But comparing Gen Z respondents to the mean of other generations, self-identity went up 146%. The LGBTQ+ community has an estimated spending power of $1 trillion. One thing we can say for sure, based on our findings and those of other research, is that bisexuality is far more common than most believe — and if the trend continues, becoming even more common by the decade.
To read the full study, check it out on Clearer Thinking.
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What’s Behind the Rapid Rise in LGBTQ Identity?
Newsletter March 6, 2025
Daniel A.
Cox, Jae Grace, Avery Shields
Since 2012, Gallup has tracked the size of America’s LGBTQ population. How does bisexuality vary across the political spectrum?
The results here are interesting. Each generation does indeed seem to be more bisexual than the ones before.
Aggregate data doesn’t tell us much about what contributes to this rise.
And as the movement has grown, so has the national attention. Lastly, attraction to same-sex body parts went up 98%. But the number of people coming out as bisexual (i.e., attracted to both men and women) has had a meteoric rise. So many died in those decades, but now there is more knowledge about the disease and treatments available that it’s no wonder there are fewer living LGBTQ+ people in older generations.
3.
The survey showed that the numbers increase with each generation — 3% of Baby Boomers, born 1956–1964, identify as LGBT; 5.1% of Generation X (1965–1980); 14.2% of Millenials (1981–1996), and a skyrocketing 23.1% of Generation Z (1997–2005).
What is causing this rise? Gallup found that each new generation is twice as likely as the generation that preceded it to identify as LGBTQ+.
Researchers said this is because of the increased acceptance and visibility of the community.
But the average of our metrics is approximately three times higher than the most common responses given in the polls! In our research, most Americans who report fluid sexual preferences still generally prefer one gender. However, the Census has since begun to include sexual orientation and gender identity in recent Household Pulse Surveys about social and economic trends.
The current data, however, shows this is a small but expanding mosaic of identities, cultures, and backgrounds.
Kylan Durant, a Black and queer Oklahoman, is focused on creating safe spaces for LGBTQ+ residents to thrive in his Southern community.
Ayanna Johnson, a bisexual woman of color in New York City, said she's constantly faced with stereotypes and misconceptions about what bisexuality is.
Ted Lewis, a nonbinary Virginian, hopes to dismantle preconceived notions about what it means to be gender nonconforming among the limitations placed on self-expression.
These are just some of the at least 13.9 million openly LGBTQ+ adults in the U.S.
– making up 7.6% of the adult population – as recorded by a recent Gallup survey.
When Gallup first measured sexual orientation and transgender identity, that population was estimated to be 3.5% of the adult population in 2012. The number of Americans who identify as bisexual has exploded, especially among young women. Legislators behind the legislation largely claim they are protecting children by implementing such restrictions.
"It's devastating to the community to have the government and folks who are supposed to be leading our communities do and say things that are very harmful to the community," said Durant, referring in part to a recent incident in which a local lawmaker called the LGBTQ+ community "filth." State Republican leadership distanced themselves from those remarks.
Durant grew up in a conservative community that he said didn't speak about LGBTQ+ identities, making it harder for him to understand or put into words what he was feeling.
Baby boomers are slightly more likely to be living with a partner of the same gender than are Gen X or Millennials, although Gen Z again eclipses them by orders of magnitude. As shown in the graph below, a much higher percentage of Gen Z (especially) and Millennials identify as LGBTQ+ compared to older generations.
As more young people reach adulthood and are included in Gallup’s estimates, the overall number of LGBTQ+ adults living in the US will continue to increase. In 2012, only those born by 1994 were adults, which doesn’t include all Millennials (those born between 1981 and 1996).
But American society has changed a lot over the last few decades, and views of LGBTQ people have become far less negative than they once were. Whereas Gallup attempts to achieve a nationally representative US sample, ours is somewhat more likely to be left-leaning than random Americans. For a while it was called the ‘gay rights movement,’ and it was largely focused on gay men, ignoring all other sexualities and gender identities that make up today’s community.
The research group has found that the percentage and number of adults who identify as transgender in the U.S. in recent years has remained steady.
Lewis said they've been nonbinary throughout their life, they just didn't have the term to describe themselves: "TikTok wasn't around, Facebook wasn't – we didn't even have the internet.
In 2024, 1.9% of Gen Xers considered themselves bi. It makes sense that they are less likely to have had a same gender partner, because they've simply had fewer partners.
Finally, it's time to look at the last set of correlations. Even though Stonewall took place only about 50 years ago, we didn’t have the terminology LGBTQ+ back then.
There are a few explanations worth considering.
Is it Rising Social Acceptance?
For a very long time, many gay or lesbian people felt compelled to hide who they were to avoid public condemnation, social stigma and even violence.