Authors’ note: The disability community is rapidly evolving to using identity-first language in place of person-first language. This is because it views disability as being a core component of identity, much like race and gender. Some members of the community, such as people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, prefer person-first language. In this report, the terms are used interchangeably.
Introduction and summary
In 2024, state legislatures introduced more than 530 bills targeting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and intersex (LGBTQI+) people,1 and in 2025, the community may be facing the most anti-LGBTQI+ administration in recent history.2 In an environment that increasingly politicizes the rights and dignity of LGBTQI+ people, it is crucial to ascertain how discrimination and stigma continue to affect the community. For this reason, the Center for American Progress has partnered with the nonpartisan research group NORC at the University of Chicago to identify the barriers and challenges that LGBTQI+ adults currently face in the United States and to determine how the community is faring across the country.
LGBTQI+ people experience discrimination and hardships in many areas of life. Bias and discrimination can affect individuals’ ability to access housing, find employment, and even be safe at school.3 According to survey findings, these barriers can be heightened for disabled LGBTQI+ people and LGBTQI+ people of color. Discrimination can lead to higher rates of homelessness and health disparities. Because LGBTQI+ people are at greater risk for isolation and violence, access to safe housing and health care is even more crucial.4
This report presents findings from Wave 3 of CAP’s LGBTQI+ Community Survey.5 The survey was conducted in partnership with the nonpartisan research group NORC at the University of Chicago and is a nationally representative sampling of LGBTQI+ and non-LGBTQI+ people over 18 in the United States. A total of 3,360 respondents are included in the analysis, of which 1,703 are LGBTQI+ and 1,657 are non-LGBTQI+. The methodology report and data are on file with the authors.
Background on NORC AmeriSpeak
Funded and operated by NORC at the University of Chicago, AmeriSpeak is a panel-based research platform designed to be representative of the U.S. household population. Randomly selected U.S. households are sampled using area probability and address-based sampling, with a known, nonzero probability of selection from the NORC National Frame. These sampled households are then contacted by mail, telephone, or field interviewers in person. The panel provides sample coverage of approximately 97 percent of the U.S. household population. Those excluded from the sample include people with P.O. box-only addresses, some people whose addresses are not listed in the U.S. Postal Service’s Delivery Sequence File, and some people who live in newly constructed dwellings. While most AmeriSpeak households participate in surveys by web, noninternet households can participate in surveys by telephone. Households without conventional internet access but with web access via smartphones are allowed to participate in AmeriSpeak surveys. While panelists are counted as individuals in the survey, the number of members in each respondent’s household is noted. AmeriSpeak panelists participate in NORC studies or studies conducted by NORC on behalf of government agencies, academic researchers, and media and commercial organizations.
A sample of U.S. adults ages 18 and older were selected from NORC’s AmeriSpeak panel for this study. This panel was supplemented with respondents from the Dynata nonprobability online opt-in panel, which NORC used TrueNorth calibration services to incorporate. The TrueNorth calibration was used to adjust the weights for the nonprobability sample and to bring weighted distributions of the nonprobability sample in line with the population distribution for characteristics correlated with the survey variables. CAP provided NORC with a survey questionnaire that NORC submitted for approval by an institutional review board before programming the survey. NORC conducted a pretest and then fielded the survey over three weeks from July 1, 2024, to July 25, 2024.
The 2024 survey shows that LGBTQI+ people continue to experience significantly higher rates of discrimination than non-LGBTQI+ people across every queried environment, including in health care, employment, and school settings. Furthermore, LGBTQI+ people of color and disabled LGBTQI+ people experience higher rates of discrimination than their white and nondisabled counterparts. The 2024 survey is similar to the 2022 survey in that it includes responses from a significant sample of intersex people.
Major findings of the 2024 survey include that more than one-third—36 percent—of LGBTQI+ adults in the United States experienced some kind of discrimination in the previous year. Other key findings from the survey include:
- More than 2 in 10 transgender adults reported experiencing some kind of housing discrimination.
- Nearly 1 in 4 LGBTQI+ adults reported experiencing discrimination in the workplace.
