LGBT demographics of the United States
The demographics of sexual orientation or gender identity in the United States have dramatically changed since the Stonewall riots in 1969, which marked the modern LGBT rights movement. Beginning in the gay villages of various port cities of the United States, the presence of openly LGBT people (the majority of whom had previously publicly identified as heterosexual due to cultural pressure against homosexuality, bisexuality, and transgender identity) gradually emerged into most urban areas as LGBT-positive community institutions were established, more LGBT persons experienced less overall pressure against their identities by their peers and various anti-LGBT legal provisions were dismantled.
According to a Williams Institute review conducted in April 2011, approximately 3.5% of American adults identify themselves as lesbian, gay or bisexual, while 0.3% are transgender—which would correspond to approximately 11.7 million Americans as of the 2010 Census.[1] However, a significantly higher percentage acknowledge having same-sex attraction without identifying as LGB. This makes it difficult to accurately record the demographics of LGBT people in the U.S.
Since such unions were first recognized in California in the 1970s, the number of legally recognized same-sex unions in the United States have also grown on a county-by-county and state-by-state basis.
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By urban area and state [edit]
The American cities with the highest gay populations are New York City with 272,493, Los Angeles with 154,270, Chicago with 114,449, and San Francisco with 94,234, as estimated by the Williams Institute in 2006.[2] However, one is much more likely to encounter gay residents in San Francisco, Seattle, Atlanta, Minneapolis, and Boston as a higher percentage of those cities' residents are gay.
The U.S. metropolitan areas with the most gay residents are the New York, New York–Northern New Jersey–Long Island, New York metro with 568,903; followed by Los Angeles–Long Beach–Santa Ana, California with 442,211; and the Chicago-Naperville-Joliet, Illinois-Indiana-Wisconsin metro with 288,748.[3]
The charts below show a list of the top U.S. cities, metropolitan areas, and states with the highest population of gay residents and the highest percentage of gay residents (GLB population as a percentage of total residents).[2] The numbers given are estimates based on American Community Survey data for the year 2000.[4]
By city [edit]
- Top Cities Ranked by Population
| Rank | City | Percentage of City Population |
GLB Population | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| population | ||||
| 1 | New York | 4.5% | 272,493 | |
| 2 | Los Angeles | 5.6% | 154,270 | |
| 3 | Chicago | 5.7% | 114,449 | |
| 4 | San Francisco | 15.4% | 94,234 | |
| 5 | Phoenix | 6.4% | 63,222 | |
| 6 | Houston | 4.4% | 61,976 | |
| 7 | San Diego | 6.8% | 61,945 | |
| 8 | Dallas | 7.0% | 58,473 | |
| 9 | Seattle | 12.9% | 57,993 | |
| 10 | Boston | 12.3% | 50,540 | |
- Top Cities Ranked by Percentage
| Rank | City | Percentage of City Population |
GLB Population | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| population | ||||
| 1 | San Francisco | 15.4% | 94,234 | |
| 2 | Seattle | 12.9% | 57,993 | |
| 3 | Atlanta | 12.8% | 39,805 | |
| 4 | Minneapolis | 12.5% | 34,295 | |
| 5 | Boston | 12.3% | 50,540 | |
| 6 | Sacramento | 9.8% | 32,108 | |
| 7 | Portland | 8.8% | 35,413 | |
| 8 | Denver | 8.2% | 33,698 | |
| 9 | Washington | 8.1% | 32,599 | |
| 10 | Orlando | 7.7% | 12,508 | |
By state [edit]
- Top States Ranked by Population
| Rank | State | Percentage of State Population |
GLB Population | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| population | ||||
| 1 | California | 5.2% | 1,338,164 | |
| 2 | Florida | 4.6% | 609,219 | |
| 3 | New York | 4.2% | 592,337 | |
| 4 | Texas | 3.6% | 579,968 | |
| 5 | Illinois | 3.8% | 345,395 | |
| 6 | Ohio | 4.0% | 335,110 | |
| 7 | Pennsylvania | 3.5% | 323,454 | |
| 8 | Georgia | 4.3% | 278,943 | |
| 9 | Massachusetts | 5.7% | 269,074 | |
| 10 | Washington | 5.7% | 266,983 | |
- Top States Ranked by Percentage
| Rank | State | GLB Population | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Percentage of State Population |
population | ||
| 1 | District of Columbia | 8.1% | 47,651 |
| 2 | New Hampshire | 6.6% | 81,561 |
| 3 | Washington | 5.7% | 335,964 |
| 4 | Massachusetts | 5.7% | 361,898 |
| 5 | Maine | 5.2% | 66,295 |
| 6 | California | 5.2% | 1,895,792 |
| 7 | Colorado | 5.1% | 219,364 |
| 8 | Vermont | 5.1% | 31,050 |
| 9 | New Mexico | 4.9% | 99,085 |
| 10 | Minnesota | 4.7% | 231,215 |
By metropolitan area [edit]
- Top Metropolitan Areas Ranked by Percentage
| Rank | Metro Area | Percentage of Metro Population |
GLB Population | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| population | rank | |||
| 1 | San Francisco | 8.2% | 256,313 | 4 |
| 2 | Seattle | 6.5% | 154,835 | 11 |
