Gay Population by State

Map

Table

Introduction

Until recently it was difficult to estimate the gay population of a state. Between laws that banned homosexuality and private stigmas toward it, many gay people would not have the possibility to disclose their sexual orientation. But as the public opinion changed, homosexuality became more accepted, less stigmatized and marginalized. Moreover, modifications in the country’s legislation also made it less challenging to measure a population’s sexual orientation. For example, the legalization of gay marriage across the country allowed for statistics to start tracking same-sex marriages.

The fight for LGBT rights was primarily engaged in the streets. However, debates in the courtroom significantly participated in changing the legislation. In 2003, the first win was in Lawrence v. Texas, where the Supreme Court overturned a Texas anti-sodomy law. After several losses in the electoral sphere, including the initial passage of California’s Proposition 8, the Supreme Court made same-sex marriage the law of the land in Obergefell v. Hodges. Most recently, the Supreme Court extended the protections of Title XI to include sexual orientation and gender expression in Bostock v. Clayton County.

See for yourself how the gay population varies by state by scrolling through the charts.

#StateLGBT PopulationTransgender Population
1California1,859,0000.49%
2Texas1,053,0000.43%
3New York913,0000.53%
4Florida886,0000.55%
5Illinois506,0000.44%
6Pennsylvania490,0000.55%
7Ohio462,0000.51%
8Georgia425,0000.6%
9North Carolina382,0000.87%
10Michigan373,0000.42%
11New Jersey343,0000.62%
12Washington342,0000.56%
13Massachusetts335,0000.67%
14Virginia308,0000.47%
15Arizona286,0000.73%
16Indiana272,0000.5%
17Colorado234,0000.6%
18Maryland234,0000.51%
19Tennessee223,0000.52%
20Missouri217,0000.2%
21Minnesota210,0000.6%
22Oregon207,0000.59%
23Wisconsin207,0000.34%
24Louisiana169,0000.44%
25South Carolina167,0000.47%
26Alabama147,0000.48%
27Nevada145,0000.34%
28Kentucky144,0000.51%
29Oklahoma138,0000.63%
30Connecticut133,0000.54%
31Iowa106,0000.29%
32Utah104,0000.6%
33Mississippi99,0000.42%
34Arkansas95,0000.7%
35Kansas92,0000.56%
36New Mexico85,0000.67%
37West Virginia68,0000.4%
38Nebraska67,0000.45%
39Maine60,0000.53%
40Hawaii59,0000.7%
41New Hampshire59,0000.57%
42Idaho48,0000.52%
43Rhode Island44,0000.66%
44Delaware40,0000.82%
45Montana30,0000.41%
46Vermont30,0000.53%
47Alaska25,0000.7%
48South Dakota25,0000.44%
49North Dakota20,0000.43%
50Wyoming18,0000.48%

