and bisexual women.

Dr. Mitchell R. Lunn, a researcher of LGBTQ+ health at Stanford University, told The Times that he believes the Gallup numbers are likely an undercount and that the increase is “largely driven by the many decades of gradual increasing societal acceptance.”

The polling echoes research from HRC and Bowling Green State University that indicated by 2040, about one in five voters will be part of the LGBTQ+ community, making us one of the fastest growing voting blocs in the country.

Read more about the Gallup poll here. 

The Human Rights Campaign is America’s largest civil rights organization working to achieve equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people. HRC envisions a world where LGBTQ+ people are embraced as full members of society at home, at work and in every community.