Gallup’s latest national telephone survey of more than 13,000 U.S. adults puts the share of people who identify as LGBTQ+ at roughly 9 percent. That figure is essentially unchanged from the previous year but is more than double Gallup’s first 2012 estimate — a clear sign that how people label their sexual orientation and gender identity has shifted substantially over the last decade-plus.
How the poll was done
Gallup used a probability-based telephone sample and applied standard weighting to match the U.S. adult population on age, gender, race, education and geography. Respondents chose from explicit identity options — heterosexual, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or “something else” — with a small nonresponse rate. The large sample gives the headline estimate relatively tight margins of error and enough statistical power to examine subgroups, though mode and question-placement effects can influence how people answer.
Who’s driving the change
Young adults are the biggest driver. People under 30 report non-heterosexual or non-cisgender identities at much higher rates than older cohorts, which pushes the Bisexual identity is now the single largest category within the LGBTQ+ umbrella: about 5 percent of all adults describe themselves as bisexual. Within the LGBTQ+ group, Gallup’s breakdown shows smaller shares identifying as gay, lesbian or transgender, reflecting a mix of identity types rather than a single dominant subgroup.
Patterns beneath the headline
The 9 percent figure masks important variation. Bisexual identification is more common among women, while gay identification is more common among men. Political affiliation correlates with disclosure: Democrats and politically liberal respondents report LGBTQ+ identities at higher rates than Republicans. Geographic, generational and cultural differences also shape who feels comfortable claiming particular labels.
Measurement strengths and caveats
Big, probability-based samples and consistent question wording are strengths: they make trends easier to follow and let analysts look at smaller groups. At the same time, telephone interviewing, social desirability, and a single-item identity question can undercount people who prefer different labels or who aren’t ready to disclose. Changes in wording, added response categories, and shifting social norms all affect prevalence estimates; some of the apparent rise reflects greater willingness to report non-heterosexual identities rather than only a true change in underlying orientations.
Better ways to measure
Survey researchers are responding by testing multi-part measures (identity, attraction, behavior), using confidential self-completion modes, and combining mixed-mode administration with adaptive weighting. Those approaches generally increase disclosure and yield more nuanced portraits of an increasingly diverse population, but they are also costlier and complicate long-term comparisons unless methods are harmonized and documented.
Why it matters
These numbers aren’t just statistics — they guide policy, health planning and service delivery. Knowing that roughly 9 percent of adults now identify as LGBTQ+ helps public-health agencies, mental-health providers, schools, employers and advocacy groups allocate resources, design inclusive programs, and spot where targeted outreach is needed. At the same time, planners should triangulate survey results with administrative data and other sources to avoid basing decisions on measurement quirks. The findings underscore two things at once — the importance of careful, evolving measurement and the practical need for public- and private-sector actors to adapt services and policies to a more diverse population.