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Which US state has the highest LGBT+ population percentage?
Executive Summary
The most recent, widely cited analyses place the District of Columbia at the top of U.S. jurisdictions for the share of adults identifying as LGBT, at about 14.3 percent, but D.C. is not a state; when the question is restricted to the 50 states the leading candidate is Oregon, with estimates ranging from about 5.6 percent to 7.8 percent depending on the dataset and year. Different studies use different years, sampling methods and LGBT definitions, which explains why older Gallup data names Hawaii as the highest state in earlier surveys while multiple Williams Institute summaries from 2023–2025 identify Oregon, Delaware, Vermont and New Hampshire among the states with the largest percentages [1] [2] [3] [4].
1. Why Washington, D.C. Keeps Topping Lists — But It’s Not a State and That Matters
Surveys and model-based estimates repeatedly report Washington, D.C. as having the highest share of adults who identify as LGBT — commonly cited at 14.3 percent in Williams Institute analyses — because its urban demographics, younger age profile and visible LGBTQ communities produce higher self-identification rates. Reporting D.C. at the top is accurate for U.S. jurisdictions, but the District is legally and politically distinct from the 50 states, so answering “which state” requires excluding D.C.; many summaries explicitly note this distinction [1] [5]. The practical effect is that headlines can be technically correct yet misleading if readers assume “state” includes the District, so clarifying that D.C. leads all jurisdictions but is not a state is essential for correct interpretation [1] [3].
2. Why Oregon Often Shows Up as the “Gayest State” in Recent Data
Multiple recent reports and compilations based on Williams Institute estimates and other analyses list Oregon as having the highest LGBT share among the 50 states, with figures cited around 7.8 percent in some write-ups and 5.6 percent in others, reflecting different publications and date ranges. This consistency across several sources supports the conclusion that Oregon is the leading state by percentage in recent multi-year estimates, though the exact point estimate varies by year and methodology [2] [3] [6]. Those variations arise because some sources aggregate 2020–2021 pooled data, others report earlier or narrower survey windows, and some use model-based small-area estimates to infer state shares from national samples [2] [3].
3. Older Surveys Tell a Different Story — Hawaii and Other Early Leaders
Earlier Gallup and survey-era reports show a different distribution: Gallup’s 2012-era analysis placed Hawaii as the highest among states at about 5.1 percent, with the District at 10 percent in that older dataset. Those historic figures reflect an earlier national baseline for LGBT identification, before the sharper increases in self-identification observed among younger cohorts in the 2010s and early 2020s. Comparing Gallup’s older state-level percentages with more recent Williams Institute estimates shows trends of rising self-identification and shifting geographic patterns, not necessarily a contradiction: methodological and temporal differences explain why Hawaii leads in older data while Oregon and other states lead in newer analyses [4] [7].
4. Numbers vs. Percentages — California Leads in Raw Counts, Not Share
Some sources emphasize total counts rather than percentages: California has the largest number of adults who identify as LGBT because it is the most populous state, but that does not make it the highest by share of the population. Distinguishing raw population counts (how many) from percentage shares (how many per 100 residents) resolves apparent conflicts between headlines that name California as home to the most LGBT people and those that name states like Oregon or Vermont as having the highest percentages. Careful readers should check whether a claim refers to absolute numbers or percentage of state population to avoid conflating different measures [8] [3].
5. What Explains Discrepancies Across Studies — Methodology, Time Window, and Definitions
Discrepancies across the cited sources stem from three primary differences: survey timing (older Gallup waves vs. pooled 2020–2023 estimates), methodology (direct state-level survey estimates vs. modeled small-area estimates), and how LGBT identity is asked and defined (some analyses include different combinations of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer-plus categories). These methodological choices change both the absolute percentages and the state rankings; model-based estimates can inflate precision for small states but depend on assumptions, while direct-survey estimates sacrifice sample size. The best summary is to state the consistent factual pair: D.C. has the highest share overall; among states, recent multi-source analyses most often list Oregon as highest, but point estimates differ by dataset and year [1] [2] [9].
6. Bottom Line for the Question Asked — State-Only Answer with Caveats
Answering strictly for U.S. states and based on the most recent cross-compiled findings available, Oregon is the state most frequently identified as having the highest LGBT population percentage in recent Williams Institute–based summaries and related reports, though published point estimates range from roughly 5.6 percent to 7.8 percent, and other studies from earlier years name Hawaii or Vermont as leaders. For clarity: include D.C. and the single highest jurisdiction is Washington, D.C. (~14.3%); exclude D.C. and Oregon is the most defensible answer given contemporary multi-source reporting, with the caveat that estimates vary by study year and method [1] [2] [4] [3].