LGBT Population by State

Alabama

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LGBT Population

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147,000

Ranked in the US

#26

Ranked in the US

#34

LGBT Population

Transgender Population

Alaska

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LGBT Population

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25,000

Ranked in the US

#47

Ranked in the US

#5

LGBT Population

Transgender Population

Arizona

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LGBT Population

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286,000

Ranked in the US

#15

Ranked in the US

#4

LGBT Population

Transgender Population

Arkansas

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LGBT Population

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95,000

Ranked in the US

#34

Ranked in the US

#6

LGBT Population

Transgender Population

California

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1,859,000

Ranked in the US

#1

Ranked in the US

#33

LGBT Population

Transgender Population

Colorado

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234,000

Ranked in the US

#17

Ranked in the US

#13

LGBT Population

Transgender Population

Connecticut

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133,000

Ranked in the US

#30

Ranked in the US

#23

LGBT Population

Transgender Population

Delaware

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40,000

Ranked in the US

#44

Ranked in the US

#3

LGBT Population

Transgender Population

Florida

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886,000

Ranked in the US

#4

Ranked in the US

#21

LGBT Population

Transgender Population

Georgia

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425,000

Ranked in the US

#8

Ranked in the US

#14

LGBT Population

Transgender Population

Hawaii

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59,000

Ranked in the US

#40

Ranked in the US

#7

LGBT Population

Transgender Population

Idaho

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48,000

Ranked in the US

#42

Ranked in the US

#27

LGBT Population

Transgender Population

Illinois

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506,000

Ranked in the US

#5

Ranked in the US

#39

LGBT Population

Transgender Population

Indiana

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272,000

Ranked in the US

#16

Ranked in the US

#32

LGBT Population

Transgender Population

Iowa

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106,000

Ranked in the US

#31

Ranked in the US

#50

LGBT Population

Transgender Population

Kansas

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92,000

Ranked in the US

#35

Ranked in the US

#19

LGBT Population

Transgender Population

Kentucky

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144,000

Ranked in the US

#28

Ranked in the US

#29

LGBT Population

Transgender Population

Louisiana

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169,000

Ranked in the US

#24

Ranked in the US

#40

LGBT Population

Transgender Population

Maine

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LGBT Population

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60,000

Ranked in the US

#39

Ranked in the US

#24

LGBT Population

Transgender Population

Maryland

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234,000

Ranked in the US

#18

Ranked in the US

#30

LGBT Population

Transgender Population

Massachusetts

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335,000

Ranked in the US

#13

Ranked in the US

#8

LGBT Population

Transgender Population

Michigan

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373,000

Ranked in the US

#10

Ranked in the US

#44

LGBT Population

Transgender Population

Minnesota

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210,000

Ranked in the US

#21

Ranked in the US

#15

LGBT Population

Transgender Population

Mississippi

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99,000

Ranked in the US

#33

Ranked in the US

#45

LGBT Population

Transgender Population

Missouri

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217,000

Ranked in the US

#20

Ranked in the US

#51

LGBT Population

Transgender Population

Montana

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30,000

Ranked in the US

#45

Ranked in the US

#46

LGBT Population

Transgender Population

Nebraska

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67,000

Ranked in the US

#38

Ranked in the US

#38

LGBT Population

Transgender Population

Nevada

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145,000

Ranked in the US

#27

Ranked in the US

#48

LGBT Population

Transgender Population

New Hampshire

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59,000

Ranked in the US

#41

Ranked in the US

#18

LGBT Population

Transgender Population

New Jersey

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343,000

Ranked in the US

#11

Ranked in the US

#12

LGBT Population

Transgender Population

New Mexico

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85,000

Ranked in the US

#36

Ranked in the US

#9

LGBT Population

Transgender Population

New York

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913,000

Ranked in the US

#3

Ranked in the US

#25

LGBT Population

Transgender Population

North Carolina

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382,000

Ranked in the US

#9

Ranked in the US

#2

LGBT Population

Transgender Population

North Dakota

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20,000

Ranked in the US

#49

Ranked in the US

#42

LGBT Population

Transgender Population

Ohio

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462,000

Ranked in the US

#7

Ranked in the US

#31

LGBT Population

Transgender Population

Oklahoma

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138,000

Ranked in the US

#29

Ranked in the US

#11

LGBT Population

Transgender Population

Oregon

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207,000

Ranked in the US

#22

Ranked in the US

#17

LGBT Population

Transgender Population

Pennsylvania

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LGBT Population

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490,000

Ranked in the US

#6

Ranked in the US

#22

LGBT Population

Transgender Population

Rhode Island

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44,000

Ranked in the US

#43

Ranked in the US

#10

LGBT Population

Transgender Population

South Carolina

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167,000

Ranked in the US

#25

Ranked in the US

#36

LGBT Population

Transgender Population

South Dakota

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25,000

Ranked in the US

#48

Ranked in the US

#41

LGBT Population

Transgender Population

Tennessee

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223,000

Ranked in the US

#19

Ranked in the US

#28

LGBT Population

Transgender Population

Texas

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1,053,000

Ranked in the US

#2

Ranked in the US

#43

LGBT Population

Transgender Population

Utah

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104,000

Ranked in the US

#32

Ranked in the US

#16

LGBT Population

Transgender Population

Vermont

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30,000

Ranked in the US

#46

Ranked in the US

#26

LGBT Population

Transgender Population

Virginia

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308,000

Ranked in the US

#14

Ranked in the US

#37

LGBT Population

Transgender Population

Washington

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342,000

Ranked in the US

#12

Ranked in the US

#20

LGBT Population

Transgender Population

West Virginia

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68,000

Ranked in the US

#37

Ranked in the US

#47

LGBT Population

Transgender Population

Wisconsin

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207,000

Ranked in the US

#23

Ranked in the US

#49

LGBT Population

Transgender Population

Wyoming

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18,000

Ranked in the US

#50

Ranked in the US

#35

LGBT Population

Transgender Population