- Nearly half of transgender adults reported experiencing discrimination in public spaces, including stores, restaurants, public transportation, and restrooms.
- Nearly 1 in 4 intersex adults had to travel to a different state in order to access abortion, reproductive, or maternal care because laws in their state ban or restrict it.
The results of the 2024 survey make it worryingly clear that LGBTQI+ communities struggle with discrimination and hardship in many areas of life. These new data can provide crucial insights for engaging in evidence-based policymaking, informing the care of LGBTQI+ patients, and more.
LGBTQI+ people experience high rates of discrimination
LGBTQI+ people experience discrimination at higher rates than their cisgender and heterosexual peers. For LGBTQI+ people of color and disabled LGBTQI+ people, these rates are even higher. Discrimination has immediate impacts—such as making it harder to get and keep a job or find a home—as well as lasting effects. In addition to facing structural barriers, people who experience discrimination are more likely to have poorer mental and physical health outcomes.6
Survey respondents were asked, “In the past year, have you experienced discrimination of any kind based on your race or ethnicity, national origin, sex or sex characteristics, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, disability, economic status, immigration status, or age?” LGBTQI+ participants reported that they were more likely to experience discrimination than non-LGBTQI+ individuals. According to the survey, 36 percent of LGBTQI+ adults, compared with 17 percent of non-LGBTQI+ adults, experienced discrimination in 2024. This percentage jumps to 40 percent for LGBTQI+ adults of color, compared with 26 percent for non-LGBTQI+ adults of color. Additionally, transgender participants reported some of the highest rates of discrimination: The survey found that 62 percent of transgender adults experienced discrimination last year.
All respondents who shared that they experienced discrimination were asked for further details, such as where it took place. Survey participants were given multiple venues from which to choose and were allowed to select multiple options based on their experiences. The survey asked about discrimination at work, in public spaces, at school, in law enforcement interactions, and in seeking government-funded resources such as Meals on Wheels. According to the survey, 23 percent of LGBTQI+ adults experienced discrimination in the workplace last year. In public spaces, transgender adults again had high rates of discrimination, with nearly half (47 percent) experiencing discrimination in public areas such as restaurants or shops.
According to the survey, LGBTQI+ people in the United States took a litany of actions to avoid discrimination in 2024, including hiding personal relationships. When LGBTQI+ people feel unable to be themselves and unwelcome in their communities, they may struggle with isolation, worsened mental health, and difficulty accessing needed services.7 In the year prior to the survey, more than half of LGBTQI+ adults hid a personal relationship; 63 percent of transgender adults made decisions about where to work at least in part to avoid discrimination; and 42 percent of intersex adults moved somewhere new in efforts to avoid discrimination.
Discrimination experienced in multiple venues, including work, public spaces, and services
Experiencing discrimination carries a range of costly impacts. Discrimination affected the mental well-being of 52 percent of LGBTQI+ adults “significantly or more.” This jumps to 61 percent for disabled LGBTQI+ adults and 74 percent for transgender adults. Discrimination also affected LGBTQI+ people physically, with 29 percent of LGBTQI+ survey respondents reporting at least “moderate” impacts on their physical well-being in 2024.
In addition to mental and physical well-being, discrimination affected LGBTQI+ people’s financial well-being, with nearly one-third of LGBTQI+ adults (31 percent) reporting it did so “significantly or more.”
FIGURE 5
Only 1 in 10 LGBTQI+ adults rate their mental and physical health as having been excellent in the past year
*For the purposes of this survey, the statistics for transgender individuals include nonbinary, agender, and genderqueer respondents.
**For the purposes of this survey, the statistics for people of color include Black, Hispanic/Latino, Asian-Pacific Islander, and multiracial individuals, as well as those identifying as “other, non-Hispanic.”
Source: Center for American Progress and NORC at the University of Chicago online survey, June to July 2024, on file with the authors.
Chart: Center for American Progress
Only 1 in 10 LGBTQI+ adults rate their mental and physical health as having been excellent in the past year
*For the purposes of this survey, the statistics for transgender individuals include nonbinary, agender, and genderqueer respondents.