| 3 | Boston | 6.2% | 201,344 | 5 |
| 4 | Portland | 6.1% | 94,027 | 21 |
| 5 | Tampa | 5.9% | 119,044 | 16 |
| 6 | Austin | 5.9% | 61,732 | 29 |
| 7 | Denver | 5.8% | 99,027 | 19 |
| 8 | Minneapolis | 5.7% | 130,472 | 15 |
| 9 | Orlando | 5.7% | 81,272 | 24 |
| 10 | Hartford | 5.6% | 49,000 | 33 |
- Top Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Areas Ranked by Population
| Rank | Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Area | GLB | GLB% population |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New York City – Northern New Jersey – Long Island, New York | 568,903 | 2.6% |
| 2 | Los Angeles – Long Beach - Santa Ana, California | 442,211 | 2.7% |
| 3 | Chicago – Naperville – Joliet, Illinois | 288,478 | 3.2% |
| 4 | San Francisco – Oakland – Fremont, California | 256,313 | 3.6% |
| 5 | Boston – Cambridge – Quincy, Massachusetts | 201,344 | 3.4% |
| 6 | Washington Metropolitan Area | 191,959 | 2.5% |
| 7 | Dallas – Fort Worth – Arlington, Texas | 183,718 | 3.5% |
| 8 | Miami – Miami Beach – Fort Lauderdale, Florida | 183,346 | 4.7% |
| 9 | Atlanta – Marietta – Sandy Springs, Georgia | 180,168 | 4.3% |
| 10 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – Camden, New Jersey – Wilmington, Delaware | 179,459 | 2.8% |
Statistics by year [edit]
1990s [edit]
- 1990
"Homosexuality/Heterosexuality: Concepts of Sexual Orientation" published findings of 13.95% of males and 4.25% of females having had either "extensive" or "more than incidental" homosexual experience.[5]
- 1990
An extensive study on sexuality in general was conducted in the United States. A significant portion of the study was geared towards homosexuality. The results found that 8.6% of women and 10.1% of men had at one point in their life experienced some form of homosexuality. Of these, 87% of women and 76% of men reported current same-sex attractions, 41% of women and 52% of men had sex with someone of the same gender, and 16% of women and 27% of men identified as LGBT.[6]
- 1990–92
The American National Health Interview Survey conducts household interviews of the civilian non-institutionalized population. The results of three of these surveys, done in 1990–91 and based on over 9,000 responses each time, found between 2–3% of the people responding said yes to a set of statements which included "You are a man who has had sex with another man at some time since 1977, even one time."[7]
- 1992
The National Health and Social Life Survey asked 3,432 respondents whether they had any homosexual experience. The findings were 1.3% for women within the past year, and 4.1% since 18 years; for men, 2.7% within the past year, and 4.9% since 18 years.[8]
- 1993
The Alan Guttmacher Institute of sexually active men aged 20–39 found that 2.3% had experienced same-sex sexual activity in the last ten years, and 1.1% reported exclusive homosexual contact during that time.[9]
- 1993
Researchers Samuel and Cynthia Janus surveyed American adults aged 18 and over by distributing 4,550 questionnaires; 3,260 were returned and 2,765 were usable. The results of the cross-sectional nationwide survey stated men and women who reported frequent or ongoing homosexual experiences were 9% of men and 5% of women.[10]
- 1994
Laumann et al. analyzed the National Health and Social Life Survey of 1992 which had surveyed 3,432 men and women in the United States between the ages of 18 and 59 and reported that the incidence rate of homosexual desire was 7.7% for men and 7.5% for women.[11]
- 1998
A random survey of 1672 males (number used for analysis) aged 15 to 19. Subjects were asked a number of questions, including questions relating to same-sex activity. This was done using two methods—a pencil and paper method, and via computer, supplemented by a verbal rendition of the questionnaire heard through headphones—which obtained vastly different results. There was a 400% increase in males reporting homosexual activity when the computer-audio system was used: from a 1.5% to 5.5% positive response rate; the homosexual behavior with the greatest reporting difference (800%, adjusted) was to the question "Ever had receptive anal sex with another male": 0.1% to 0.8%.[12]
2000s [edit]
- 2003
Smith's 2003 analysis of National Opinion Research Center data[13] states that 4.9% of sexually active American males have had a male sexual partner since age 18, but that "since age 18 less than 1% are [exclusively] gay and 4+% bisexual". In the top twelve urban areas however, the rates are double the national average. Smith adds, "It is generally believed that including adolescent behavior would further increase these rates." The NORC data has been criticised because the original design sampling techniques were not followed, and depended upon direct self-report regarding masturbation and same sex behaviors. (For example, the original data in the early 1990s reported that approximately 40% of adult males had never masturbated—a finding inconsistent with some other studies.)
