How Many Americans Are Gay?

According to the American public, fully 23.6 percent of the U.S. population—nearly one in four adults—is gay, lesbian, or bisexual. That's what a Gallup survey finds. This guesstimate by the public is far larger than what Americans report when they are asked about their sexual orientation.

When Gallup asked about sexual orientation in 2017, only 4.5 percent of adults identified themselves as gay, lesbian, or bisexual. When the General Social Survey asked about sexual orientation in 2018, only 5.0 percent identified themselves as gay, lesbian, or bisexual.

But many Americans are hesitant to identify themselves as LGBTQ—especially older people. So a more accurate measure of the gay, lesbian, or bisexual population is likely to be found in the responses of younger adults—Millennials. According to the 2017 Gallup survey, 8.2 percent of Millennials identify themselves as LGBTQ versus only 2.4 percent of Baby Boomers. According to the 2018 General Social Survey, 8.9 percent of Millennials identify themselves as gay, lesbian, or bisexual versus 1.6 percent of Boomers.

Even among Millennials, however, the percentage who identify themselves as gay, lesbian, or bisexual has been rising as the public's acceptance of the LGBTQ population has grown. Only 5.8 percent of Millennials identified themselves as gay, lesbian, or bisexual in 2012, reports Gallup, well below the 8.2 percent of 2017. So, it's likely that the LGBTQ population is even larger than the responses of young adults suggest. But it's unlikely to be as high as the public's guesstimate of 23.6 percent of Americans.

Source: Gallup, Americans Still Greatly Overestimate U.S. Gay Population