**For the purposes of this survey, the statistics for people of color include Black, Hispanic/Latino, Asian-Pacific Islander, and multiracial individuals, as well as those identifying as “other, non-Hispanic.”
Source: Center for American Progress and NORC at the University of Chicago online survey, June to July 2024, on file with the authors.
Chart: Center for American Progress
LGBTQI+ people face significant barriers to health care access
According to the survey results, LGBTQI+ people contend with significant barriers to adequate health care. LGBTQI+ people are not only more likely to have difficulty affording health care costs than their non-LGBTQI+ counterparts, but they are also more likely to be managing chronic conditions and disabilities.8 In 2024, only 10 percent of LGBTQI+ people reported having excellent mental health, and only 11 percent reported being in excellent physical health.
Postponing and avoiding care
LGBTQI+ adults were more likely than their peers to postpone or not try to access medical care due to factors such as cost, discrimination, and insurance challenges in 2024. A higher proportion of LGBTQI+ adults postponed care when sick or injured because they could not afford it: 33 percent, compared with 15 percent of non-LGBTQI+ adults. These numbers climb even higher for transgender and intersex adults: 45 percent of transgender adults postponed care due to affordability, as did 60 percent of intersex adults.
More than one-third of transgender adults (37 percent) postponed or did not try to access needed medical care due to the fear of experiencing disrespect and discrimination. The same was true for 21 percent of LGBTQI+ adults and 45 percent of intersex adults. LGBTQI+ adults also put off or avoided preventative care, such as screenings, due to the risk of discrimination. Eighteen percent of LGBTQI+ adults—compared with 6 percent of non-LGBTQI+ adults—reported postponing preventative care for this reason.
Inability to access medical care in a timely manner can lead to higher risks for worsened illnesses, greater odds of depression, and more.9 That LGBTQI+ people may be at higher risk for certain medical conditions, such as cancer, due to compounding challenges such as difficulty finding health coverage and treatment means delayed medical care can be particularly costly.10
Transgender people experience high rates of medical mistreatment
According to the survey results, when LGBTQI+ people do seek medical treatment, they still may not receive LGBTQI+-competent care. Bias, discrimination, affordability challenges, and lack of sufficient training can continue to affect LGBTQI+ people even when they are able to access some level of health care.11
The survey found that last year, medical providers used the wrong name to refer to or intentionally misgendered 26 percent of transgender adults. This experience is even more common among disabled transgender adults, at 31 percent.
In 2024, 19 percent of transgender adults in the United States had to teach their providers about transgender people in order to get adequate care. Worse, many transgender adults were refused care. For example, providers refused to document the gender dysphoria experiences of 21 percent of transgender adults; this can lead to costly delays in needed treatment. It is unsurprising, then, that 37 percent of transgender adults worried that disclosing their gender identity to a medical provider would harm their access to good care last year.
Access to mental health care
Over the past year, 29 percent of LGBTQI+ adults dealt with poor or bad mental health, compared with 10 percent of non-LGBTQI+ adults. This number rose to 39 percent for disabled LGBTQI+ adults. Transgender adults experienced some of the worst mental health in the year prior to the survey, with 54 percent struggling with “poor” or “bad” mental health.
Furthermore, LGBTQI+ adults struggled to access mental health care: 35 percent of LGBTQI+ adults; 44 percent of transgender adults; and 46 percent of disabled LGBTQI+ adults wanted to see a therapist or mental health professional but could not afford to do so.
The survey also found that even many of those individuals who did manage to find a mental health care provider hesitated to share their LGBTQI+ identity with them. Twenty-eight percent of transgender adults, for example, did not feel comfortable speaking with their therapist or mental health counselor about concerns related to their LGBTQI+ identity. Forty-four percent of intersex adults also dealt with this challenge.
Impact of legislation banning and restricting access to reproductive care
In June 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade, paving the way for states to ban and restrict access to needed reproductive health care, including abortion.12 As of the publication of this report, abortion is illegal in 13 states.13 According to the survey, these bans and restrictions on reproductive care disproportionately affected LGBTQI+ adults.
