The Human Rights Campaign Foundation today released updated population estimates showing that a record-high 12% of U.S. adults – roughly 25.6 million people – identify as LGBTQ+.
The analysis, drawn from more than 2.4 million responses to the U.S. Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey collected between 2021 and 2024, is one of the most comprehensive looks at the LGBTQ+ population to date.
NEW: According to HRC’s analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data, a record-high 12% of U.S. adults identify as LGBTQ+.
40 states, plus DC, have an LGBTQ+ population of more than 10%.
LGBTQ+ people are not a niche constituency — and no campaign, brand, or employer can afford to treat…
— Human Rights Campaign Rapid Response (@HRC) August 20, 2026
Key Data Points:
• 40 states have an LGBTQ+ population of greater than 10% (plus the District of Columbia) including several electoral battleground states (Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, New Hampshire, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania).
• 25.6 million U.S. adults identify as LGBTQ+.
• 12% of U.S. adults identify as LGBTQ+.
• More than half of all LGBTQ+ adults (53.8%) are between 18 and 34 – a signal of sustained, long-term growth in political and economic power as this generation ages into peak spending and voting years.
• Bisexual people are the largest group at over 7% of all U.S. adults.
The Household Pulse Survey is one of the last major federal data sources to include a gender identity measure before the Trump Administration removed sexual orientation and gender identity questions from roughly 360 federal data collections.
Read more for the full findings: https://t.co/LHRxij5LlG
— Human Rights Campaign Rapid Response (@HRC) August 20, 2026
(via press release)
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