31.4% of Young Women vs. 11.4% of Young Men Identify as LGBTQ+: What It Could Mean for Heterosexual Dating

Key Takeaways

• Gallup’s 2025 U.S. survey found that 31.4% of women ages 18–29 identified as LGBTQ+, compared with 11.4% of men in the same age group.
• The 20-percentage-point difference is driven largely by higher bisexual identification among women, which does not necessarily mean they are uninterested in dating men.
• Earlier peer-reviewed research found that young women were more likely than men to report attraction to both sexes, while exclusive same-sex attraction was relatively uncommon in both groups.
• Differences in sexual orientation could theoretically influence heterosexual dating opportunities, but identity statistics cannot establish whether men face greater competition for female partners.
• Determining whether dating markets are changing requires evidence about actual attraction, relationship preferences, and who is available and actively seeking partners.

Introduction

A Gallup survey found that 31.4% of women ages 18–29 identify as LGBTQ+, compared with 11.4% of men, raising questions about changing dating patterns.

The sexual identities reported by young American adults are changing, with a particularly pronounced difference emerging between women and men.

According to Gallup’s 2025 national survey, published in February 2026, nearly one-third of women ages 18–29 identified as LGBTQ+, compared with approximately one in nine men of the same age (Jones, 2026).

The difference raises a demographic question extending beyond sexual identity. If more young women are interested in relationships with other women, while a substantially smaller proportion of young men report nonheterosexual identities, could the balance of potential partners in heterosexual dating markets also be changing?

In principle, the relative numbers of people seeking male and female partners can influence romantic opportunities. A population with fewer women interested in dating men than men interested in dating women could create greater competition among those men.

However, LGBTQ+ identification does not directly measure the availability of romantic partners. Bisexual women may be interested in relationships with men as well as women, and sexual identity does not necessarily predict whom someone dates.

Earlier population studies offer useful evidence for distinguishing identity, attraction, and sexual behavior.

What Gallup’s 2025 Survey Revealed

In findings published on February 16, 2026, Gallup reported that approximately 9% of U.S. adults identified as LGBTQ+ in 2025. Another 86% identified as heterosexual, while 5% did not provide an answer. The results were based on telephone interviews with more than 13,000 American adults.

Identification was substantially more common among younger respondents. Among adults ages 18–29, approximately 23% identified as LGBTQ+.

The difference between young women and men was particularly striking:

Young women were approximately 2.75 times as likely as young men to identify as LGBTQ+.

Across all adult age groups, 10.5% of women and 5.6% of men identified as LGBTQ+.

According to Gallup, much of the gender difference reflects higher rates of bisexual identification among women. Bisexual adults also account for the largest share of the overall LGBTQ+ population.

The figures concern adults ages 18–29, a population that overlaps substantially with Generation Z but does not correspond exactly to the entire generation.

Importantly, the survey measures self-reported LGBTQ+ identity, not whom respondents currently date or would consider dating. It therefore cannot establish how many women are unavailable as potential romantic partners for men.

Why Bisexual Identification Matters

One possible interpretation of Gallup’s findings is that a growing proportion of young women are no longer interested in men.

The evidence does not support such a straightforward conclusion.

Bisexuality involves attraction to more than one gender. A bisexual woman may be attracted to men and women, have a stronger preference for one gender, or experience changing preferences over time.

Consequently, identifying as bisexual does not automatically remove someone from the population of women potentially interested in dating men.

The distinction becomes especially important when considering demographic effects.

An increase in the proportion of women exclusively seeking female partners could reduce the number of women seeking relationships with men, assuming other population characteristics remained unchanged.

An increase in bisexual identification would not necessarily have the same effect.

To understand whether sexual orientation trends are changing heterosexual dating opportunities, researchers must therefore examine actual romantic attraction and partner preferences rather than identity categories alone.

Earlier Research Found Similar Gender Differences

The greater prevalence of nonexclusive sexual attraction among women is not entirely new.

In a study published in the American Journal of Public Health, Lindley, Walsemann, and Carter (2012) analyzed data from 14,412 participants in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health.

Participants were ages 24–32 when surveyed in 2007–2008.

The researchers examined three dimensions of sexual orientation: identity, romantic attraction, and sexual behavior. Their primary objective was to investigate associations between these measures and health-related outcomes, including psychological distress and substance use.

The study documented notable differences between women and men.

Approximately 8% of women reported attraction to both sexes, compared with 1.9% of men.