- 2005
The American Community Survey from the U.S. Census estimated 776,943 same-sex couples in the country as a whole, representing about 0.5% of the population.[2]
- 2007
Cornell University, carrying out research into sexuality amongst a representative sample of more than 20 000 young Americans, published that 14.4% of young women self-identified as being sexual and either lesbian or bisexual, while 5.6% of young men self-identified as being sexual and either gay or bisexual.[14]
- 2008
Fried's 2008 analysis of General Social Survey data shows the percentage of United States males reporting homosexual activity for three time periods: 1988–92, 1993–98, and 2000–06. These results are broken out by political party self-identification, and indicate increasing percentages, particularly among Democrats (or, perhaps, reflecting a shift of political allegiance among gay Americans). (See graph, right.)[15]
- 2008
CNN exit polling showed self-identified gay, lesbian, and bisexual voters at 4% of the voting population in the United States presidential election, 2008.[16]
- 2010
The National Survey of Sexual Health and Behavior interviewed nearly 6,000 people nationwide between the ages of 14 and 94 found that 7 percent of women and 8 percent of men identify as gay, lesbian or bisexual.[17]
- 2012
A Gallup report published in October 2012 by the Williams Institute reported that 3.4% of US adults identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender. Minorities were more likely to identify as non-heterosexual; 4.6% of blacks, 4.0% of Hispanics and 3.2% of whites. Younger people, aged 18-29, were three times more likely to identify as LGBT than seniors over the age of 65, the numbers being 6.4% and 1.9%, respectively.[18][19]
References [edit]
- ^ Gates, Gary J. (April 2011). "How many people are lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender?". Williams Institute, University of California School of Law. Text "accessdate={{subst:CURRENTYEAR}}-{{subst:CURRENTMONTH}}-{{subst:CURRENTDAY2}} " ignored (help)
- ^ a b c Gary J. Gates Same-sex Couples and the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual Population: New Estimates from the American Community Survey PDF (2.07 MiB). The Williams Institute on Sexual Orientation Law and Public Policy, UCLA School of Law October, 2006. Retrieved April 20, 2007.
- ^ Note: the study cited is unclear as to the exact metro NY area that is included; on table 5, page 8, "New York–Northern New Jersey–Long Island" is included, but in Appendix 2, page 15, Pennsylvania also seems to be included as it states "New York–Northern New Jersey–Long Island, New York–NJ–PA")
- ^ American Community Survey 2000
- ^ McWhirter, David P., Sanders, Stephanie A., & Reinisch, June Machover(Eds.). (1990). Homosexuality/Heterosexuality: Concepts of Sexual Orientation. The Kinsey Institute Series. New York: Oxford University Press.
- ^ Laumann, Edward O. (1994). The Social Organization of Sexuality: Sexual Practices in the United States. University of Chicago Press. p. 299. ISBN 978-0-226-47020-7.
- ^ Dawson, D. & Hardy, A.M. (1990–1992). National Center for Health Statistics, Centers for Disease Control, Advance Data, 204, 1990–1992.
- ^ Summary of The National Health and Social Life Survey ("The Sex Survey")
- ^ John O.G. Billy, Koray Tanfer, William R. Grady, and Daniel H. Klepinger, The Sexual Behavior of Men in the United States, Family Planning Perspectives, The Alan Guttmacher Institute, vol. 25, no. 2 (March/April 1993). Guttmacher Institute home page
- ^ Janus, Samuel S. & Janus, Cynthia L. (1993). The Janus Report on Sexual Behavior. New York: John Wiley & Sons.
- ^ Laumann, Edward O., Gagnon, John H., Michael, Robert T., and Michaels, Stuart (1994). The Social Organization of Sexuality: Sexual Practices in the United States. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 297.
- ^ Turner CF, Ku L, Rogers SM, Lindberg LD, Pleck JH, Sonenstein FL (May 1998). "Adolescent sexual behavior, drug use, and violence: increased reporting with computer survey technology". Science 280 (5365): 867–73. doi:10.1126/science.280.5365.867. PMID 9572724.
- ^ American Sexual Behavior: Trends, Socio-Demographic Differences, and Risk Behavior
- ^ "Sax on Sex: The emerging science of sex differences". Psychology Today. 3 April 2010. Retrieved 3 April 2010.
- ^ Fried, Joseph, Democrats and Republicans – Rhetoric and Reality (New York: Algora Publishing, 2008), 10.
- ^ [1] CNN.com. Retrieved on 2011-02-10.
- ^ National Survey of Sexual Health and Behavior. Nationalsexstudy.indiana.edu. Retrieved on 2010-10-26.
- ^ Gates, Gary J.; Newport, Frank (October 18, 2012). "Special Report: 3.4% of U.S. Adults Identify as LGBT". Gallup.
- ^ Gates, Gary J.; Frank Newport (October 2012). "Gallup Special Report: The U.S. Adult LGBT Population". The Williams Institute. Retrieved 2012-10-29.
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