Percentage of Americans Identifying as LGBTQ+ Grows

Continuing a years-long trend largely driven by Gen Z, a new poll shows that in 2022 more Americans than ever self-identified as LGBTQ+, just as they did in 2021.

NBC News reported that a new Gallup poll revealed that 7.2% of American adults now say they identify as members of the LGBTQ+ community.

"While that's just a slight increase from 7.1% in 2021, it's more than double what it was a decade ago, when Gallup found just 3.5% of the U.S. population identified as something other than heterosexual in 2012," NBC News noted.

The increase is likely due to greater social acceptance of sexual minorities, and a greater willingness of people to self-identify as not being heterosexual or cisgender. Even so, the 7.2% result is just slightly more than the 7% of those polled who declined to answer the question at all.

"Bisexuals continue to make up the majority of LGBTQ adults, at 58.2% (or 4.2% of all U.S. adults), Gallup found, while 20.2% identify as gay, 13.4% identify as lesbian, and 8.8% identify as transgender," NBC News detailed.

Looking at the results by generational cohort, previously-established trends continued, NBC News said.

"Generation Z, or those ages 19 to 26, are the most likely to identify as LGBTQ, at 19.7%, compared to 11.2% of millennials, who are 27 to 42; 3.3% of Generation X, who are 43 to 58; 2.7% of Baby boomers, who are 59 to 77; and 1.7% of the Silent Generation, who are 78 or older."

NBC News noted that "66% of LGBTQ people in Generation Z and 62% of LGBTQ millennials identify as bisexual, compared to 48% of Generation X, 26% of baby boomers and 35% of the Silent Generation."

But the new poll also revealed a fresh surprise. "For the first time, the organization recorded the identities of LGBTQ people who said they are something other than lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender," NBC News relayed. "It found that about 5% of LGBTQ adults identified outside those terms. Most of them – about 0.1% of all U.S. adults – said they are queer, pansexual or asexual."

Unsurprisingly – except perhaps, to right-wing culture warriors who may be under the impression that LGBTQ+ visibility and representation are somehow "turning" people gay in huge numbers – most people still say they are heterosexual. That's how 86% of the new survey's respondents identified.

NBC News explained the poll's methodology, saying that "Gallup asked more than 10,000 adults nationwide how they identify in telephone interviews last year."