what percentage of americans are transgender
About 1% of Americans age 13 and over identify as transgender, which is roughly between 2.3 and 2.8 million people in the U.S.
Quick Scoop: Key Numbers
- Around 0.8%–1.0% of people aged 13+ in the U.S. identify as transgender, depending on the dataset and year.
- For adults , recent federal survey data suggests about 0.95% (around 2.3 million adults) identify as transgender.
- For youth 13–17 , about 3.3% identify as transgender, a higher share than older age groups.
- Total trans population (youth + adults) is estimated at about 2.8 million people.
So if you imagine a stadium of 50,000 Americans, roughly 400–500 of them would statistically be transgender, with a larger share among the teens and young adults in the crowd.
Why Estimates Differ
Short answer: it’s hard to measure gender identity in big surveys.
- Different studies use different questions , age ranges, and years, so they land between about 0.8% and 1.0% of the 13+ population.
- Some estimates rely on large national surveys (like the Household Pulse Survey) and others on specialized research from the Williams Institute.
- Not everyone feels safe or comfortable disclosing they are transgender in a survey, so these numbers are best seen as minimums , not exact counts.
Age and Generational Trends
Younger Americans are more likely to identify as transgender.
- Youth 13–17: about 3.3% identify as transgender.
- Young adults 18–24: around 2.7% identify as transgender in some newer analyses.
- Adults 25–64: estimates drop under 0.5%.
- Adults 65+: around 0.26–0.32% identify as transgender.
A simple way to see it: the younger the age group, the more likely people are to openly identify as trans or with another gender-diverse label.
A Note on “Americans” vs “Adults”
When people ask “what percentage of Americans are transgender,” they usually mean the whole population, not just adults.
- If you look at all Americans 13 and older , the best recent research clusters around 1%.
- If you look at adults only , newer national survey data comes in just under 1%, at about 0.95%.
So, a fair, plain-language answer is:
Around 1 in 100 Americans age 13+ identify as transgender today.
Mini Table of Core Estimates
| Group | Estimated % transgender | Approx. count |
|---|---|---|
| All people 13+ in U.S. | ~1.0% | ~2.8 million |
| All adults (18+) | ~0.8–0.95% | ~2.1–2.3 million |
| Youth 13–17 | ~3.3% | ~724,000 |
Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.
