Behind every statistic is a human story—this is especially true when we look at the estimated 1.6 million transgender individuals ages 13 and older in the United States, a figure that is part of a complex global tapestry of identity, resilience, and challenge.
Key Takeaways
- In the United States, an estimated 1.6 million people ages 13 and older identify as transgender, representing 0.6% of that age group
- Globally, the transgender population is estimated at around 25 million people based on varying national surveys
- In the UK, 0.5% of the population aged 16 and over (about 262,000 people) identified as transgender in the 2021 Census
- U.S. adults 18-24: 2% identify as transgender per Gallup 2023
- Transgender U.S. population by race: 48% White, 22% Hispanic, 15% Black, 9% Asian, 6% Other per Williams Institute
- Among U.S. trans adults, 38.5% ages 18-29, 35.9% 30-49, 19.7% 50-64, 5.8% 65+
- 44% of U.S. transgender adults have attempted suicide
- 82% of transgender individuals have considered suicide, per 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey
- HIV prevalence among U.S. trans women: 14.1%
- 29% of U.S. trans adults unemployed, vs 5% general population
- Poverty rate: 29% U.S. trans adults below poverty line, vs 12% cis
- Median income: $52,200 for trans households vs $68,300 general
- 54% of U.S. trans people avoided medical care due to discrimination
- 46% of trans people sexually assaulted
- 9% physically attacked due to trans status past year
Transgender populations are small but face significant discrimination and health disparities worldwide.
Demographics
- U.S. adults 18-24: 2% identify as transgender per Gallup 2023
- Transgender U.S. population by race: 48% White, 22% Hispanic, 15% Black, 9% Asian, 6% Other per Williams Institute
- Among U.S. trans adults, 38.5% ages 18-29, 35.9% 30-49, 19.7% 50-64, 5.8% 65+
- Urban vs rural: 78% of U.S. trans people live in urban areas
- U.S. trans women: 515,200 estimated, trans men: 480,000, non-binary: 240,000+
- In UK, 48% of trans people under 25, per 2021 ONS Census
- U.S. trans by education: 54% some college+, 16% bachelor's+
- Geographic: California has largest U.S. trans population (218,400)
- Among U.S. trans youth, 72% assigned female at birth
- U.S. trans Black population: 23,000 youth
- Income: 30% of U.S. trans adults earn under $25k/year
- Marital status: 12% U.S. trans adults married to opposite gender, 17% same gender
- Parental status: 26% of U.S. trans adults have children under 18
- U.S. trans Hispanic: 18% of total trans population
- Age distribution UK trans: 0.1% over 65, vs 0.7% under 21
- U.S. trans Asian/Pacific Islander: 38,000 adults
- Disability: 33% U.S. trans adults report disability
- Military service: 18% U.S. trans adults served in military
- Region: Northeast U.S. 0.8% trans prevalence
- U.S. trans Native American: 12,000 adults estimated
- Employment status: 69% U.S. trans adults employed full/part-time
- Household size: Average 2.4 persons for U.S. trans households
- Citizenship: 93% U.S. trans adults U.S. citizens
- Language: 12% U.S. trans adults speak non-English at home
- Insurance: 70% U.S. trans adults have health insurance
- Voter registration: 79% U.S. trans adults registered to vote
Demographics Interpretation
While the numbers show a population concentrated in youth and cities, the true story is that being transgender isn't a "new trend" but a human reality woven into every age, race, and walk of American life, from military service to parenthood, whose most pressing statistic might be that 30% live in poverty despite being more educated and civically engaged than you'd expect.
Discrimination and Violence
- 54% of U.S. trans people avoided medical care due to discrimination
- 46% of trans people sexually assaulted
- 9% physically attacked due to trans status past year
- Verbal harassment: 59% monthly
- Police mistreatment: 47% lifetime
- Family rejection: 40% of trans youth
- Workplace discrimination: 77% experienced some form
- School bullying: 75% trans students
- Homicide rate: Trans women 4x higher murder risk
- Public accommodation denial: 11% past year
- Family violence: 25% physically attacked by family
- Intimate partner violence: 37% lifetime
- Transphobic hate crimes: 2,400 reported U.S. 2022
- Youth cyberbullying: 42% trans youth online harassment
- Healthcare refusal: 28% denied equal treatment
- Religious discrimination: 12% workplace due to faith-based bias
- Bathroom harassment: 59% verbal, 12% physical
- Black trans violence: 50%+ of homicides
- Elder trans: 20% more isolation discrimination
- Legal discrimination complaints: 500+ EEOC trans cases yearly
- Street harassment: 70% weekly experiences
- Youth expulsion risk: 10% disciplined more harshly
- Partner abuse higher: 2x rate for trans survivors
- Global trans murders: 375 in 2023 per TGEU
Discrimination and Violence Interpretation
The grim arithmetic of transgender life reveals not individual struggles but a society-wide siege, where simply existing means running a daily gauntlet of violence, rejection, and systemic neglect.
