Study: Over 1.6 Million Identify As Trans In US; Rise in Trans Youth

A new study released on Friday, June 10 estimates that, in the United States, there are over 1.6 million people, over the age of 13, that identify as transgender.  

The data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) health surveys were analysed by researchers at the Williams Institute, A UCLA Law School-based think tank that focuses on gender identity.

Looking deeper into the figures, 1.3 million adults over the age of 17 and about 300 thousand youth between 13 and 17 years old identify as transgender.

Of the 1.3 million adults, 38.5% are transgender women, 35.9% are transgender men, and 25.6% are gender nonconforming.

According to the report, “Based on our estimates from 2016-2017 and the current report, we find that the percentage and number of adults who identify as transgender has remained steady over time.”

The report went on to say, however,  youth between the ages of 13 and 17 “comprise a larger share of the transgender-identified population than we previously estimated, currently comprising about 18% of the transgender-identified population in the U.S., up from 10% previously.”

One of the study’s authors, Jody L. Herman, said, “This report shows trans people live everywhere and their needs and concerns need to be listened to and be addressed in the public policy landscape.”