By contrast, 1.5% of women and 2.1% of men reported exclusive same-sex attraction.

These population-weighted estimates indicate that the gender difference was concentrated in attraction to both sexes rather than exclusive same-sex attraction. The figures describe the participants surveyed in 2007–2008 and should not be interpreted as current prevalence estimates for young American adults.

The researchers also found that sexual identity, attraction, and behavior did not always produce consistent classifications, particularly among women.

This is important when interpreting modern survey results. Someone who identifies as bisexual does not necessarily divide their romantic or sexual experiences equally between men and women.

The study’s primary focus was health, not dating-market competition. Its findings provide historical context but cannot establish whether the availability of heterosexual partners has changed.

Moreover, its population, survey questions, and identity categories differ from Gallup’s 2025 survey, preventing direct calculations of changes over time.

Sexual Identity Does Not Always Predict Partner Behavior

The same research revealed another important distinction.

Among women surveyed in 2007–2008, 83.2% reported having had only opposite-sex sexual partners, while another 11% reported predominantly opposite-sex partners.

Among men, the corresponding figures were 90.8% and 1.9%.

These are population-weighted percentages describing reported lifetime sexual partner histories, not current dating preferences or future relationship intentions.

Nevertheless, they illustrate why attraction, identity, and behavior should be examined separately.

Some individuals experience attraction to more than one gender but form relationships predominantly with one. Others may identify as heterosexual while acknowledging some same-sex attraction.

For researchers studying romantic opportunities, this means that sexual identity alone is an incomplete measure of whom people are likely to pursue.

It also means that the growing proportion of women identifying as bisexual cannot automatically be interpreted as an equivalent decline in women interested in male partners.

Research Among Adolescent Women Shows Changing Attraction Patterns

Additional evidence comes from a study published in LGBT Health.

Paschen-Wolff, Kelvin, Wells, and Grov (2018) analyzed data from 5,481 adolescent females ages 15–19 who participated in the National Survey of Family Growth between 2002 and 2015.

The study primarily investigated associations between sexual orientation and pregnancy. However, its analysis also documented changes in reported sexual attraction.

The proportion of respondents reporting attraction to both males and females increased from 14.67% in the 2002 survey cycle to 19.52% in the 2011–2015 cycle.

During the same period, exclusive attraction to males declined from 84.03% to 77.28%.

The researchers reported statistically significant differences for both trends. Attraction to both sexes increased (p = 0.005), while exclusive attraction to males declined (p < 0.001).

However, statistical significance does not establish what caused these changes. Because the surveys examined different groups of adolescents rather than following the same individuals over time, the findings cannot determine whether underlying attraction changed, respondents became more comfortable disclosing same-sex attraction, or other factors influenced their responses.

The findings document changing patterns of reported attraction, not changes in the availability of female partners for heterosexual men.

Could These Trends Increase Competition Among Heterosexual Men?

Gallup’s findings raise an interesting demographic question: Could differences in sexual orientation influence the number of potential partners available to heterosexual men?

In theory, the relative numbers of people seeking male and female partners can affect dating opportunities. However, sexual identity statistics alone cannot determine whether such an imbalance exists.

Consider a hypothetical population containing 100 young women and 100 young men.

If 10 women were exclusively interested in dating women, while all 100 men remained interested in dating women, there would be fewer potential female partners than men seeking them.

However, if some men were exclusively interested in dating men, the imbalance could be smaller. Similarly, women identifying as bisexual might remain interested in male partners.

This simplified example illustrates why researchers must examine the preferences of both women and men. Gallup’s LGBTQ+ identification statistics do not provide the information needed to calculate such an imbalance.

Several additional factors complicate that comparison.

Relationship status: People already in exclusive relationships may not be available to other potential partners.

Geography: Dating opportunities depend on local populations, not simply national averages.

Age and preferences: People generally seek partners within particular age ranges and according to personal preferences.

Relationship goals: Someone seeking marriage may encounter a different dating population from someone interested in casual relationships.

Mutual attraction: The number of theoretically available partners does not determine whether two people will find each other compatible.

These considerations mean that Gallup’s 20-percentage-point gender difference cannot be interpreted as a 20% shortage of women available to heterosexual men.

Nor does existing research establish that increasing bisexual identification among young women is causing greater competition among heterosexual men.

Testing that possibility would require direct measurements of partner preferences, relationship status, dating behavior, and relationship formation within comparable populations.

Could Greater Social Acceptance Explain Some of the Increase?