Health and Well-being
- 44% of U.S. transgender adults have attempted suicide
- 82% of transgender individuals have considered suicide, per 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey
- HIV prevalence among U.S. trans women: 14.1%
- 39% of trans people report serious psychological distress, vs 5% general pop
- Depression rates: 51% of trans youth depressed, per Trevor Project 2023
- Anxiety: 63% of U.S. trans adults lifetime diagnosis
- Substance use: 26% trans adults misused drugs past year
- Smoking: 29% U.S. trans adults current smokers
- Obesity: 32% of trans adults obese
- Hormone therapy access: 49% trans adults on HRT
- Surgery: 25% trans people had some gender-affirming surgery
- Post-transition regret: 1% for surgery per long-term Swedish study
- Suicide attempt post-transition: 19.1x higher than controls in Sweden
- Eating disorders: 22% trans youth with diagnosis
- Chronic conditions: 22% asthma, 10% diabetes in trans adults
- Sleep issues: 44% trans adults insomnia symptoms
- Cancer screening: 24% trans men never Pap test
- Mental health treatment: 40% trans adults received counseling past year
- Self-harm: 40% lifetime history among trans adults
- Hospitalization: 15% trans adults mental health inpatient past 5 years
- Life satisfaction post-transition: 94% satisfied with hormones
- Bone density loss: 65% trans women on HRT have osteoporosis risk
- Cardiovascular risk: 2-5x higher post-GAHT in some cohorts
- Infertility: 100% after certain surgeries/HRT durations
- Youth dysphoria persistence: 88% desist by adulthood in Dutch clinic
Health and Well-being Interpretation
The statistics paint a harrowing portrait of a population in a profound state of crisis, not from being transgender itself, but from the devastating toll of relentless social stigma, discrimination, and lack of access to affirming care, where even the life-saving path of transition is often a fraught journey through a medical and social minefield.
Prevalence and Size
- In the United States, an estimated 1.6 million people ages 13 and older identify as transgender, representing 0.6% of that age group
- Globally, the transgender population is estimated at around 25 million people based on varying national surveys
- In the UK, 0.5% of the population aged 16 and over (about 262,000 people) identified as transgender in the 2021 Census
- Among U.S. high school students, 3.3% identify as transgender according to the 2021 Youth Risk Behavior Survey
- In Canada, 0.15% of the population aged 15 and older (59,460 people) identified as transgender in 2021
- Australia's 2021 Census found 0.52% of people aged 15+ (117,800) identified with a non-binary or transgender gender
- In New Zealand, 1.2% of adults identify as transgender or non-binary per 2018 Counting Ourselves survey
- U.S. military veterans: 30,000 transgender individuals estimated in 2021
- Among U.S. college students, 2.2% identify as transgender per 2022 Healthy Minds Study
- In Brazil, estimates suggest 2% of the population (about 4 million) are transgender
- India's transgender population officially estimated at 487,803 in 2011 Census
- In Thailand, up to 0.3% of population (200,000+) identify as transgender
- U.S. adults: 0.7% (1.4 million age 18+) per 2022 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System
- Among U.S. youth ages 13-17, 300,000 identify as transgender (1.4%)
- In Germany, 0.17% (140,000) estimated transgender adults in 2022
- Sweden's transgender population growth: 40-fold increase in gender dysphoria diagnoses from 2008-2018
- Netherlands: 0.6% of youth seeking gender care in 2022, up from prior years
- U.S. incarceration: 5,000-7,000 transgender inmates estimated
- In Japan, 0.03% official transgender count but underreported at ~10,000 known
- South Africa: 0.5% (300,000) estimated transgender population
- U.S. K-12 students: ~224,000 transgender youth in 2022
- Europe-wide: 2-5% youth gender minority identification in recent surveys
- Mexico: 0.1% (125,000) registered transgender persons in 2020
- Finland: 5,000 transgender individuals officially recognized in 2023
- U.S. homeless youth: 34% of LGBTQ+ are transgender (disproportionate)
- Norway: 0.4% adults transgender identified in 2022 survey
- Argentina: 0.005% (2,500) transgender ID changes by 2020
- U.S. federal prisoners: 1,514 transgender inmates in 2022 BOP data
- Global youth: 1-2% identify as trans/non-binary in WHO surveys
Prevalence and Size Interpretation
While the percentages may seem small in isolation, the global tapestry of transgender lives, from Brazil's vibrant communities to the disproportionate struggles of homeless youth, paints a clear picture: this is not a niche issue, but a fundamental human reality spanning every nation and generation.
Socioeconomic Status
- 29% of U.S. trans adults unemployed, vs 5% general population
- Poverty rate: 29% U.S. trans adults below poverty line, vs 12% cis
- Median income: $52,200 for trans households vs $68,300 general
- Food insecurity: 47% trans adults experienced past year
- Homelessness: 34% lifetime experience among trans adults
- Eviction: 11% trans adults evicted past 5 years
- College attainment: 21% bachelor's degree vs 36% general pop
- Public assistance: 18% trans adults receive SNAP
- Underemployment: 14% working multiple jobs
- Wage gap: Trans women earn 60 cents/dollar vs cis women
- Job loss due to trans status: 30% experienced
- Denied promotion: 32% trans workers
- Housing discrimination: 19% denied housing
- Credit denial: 22% trans adults issues getting credit
- Student debt: 25% trans with $30k+ debt
- Entrepreneurship: 10% self-employed trans adults
- Disability income: 13% receive SSDI/SSI
- Rent burden: 50% spend 30%+ income on housing
- Trans youth poverty: 50% in low-income households
- Black trans poverty: 52% below poverty line
- Rural trans unemployment: 40%+
- Median trans wage: $42k vs $56k cis
Socioeconomic Status Interpretation
Trans people are surviving in a nation whose economy greets them at the door with a résumé-shaped rejection letter, a pre-denied loan application, and an eviction notice tucked inside their diploma frame.
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