What percentage of the United States population is made up of LGBT individuals? The Gallup Poll, through the polling it has done over time, estimates the gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender population to be about 4.5%. That may be a point or two off (due to some being the the closet still), but I suspect it is very close to accurate. But 4.5% is not a small number in a country with as many people as the United States -- with 4.5% of 329 million people being about 14.8 million people.
But the American public has an exaggerated view of the number of LGBT individual in this country. Gallup has polled that question three times -- in May 2011, May 2015, and May 2019. In 2011, the public's estimate was 24.6%, in 2015 it was 23.2%, and this year it was 23.6%. That's nearly a quarter of the population (about one out of every four people)!!!
Why would the public have such an inflated view of the number of LGBT individuals? I think it comes from social media and events like Pride parades. While LGBT individuals make up only 4.5% of the population, most no longer hide in the closet. They are loud and proud! And they have every right to be.
Frankly, I found this poll amusing. The country has gone from trying to deny that any LGBT persons exist, to vastly inflating their numbers. Neither view is very logical -- but then we don't seem to be a very logical country (just look at the last president chosen).
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