Nearly 1.5 million people now identify as trans, study finds
A new study has revealed that the amount of trans people living openly in the US has increased dramatically.
A new study – conducted by The Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law – has found that the U.S. transgender community may have as many as 1.4 million adults.
The study – titled ‘How Many Adults Identify as Transgender in the United States’ – estimates that 0.6% of American adults identify as transgender.
In addition, the study gives a state by state breakdown for the first time of how many trans people live in each area, allowing researchers to draw some interesting comparisons.
The group behind the study say that such findings should be used by lawmakers in the country moving forward, in order to help them understand how many trans people their legislation truly effects.
“The findings from this study are critical to current policy discussions that impact transgender people,” said Jody Herman, one of the authors.
“Policy debates on access to bathrooms, discrimination and a host of other issues should rely on the best available data to assess potential impacts, including how many people may be affected.”
The study found that Hawaii (0.8%), California (0.8%), Georgia (0.8%), New Mexico (0.8%), Texas (0.7%), and Florida (0.7%) are the states containing the highest percentages of adults who identify as transgender.
In stark contrast, North Dakota (0.3%), Iowa (0.3%), Wyoming (0.3%), Montana (0.3%), and South Dakota (0.3%) have the lowest.
The findings also suggested that young adults are more likely than older adults to identify as trans.
“Among adults ages 18 to 24, 0.7% identify as transgender; among adults ages 25 to 64, 0.6% identify as transgender; and among adults ages 65 and older, 0.5% identify as transgender,” the study states.
According to the press release, the 1.4 million figure is double of the estimates from 10 years ago.
