More than 2.8 million people in the US identify as transgender, including about 724,000 youth ages 13 to 17. Federal surveys and state health agency records from 2021–2023 were used to estimate state-level transgender populations. Overall, 1% of people aged 13 and older identify as trans: 0.8% of adults (over 2.1 million) and 3.3% of youth. Young adults 18–24 identify as trans at 2.72%, compared with 0.42% for ages 35–64 and 0.26% for those 65 and older. Trans adult identities split roughly one-third each: trans women, trans men, and trans non-binary people. Regional adult rates are about 0.9% in the west, midwest, and northeast, and 0.7% in the south. Federal data collection efforts are being reduced, risking a prolonged gap in comprehensive national transgender population data.
More than 2.8 million people now identify as transgender in the US, including an estimated 724,000 youth, according to a new data analysis that is the largest of its kind to date. Researchers from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Williams Institute used federal surveys and data from state health agencies to identify the size and demographics of the trans population in each state. The analysis, shared with the Guardian and released on Wednesday, documented thousands of trans youth living in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The findings counter Donald Trump's aggressive efforts to deny the existence of trans minors, as his administration removes references to trans people across federal agencies and widely erodes protections and programs for LGBTQ+ communities.
Some of the key findings include: 1% of the total US population aged 13 and older identifies as trans, including 0.8% of adults (more than 2.1 million people) and 3.3% of youth ages 13 to 17 (roughly 724,000 people). Young adults ages 18 to 24 are significantly more likely to identify as trans (2.72%) than those 35 to 64 (0.42%) and those aged 65 and older (0.26%).
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