The Decline of Trans and Queer Identity among Young Americans

·         After surging in the 2010s and 20s, trans and queer identities are in decline among young Americans

·         The transgender share among university students peaked in 2023 and has almost halved since, from nearly 7 percent to under 4 percent

·         The share of students identifying as not heterosexual fell by around 10 points in the same period

·         The decline in non-heterosexual share is concentrated in the queer or other sexual categories (i.e. pansexual, asexual) and, to a lesser extent, bisexuality

·         Today’s freshmen are less BTQ+ than seniors, suggesting that decline will continue

·         The decline in BTQ+ identification does not appear to be connected to lower social media use, religious revival, a shift to the political right or lower support for woke ideology

·         There is evidence that improved mental health has reduced BTQ+ identification