According to the latest Gallup poll on LGBTQ+ identification, 9.3% of American adults identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or something other than heterosexual — signaling that respondents feel safer and more comfortable claiming an LGBTQ+ identity than they have in past years.
The survey, which was based on 14,000 interviews conducted across 2024, revealed that LGBTQ+ identification is up one percentage point from 2023.
In the 12 years that Gallup has been tracking sexual orientation, LGBTQ+ identification has nearly tripled.
Rates among young people have also increased, with 23.1% of Gen Z and 14.2% of Millennials identifying as LGBTQ+.
This is in distinct contrast to older generations, with LGBTQ+ adults making up 5.1% of Generation X, 3% of Baby Boomers, and less than 2% of the Silent Generation.
It is imperative to note that an estimated 700,000 people have died of HIV/AIDS in the United States since the epidemic began in 1981, which helps explain the lower rates in older generations.
Gay and bisexual men make up over half of all AIDS-related deaths, although death rates have decreased in recent years thanks to improved treatments.
The New York Times journalist Charles M. Blow, 54, said his own “coming out” story was linked to the gratitude he feels towards “queer elders” who helped carve the path for others.
“When you are not living an honest, open, true life, you are taking advantage of a privilege granted to you by older gay, lesbian, queer people who have sacrificed tremendously so that you could come into this place,” Blow told GLAAD. “And they did so very often at great costs.”
A version of this article originally appeared in the 2025 Pride Edition of the Goodnewspaper.
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