Another question is whether rising LGBTQ+ identification reflects changes in sexual attraction or changes in how openly people describe it.

Younger generations have grown up in a social environment in which LGBTQ+ identities are more publicly discussed and recognized than in previous decades.

Greater familiarity with terms such as bisexual, pansexual, and queer may allow people to describe experiences that earlier generations did not disclose or categorized differently.

Changes in survey questions and respondents’ willingness to answer them may also influence reported prevalence.

However, greater social acceptance should not automatically be assumed to explain the entire increase.

The available evidence does not establish how much of the change reflects disclosure, identity terminology, underlying attraction, or other influences.

Longitudinal research following the same individuals over time, using consistent measures of identity, attraction, and behavior, would help clarify these possibilities.

What the Findings May Mean for Relationship Research

The gender difference in LGBTQ+ identification raises a broader methodological problem for researchers studying contemporary relationships.

Sexual orientation is frequently measured through identity categories, but the population of people potentially interested in a particular gender cannot be estimated from those categories alone.

A more informative investigation would measure how many single women are interested in dating men and how many single men are interested in dating women.

It would also examine how these proportions vary by age, location, and relationship goals.

Such research could determine whether changes in sexual identity are accompanied by measurable changes in opposite-sex relationship formation.

It could also test whether those changes are associated with men’s reported dating difficulties or decisions to remain single.

Without those measurements, the demographic consequences of rising bisexual identification remain uncertain.

Limitations

Several limitations prevent firm conclusions about how these trends affect heterosexual dating.

Gallup’s 2025 survey measured LGBTQ+ self-identification rather than the complete range of romantic attraction or actual partner behavior.

The earlier peer-reviewed studies examined different populations and used different sexual orientation measures, limiting direct comparisons.

Lindley and colleagues analyzed adults ages 24–32 surveyed in 2007–2008, while Paschen-Wolff and colleagues examined adolescent females ages 15–19 surveyed between 2002 and 2015.

Neither population directly represents all young adults in 2025.

The National Survey of Family Growth study relied on self-reported information collected from different samples over time, preventing conclusions about how individual participants’ attractions changed.

Neither peer-reviewed study directly investigated dating-market competition.

Most importantly, none of the available evidence establishes that increasing LGBTQ+ identification among young women has caused a shortage of potential female partners for heterosexual men.

Final Thoughts

Gallup’s 2025 findings reveal a substantial difference in LGBTQ+ identification between young American women and men. Among adults ages 18–29, 31.4% of women identified as LGBTQ+, compared with 11.4% of men.

Earlier population research provides important context. Women have historically been more likely than men to report attraction to both sexes, and sexual identity does not always correspond directly with romantic attraction or partner behavior.

What remains unclear is whether these differences are changing heterosexual dating opportunities.

The answer depends on more than sexual identity. Researchers would need to examine who is single, whom they are interested in dating, and how relationships actually form across different populations.

For now, the evidence supports a clear demographic observation, but not the conclusion that rising LGBTQ+ identification among young women is creating a shortage of potential partners for heterosexual men.

Future research linking sexual orientation, dating preferences, and relationship formation could help determine whether these demographic patterns have measurable consequences for contemporary dating.

Funding and Disclosures

Gallup’s findings were drawn from its national polling program. The survey report is not a peer-reviewed journal article.

Lindley and colleagues analyzed data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, funded by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development with cooperative support from other federal agencies and foundations. The authors stated that no direct support from the principal Add Health grant was received for their analysis. The examined paper did not include a specific competing-interest declaration.

Paschen-Wolff and colleagues acknowledged that the lead author was receiving National Institute of Mental Health training support at the time of publication, alongside associated center support. The authors declared no competing financial interests.

References

Jones, J. M. (2026, February 16). LGBTQ+ identification holds at 9% in U.S. Gallup. https://news.gallup.com/poll/702206/lgbtq-identification-holds.aspx

Lindley, L. L., Walsemann, K. M., & Carter, J. W., Jr. (2012). The association of sexual orientation measures with young adults’ health-related outcomes. American Journal of Public Health, 102(6), 1177–1185. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2011.300262

Paschen-Wolff, M. M., Kelvin, E. A., Wells, B. E., & Grov, C. (2018). Sexual orientation and pregnancy among adolescent women in the National Survey of Family Growth, 2002–2015. LGBT Health, 5(8), 449–460. https://doi.org/10.1089/lgbt.2018.0036