In the 2024 survey, participants were asked how new legislation and policies banning access to reproductive care—including abortion and maternal care—affected them. LGBTQI+ people were more likely to report negative impacts due to these restrictive laws. For example, 7 percent of LGBTQI+ adults and 11 percent of transgender adults delayed family planning due to laws banning care. Furthermore, because of these laws, more than 1 in 5 transgender adults (21 percent) ultimately decided not to have children. In comparison, 2 percent of non-LGBTQI+ adults delayed family planning, and 2 percent of non-LGBTQI+ adults decided not to have children.
Concerningly, 5 percent of LGBTQI+ adults and 11 percent of intersex adults reported that they were unable to access abortion at all due to laws banning this care. Inability to access abortion and reproductive care not only endangers the lives of those suddenly unable to find needed services, but also has lasting physical and financial impacts.14 According to the survey, 1 percent of non-LGBTQI+ adults could not access abortion.
LGBTQI+ people have difficulty building economic security
Employment and education
LGBTQI+ people score on par with, or above, non-LGBTQI+ people in educational attainment. Among all LGBTQI+ adults, 70 percent have completed some form of higher education. And fewer LGBTQI+ adults than non-LGBTQI+ adults reported not finishing high school (5 percent compared with 8 percent). Intersex adults and white LGBTQI+ adults reported higher rates of postgraduate education than all other groups of LGBTQI+ adults (18 percent and 16 percent, respectively).
Yet only 13 percent of Hispanic/Latino LGBTQI+ adults, and the same percentage of transgender adults, reported earning a bachelor’s degree, making them the smallest groups of LGBTQI+ adults who have completed a traditional four-year degree.
Certain LGBTQI+ groups reported attending vocational or technical programs, or earning an associate’s degree, at higher rates than non-LGBTQI+ people (32 percent), including 46 percent of transgender adults, 37 percent of disabled LGBTQI+ adults, 37 percent of Black LGBTQI+ adults, and 34 percent of Hispanic/Latino LGBTQI+ adults. Overall, LGBTQI+ people received financial assistance for higher education, such as Pell Grants, at higher rates than non-LGBTQI+ adults (14 percent compared with 7 percent). Black LGBTQI+ adults and Hispanic/Latino LGBTQI+ adults received financial aid at even higher rates (18 percent and 22 percent, respectively) than the general population.
Despite their high levels of educational attainment, only 45 percent of all LGBTQI+ adults were employed full time in 2024. This is the same rate of full-time employment as that of non-LGBTQI+ adults, but more LGBTQI+ people are employed part time than non-LGBTQI+ people (14 percent compared with 9 percent). Additionally, among those who reported being unemployed, LGBTQI+ people sought employment at higher rates (10 percent) than non-LGBTQI+ people (4 percent) last year. More Black LGBTQI+ adults were employed full time than Hispanic/Latino LGBTQI+ adults (53 percent compared with 41 percent).
One in 10 LGBTQI+ adults are employed in either the food service or retail industries. LGBTQI+ adults work in educational settings at a slightly higher rate than non-LGBTQI+ adults (14 percent compared with 12 percent). The same proportion of LGBTQI+ and non-LGBTQI+ adults are employed in the health care sector (14 percent). Interestingly, one-fourth of intersex adults are health care workers, as are 18 percent of Black LGBTQI+ adults and 18 percent of Hispanic/Latino LGBTQI+ adults.
The mean household income for LGBTQI+ adults last year was $69,670—more than $12,000 less than the mean household income of non-LGBTQI+ adults in the same period. Twenty-six percent of LGBTQI+ adults reported earning less than $30,000 in 2024, slightly higher than the 22 percent of non-LGBTQI+ adults who reported the same. Among transgender adults, 40 percent earned less than $30,000 and an additional 29 percent earned less than $60,000.
Among LGBTQI+ adults, more intersex people (32 percent) reported earning $100,000 or more last year than any other group. The group with the fewest high earners was Black LGBTQI+ people: Only 9 percent reported earning $100,000 or more last year.
This all suggests that LGBTQI+ people are working in lower-paying jobs, despite pursuing training and education, than comparable non-LGBTQI+ adults. However, also part of the story are the high rates of discrimination in the workplace reported by LGBTQI+ people.
