Nearly one in eight American adults say they either identify as transgender or nonbinary, or have a family member who does, according to a new survey—a remarkably high number compared to the estimated real proportion of the U.S. population.
A YouGov poll of 1,500 American adults, conducted between May 27-31 on behalf of The Economist, found that 3 percent viewed themselves as transgender or nonbinary, and a further 9 percent said someone in their family was. The survey was weighted 33 percent Democratic, 31 percent Republican.
Combined, the results would suggest that there is a transgender or nonbinary person in roughly one in every four households in the U.S.
With transgender rights and inclusion a hot topic and culture-war battleground, the results of the YouGov survey, along with a prior poll of the same number of U.S. adults conducted on behalf of Newsweek, suggest many have been influenced by discussion in the media and in politics to think transgender individuals represent a larger proportion of the populace.
The YouGov poll found that a combined 12 percent of respondents said they had a transgender or nonbinary person in their family, including if that person was themselves. Assuming that there are 2.6 people per U.S. household on average, according to 2020 U.S. census data, that would mean that there is one transgender or nonbinary person for every four households.
It also showed that 10 percent of those asked had a close friend who was transgender or nonbinary, 23 percent knew someone who was either, and a further 58 percent had no relations to a transgender or nonbinary individual.
A June 2022 study by the UCLA Williams Institute found that in the U.S., around 0.5 percent of adults identify as transgender—equivalent to 1.3 million people—with the number being slightly higher, 0.6 percent, among those aged 13 and above. This is consistent with previous studies.
It would suggest that there is on average only one transgender person for every 64 households in the U.S.
The Williams Institute study included nonbinary individuals in its figures. It found they comprised 25.6 percent of the total, with 35.9 percent identifying as transgender men and 38.5 as transgender women.
Gender identity is not recorded on the U.S. census and many official documents, so the true number of transgender people in America has not yet been fully quantified.
Beginning in 2021, the U.S. Census Bureau began recording sexual and gender orientation on its Household Pulse Survey, which found around 0.6 percent of U.S. adults identified as transgender. However, this excluded male-born individuals who identified as strictly female and female-born people who identified as male.
The YouGov survey found 37 percent felt their state lawmakers were focusing too much on legislation relating to transgender children in schools, 23 percent said they were focusing the right amount and 14 percent said it was not enough.
Many politicians and commentators have railed against what they see as transgender ideology, which they argue indoctrinates younger people into thinking they are in the wrong body and should seek life-altering treatments.
At the same time, transgender rights advocates argue that wider acceptance is needed, as trans individuals face threats to their safety, and an increasing number of proposed laws limit trans rights and access to healthcare.
The YouGov poll found that while 46 percent of respondents felt there was "a lot" of discrimination against transgender people and 28 percent "a little," Americans were divided on how trans individuals should be treated. Some 34 percent felt society had gone too far in accepting them, while 32 percent thought society had not gone far enough.
In a poll of U.S. adults conducted for Newsweek by Redfield & Wilton Strategies in April, just 8 percent of respondents said they personally knew someone who identified as transgender, while 89 percent said they did not—suggesting a disparity with the much larger sample who said they did in the YouGov poll, a combined 45 percent of respondents.
However, the YouGov survey allowed respondents to select multiple options when asking about transgender and nonbinary relations, which may have contributed to the statistical differences.
Update 06/20/23, 5:44a.m. ET: A statistic about how many transgender people there are per household has been updated.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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Aleks Phillips is a Newsweek U.S. News Reporter based in London. His focus is on U.S. politics and the environment. ... Read more
