According to a new study done by Williams Institute, the leading research center on sexual orientation and public policy, there are nearly 14 million LGBTQ+ adults living in the United States. The institute used data from the 2020 and 2021 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System report to estimate the findings. The CDC, which has been producing yearly BRFSS reports since 1984, looks at “health risk behaviors, chronic diseases and conditions, access to health care, and use of preventive health services related to the leading causes of death and disability in the United States.” Through this data, the Williams Institute gathered information about state populations of LGBTQ+ adults.
The report indicates that the largest LGBTQ+ populations are located in California (1.5 million), Texas (1 million), Florida (898,000), New York (853,000) and Pennsylvania (586,000).
However, when based on the percentage of the state’s population, Washington, D.C. has the highest amount of LGBTQ+ citizens (14.3%), followed by Oregon (7.8%), Delaware (7.6%), Vermont (7.4%), New Hampshire (7.2%) and Washington (6.9%).
As a collective region, the South has an estimated 5 million LGBTQ+ adults, followed by the West at 3.4 million.
Other interesting findings from the report:
- States with the lowest percentage of LGBTQ+ adults compared to the rest of the population are Mississippi (4.1%), West Virginia (4.1%), North Carolina (4.5%) and surprisingly, Illinois (4.5%). While Illinois ranks in the top 10 states for number of LGBTQ+ adults, it ranks in the bottom five for a percentage of the population.
- Of the age groups polled, the 18-24 demographic had the highest percentage of self-identifying LGBTQ+ adults, at 15.2%. The percentage drops significantly to 9.1% for adults 25-34, 4.1% for 35-49, 2.7% for adults 50-64 and just 1.8% for adults 65 and older.
To read or download the full report, visit the Williams Institute.