As reported in Figure 2, 23 percent of all LGBTQI+ adults reported experiencing workplace discrimination. This number was even higher for disabled LGBTQI+ adults and Black LGBTQI+ adults (30 percent for each group). One-third of LGBTQI+ adults reported experiencing verbal harassment—which includes negative or offensive comments, remarks, or jokes—at work. The rate was even higher for transgender adults (41 percent) and intersex adults (47 percent). LGBTQI+ adults of color also reported higher rates of workplace discrimination across all categories. For example, 23 percent of LGBTQI+ adults of color reported being fired or not hired, compared with only 16 percent of all LGBTQI+ adults.
Significant numbers of LGBTQI+ respondents—including 55 percent of intersex adults, 40 percent of Hispanic/Latino LGBTQI+ adults, and 35 percent transgender adults—also reported that this discrimination had a “moderate or significant” negative impact on their financial well-being in the 2024. In order to avoid discrimination, 40 percent of LGBTQI+ adults made specific decisions about where to work. Sixty-three percent of transgender adults and 56 percent intersex adults did the same.
Access to housing
Housing stability is a core driver of economic well-being. According to the survey, LGBTQI+ adults are renting more often than non-LGBTQI+ adults (42 percent compared with 28 percent). The survey data show that LGBTQI+ adults also access Housing Choice Vouchers15 at slightly higher rates than non-LGBTQI+ adults (7 percent compared with 4 percent). Additionally, 1 in 10 LGBTQI+ adults reported that they were prevented or discouraged from renting or buying a home in 2024.
Compared with the 70 percent of non-LGBTQI+ adults who own their home, only 54 percent of all LGBTQI+ adults are homeowners. Homeownership rates are even lower for most other subgroups: only 41 percent for transgender adults, 49 percent for disabled adults, 34 percent for Black LGBTQI+ adults, and 52 percent for Hispanic/Latino LGBTQI+ adults. Only intersex people and white LGBTQI+ adults have homeownership rates higher than the full group rate (73 percent and 52 percent, respectively).
These numbers are reflective of other analyses of LGBTQI+ housing data. Starting in 2023, the National Housing Survey began collecting data on sexual orientation and gender identity and reported that 83 percent of LGBT people their survey would either like to buy a home or continue owning their home. LGBT renters in this study had slightly higher aspirations of homeownership than non-LGBT renters (77 percent compared with 71 percent).16
Following the end of certain pandemic-era rental and legal assistance programs, evictions across the country have increased at staggering rates.17 This pattern is evident in the survey responses. Among all LGBTQI+ adults, 7 percent reported being evicted in 2024. Thirty-five percent of intersex adults and 18 percent of Black LGBTQI+ adults reported the same.
Access to social safety net benefits
LGBTQI+ adults are accessing nutritional benefit programs at higher rates than non-LGBTQI+ adults. Last year, 24 percent of LGBTQI+ adults received Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits (compared with 17 percent of non-LGBTQI+ adults), and 6 percent received Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) benefits (compared with 2 percent of non-LGBTQI+ adults). LGBTQI+ people are also accessing benefits from the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program,18 which helps millions of people pay for heating and cooling, at higher rates than non-LGBTQI+ people (10 percent compared with 6 percent).
Conclusion
LGBTQI+ adults experience discrimination at significantly higher rates than their non-LGBTQI+ counterparts. Rates of discrimination are even higher for transgender and nonbinary individuals, intersex people, disabled LGBTQI+ people, and LGBTQI+ people of color.
The impacts of this discrimination are far-reaching, affecting everything from access to quality health care to economic well-being. With the aim of pursuing equitable communities, CAP’s survey continues the crucial work of identifying key barriers that LGBTQI+ people face.
To further guard against discrimination, Congress should pass legislation securing comprehensive LGBTQI+ nondiscrimination protections such as those provided in the Equality Act, which would safeguard against discrimination in employment, housing, credit, and public spaces such as restaurants.19 Additionally, decision-makers at all levels of government should ensure that their constituents have equitable access to health care, housing, employment, and public spaces.