California, Texas, and Florida were among the states with the most LGBTQ residents, while cities such as Washington, D.C., had the highest percentage of LGBTQ adults, according to a recent study.
A study, conducted by the Williams Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles, found that roughly 13.9 million people, or 5.5% of adults in the United States identify as LGBTQ. The study was based on data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2020 and 2021, according to USA Today.
“Look at the numbers, more people are coming out younger and people are coming out in places where LGBTQ folks have been less out and visible,” Cathy Renna, a spokesperson with the National LGBTQ Task Force, told the outlet.
Roughly 14.3% of the population of the District of Columbia identified as LGBTQ. Oregon placed second with about 7.8% of the population identifying as LGBTQ. Delaware placed third with roughly 7.5% of the population identifying as LGBTQ, according to the report.
With roughly 1,549,600 people in California identifying as LGBTQ, the state topped the list with the largest LGBTQ population. About 5.1% of the state’s population identified as LGBTQ, according to the report.
Texas followed closely behind California with an LGBTQ population of 1,071,300 residents. Florida and New York came in third and fourth, respectively, with more than 850,000 adults in each state identifying as LGBTQ, according to the study.
States such as Pennsylvania and Ohio were estimated to have more than 550,000 residents who identify as being LGBTQ.
Out of the regions in the U.S., 35.9% of LGBTQ adults were estimated to live in the South, with 24.5% living in the West, 21.1% in the Midwest, and 18.5% in the Northeast, according to the report.
Southern states are defined as states ranging from Texas to Oklahoma, and from Florida to Delaware. States such as Kentucky and West Virginia are included in the south, along with the nation’s capital, according to the outlet.
