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The Estimated Number Of Trans People In The U.S. Has Doubled

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How many trans people are there living in the United States? Enough to populate a city, according to a new study from UCLA’s Williams Institute. (And what a city that would be! It probably would have a lot less drama about bathrooms.)

There are 1.4 million adults who identify as trans, researchers say, or about .6% of the country’s population. North Dakota and Iowa have the lowers percentage (.3%), with California and Hawaii having the highest (.8%).

Presumably, the large cities are more hospitable — San Francisco, for example, probably has a higher concentration than Fresno. And while there may not be a ton of trans people in Washington state, for example, Seattle is one of the trans-friendliest cities in the world. (As evidenced by the outpouring of support after a trans person was bashed after a rally; that support probably wouldn’t exist in, say, Texarkana.)

At any rate, this is a pretty significant surge in the trans population. In 2011, the estimate was just 700,000. Why did the number jump? There are a bunch of likely contributing factors: more states are reporting relevant stats; more people are open about being trans; and more people are realizing that gender is not as simple as the form someone filled out on your birth certificate. Think back just a few years — even as recently as 2011, many trans people might not have even known that they could be trans. But with growing visibility, more and more people can now recognize a character like Nomi on Sense8 and say “hey, that’s kinda me.”

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