The Village People Told Queer America To Go West And 2.7 Million LGBTQ+ Did

In July 2021, for the first time ever, the Census Bureau initiated a series of nationwide surveys that included questions about sexual orientation and gender identity, and those numbers have continued to be tracked by many groups. The results are notable, especially for California. The state has the largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender population—2.7 million—in the nation; Texas is second with 1.8 million; Florida has a 1,750,000 LGBT population. Here are some of the key facts about California’s large and diverse LGBT population.

California’s LGBT community includes a broad range of identities, not all of which are captured in the census data. According to this data, about half of LGBT adults in California describe themselves as bisexual, similar to the rest of the US. Slightly over one-third describe themselves as gay or lesbian, and 15% as transgender. So this week we look at where we are in the LGBTQ+ population and what States we live in, and where we don’t.

California’s share of adults who identify as LGBT (9.1%) is considerably higher than the share in the rest of the nation (7.9%). And even Texas had 8.4% of the LGBT population. According to this data, about half (49%) of LGBT adults in California describe themselves as bisexual, similar to the rest of the US.