How Many People Are Gay? More LGBT Americans Self-Identifying As Lesbian, Bisexual, Gay Or Transgender

More Americans are identifying themselves as members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender community, but they still make up only a small fraction of the total population, a Gallup poll published Monday indicated.

The poll indicated 4.1 percent of Americans, an estimated 10 million people, identified as LGBT in 2016, up from 3.5 percent in 2012.

The analysis came from interviews with 1.6 million U.S. adults who participate in Gallup’s daily tracking poll. More than 49,000 respondents said “yes” when asked if they were lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender.

The increase came mostly from millennials, those born between 1980 and 1998. The proportion of millennials self-identifying as LGBT was 7.3 percent, up from 5.8 percent in 2012. Among generation Xers, the percentage remained stable at 3.2 percent while baby boomers went from 2.7 percent in 2012 to 2.4 percent in 2016, and traditionalists went from 1.8 percent to 1.4 percent.

Millenials are more than twice as likely as members of other generations to identify as LGBT. They accounted for 43 percent of the group in 2012 but that grew to 58 percent in 2016 while making up just 32 percent of the overall adult population.

Gallup said research indicates millennials may be more willing to admit their sexual preferences because they are less concerned about privacy than their elders.

The increases were more prominent among women than men, growing from 3.5 percent to 4.4 percent. Women now make up 55 percent of the LGBT population.

Between 2012 and 2016, the largest increase in LGBT people occurred among Asians, growing from 3.5 percent to 4.9 percent, followed by Hispanics, who saw an increase to 5.4 percent from 4.3 percent. Racial and ethnic minorities now make up 40 percent of the LGBT population.

The increases occurred across income and educational levels. A major increase occurred among those who describe themselves as not religious with the percentage of those identifying as LGBT growing from 5.3 percent to 7 percent, making them three times more likely to self-identify than religious individuals.

Gallup noted Americans steadily have been growing more accepting of gay and lesbian relationships. In 1986, just 32 percent supported same-sex marriage. By last May, that percentage had grown to 68 percent.