How many LGBTQ+ adults are in Ohio?

New research released by the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Foundation indicates a much higher percentage than previously estimated of LGBTQ+ adults across the country, and most certainly in Ohio.

Using data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey collected between 2021 and 2024, HRC estimates that 12% of U.S. adults – roughly 25.6 million people – identify as LGBTQ+.

In Ohio, the new analysis determined that 11.29% of state residents are LGBTQ+ adults, roughly 883,000 people.

Researchers with HRC explained that the Household Pulse Survey had a large enough sample size to be reliable data.

“We pooled together 2.4 million people in our sample, which allowed us to calculate accurate and representative samples,” Charleigh Flohr, associate director of research, told The Buckeye Flame.

A 2023 report from the Williams Institute – a research center on sexual orientation and gender identity law and public policy – estimated that there were 557,600 LGBTQ+ adults in Ohio, 6.2% of the state’s population. That’s over 325,000 less LGBTQ+ adults than HRC estimated.

Flohr explained that the substantial difference in numbers can be explained by Williams using data from 2020-21, as opposed to the HRC data, which was pulled from 2021-2024.

Additionally, the Williams data was derived from telephone surveys, during which individuals are less likely to share their LGBTQ+ identity than self-reporting on an online survey, like the HRC one.

“Different methodologies can lead to different results,” said Flohr.

HRC staff want to be crystal clear on one point: The difference in numbers does not mean that 326,000 LGBTQ+ adults suddenly came out the closet or moved to Ohio. The uptick in estimates just means that HRC’s estimates are higher.

Based on HRC’s numbers, Ohio joins the 40 states with an LGBTQ+ population greater than 10%. Additionally, as 53.8% of these LGBTQ+ adults nationwide are between 18 and 34, HRC staff say this indicates long-term growth in political and economic power as this generation ages into peak spending and voting years.

“We’re not a niche constituency, and no campaign, brand or employer can afford to treat us like one,” HRC President Kelley Robinson said in a statement.

Collecting this information in upcoming years will be difficult, given that the Trump administration has eliminated hundreds of opportunities to collect information on sexual orientation and gender identity from federal data collection.

“Over 360 instances of federal data collection have had our LGBTQ+ community just wiped out,” said Florhr. “We’re just doing what we can do to fill in those data gaps.” 🔥