America gay population

At the same time, however, a new nationally representative survey of 1, LGBT adults offers testimony to the many ways they feel they have been stigmatized by society. For more details, see Chapter 1 and Appendix 1. This report makes no attempt to estimate the share of the U. Other recent survey-based research reports have made estimates in the 3.

Compared with the general public, Pew Research LGBT survey respondents are more liberal, more Democratic, less religious, less happy with their lives, and more satisfied with the general direction of the country. Most who did tell a parent say that it was difficult, but relatively few say that it damaged their relationship.

The survey finds that the LGBT population is distinctive in many ways beyond sexual orientation. Their family incomes are lower, which may be related to their relative youth and the smaller size of their households. The online survey mode was chosen for this study, in part, because considerable research on sensitive issues such as drug use, sexual behavior and even attendance at religious services indicates that the online mode of survey administration is likely to elicit more honest answers from respondents on a range of topics.

This report is based primarily on a Pew Research Center survey of the LGBT population conducted April , , among a nationally representative sample of 1, self-identified lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender adults 18 years of age or older. The survey was conducted April , , and administered online, a survey mode that research indicates tends to produce more honest answers on a range of sensitive topics than do other less anonymous modes of survey-taking.

The survey questionnaire was written by the Pew Research Center and administered by the GfK Group using KnowledgePanel, its nationally representative online research panel. The survey also finds that bisexuals differ from gay men and lesbians on a range of attitudes and experiences related to their sexual orientation.

See Appendix 1 for a discussion of these and other methodological issues. The sample comprised gay men, lesbians, bisexuals and 43 transgender adults. However, all such estimates depend to some degree on the willingness of LGBT individuals to disclose their sexual orientation and gender identity, and research suggests that not everyone in this population is ready or willing to do so.

In phone interviews, 2% of the population self-identified as LGBT. Still, all available estimates of the actual gay and lesbian population in the U.S. are far lower than what the public estimates, and no measurement procedure has produced any figures suggesting that more than one out of five Americans are gay or lesbian.

The survey finds that 12 is the median age at which lesbian, gay and bisexual adults first felt they might be something other than heterosexual or straight. More than half (%) of LGBT people in the U.S. live in the Midwest (%) and South (%), including million in the Midwest and million in the South.

For those who say they now know for sure that they are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender, that realization came at a median age of Among those who have shared this information with a family member or close friend, 20 is the median age at which they first did so.

Likewise, about half of gay men and lesbians say their sexual orientation is extremely or very important to their overall identity, compared with just two-in-ten bisexual men and women. The relative youth of bisexuals likely explains some of their lower levels of income and education.

Consistent with the overall population in the United States, 1 more LGBT adults live in the South than in any other region. Four-in-ten respondents to the Pew Research Center survey identify themselves as bisexual. They attribute the changes to a variety of factors, from people knowing and interacting with someone who is LGBT, to advocacy on their behalf by high-profile public figures, to LGBT adults raising families.

Only a small fraction of all groups describe their sexual orientation or gender identity as a negative factor. Gay men report having reached all of these coming out milestones somewhat earlier than do lesbians and bisexuals. It shows, among other things, that bisexuals are younger, have lower family incomes and are less likely to be college graduates than gay men and lesbians.

The margin of sampling error for the full LGBT sample is plus or minus 4. Find the most up-to-date statistics and facts on homosexuality in the United States. On the topic of same-sex marriage, not surprisingly, there is a large gap between the views of the general public and those of LGBT adults.

Large majorities of LGBT adults and the general public agree that love, companionship and making a lifelong commitment are very important reasons to marry. Gays and lesbians are also more likely than bisexuals to say their sexual orientation is a positive factor in their lives, though across all three subgroups, many say it is neither positive nor negative.

They are also more likely to perceive discrimination not just against themselves but also against other groups with a legacy of discrimination. On average, they are younger than the general public. During the US presidential election campaign, market research firm Harris Interactive studied the prevalence of a gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender identity employing three distinct methods.

The table above provides a look at key demographic characteristics of the full Pew Research LGBT survey sample and its three largest sub-groups—bisexuals, gay men and lesbians.