Report: Minnesota has highest share of adults who identify as transgender in U.S.

NINA MOINI: A new report from the UCLA School of Law Williams Institute asks the question, how many adults and youth identify as transgender in the United States? And it found Minnesota has the highest percentage of adults who identify as transgender in the country, at 1.2% of the population. The national average is 0.8%. Joining us to talk more about this report is one of the authors, Jody Herman. Thanks so much for being with us, Jody.

JODY HERMAN: Of course. Thanks for having me.

NINA MOINI: Also happy to have executive director of the LGBTQ advocacy group Out Front Minnesota with us again. Thanks for being here, Kat.

KAT ROHN: Glad to be here.

NINA MOINI: And that's Kat Rohn. I'm just like, hi, Kat. Thank you both so much for your time. Jody, I wanted you to start, if you would, by telling us why you wanted to conduct this research.

JODY HERMAN: Yeah, so the Williams Institute is a Research Center at the UCLA School of Law, and we study law and policy issues that impact the LGBT population in the United States. And for the longest time, we didn't have data to say how many people in the United States are transgender. And that is due to a lack of data collection at the federal level over the years. But that data collection has been increasing recently. So within the past 10 years or so, we've actually been able to use federal data to answer the question, how many people identify as trans in the US?

NINA MOINI: Do you feel, Jody, there are even more people? I just wonder about surveys, sometimes, and if you feel like it's an accurate representation.

JODY HERMAN: Yeah, of course, what we're able to measure are people who are willing to disclose that they identify as transgender, in this case, in a federal survey. And so, yeah, take that for what it is. Of course, survey research is considered the gold standard for a lot of research methods. In particular, the US Decennial Census is a survey. The US Census Bureau bases their reports on surveys. So it's the best data that we have to go on. And so that's how we conduct our study with survey research.

NINA MOINI: Sure. And Kat, when you saw that Minnesota has the highest percentage of adults who identify as trans in the country, was that surprising to you? Or what was your reaction, I wonder?

KAT ROHN: Yeah, I mean, I guess it wasn't especially surprising to me. I think, in a lot of ways, my first reaction was one of pride. I think what it tells me, without digging into all of the complexities involved, is, one, that folks within the state of Minnesota feel more comfortable sharing their identity. And I think that's something that really reflects a culture where folks feel more welcomed and where they feel like they have that freedom to be themselves.

I think the other piece that it is starting to reflect is the fact that we have seen movements of transgender people and LGBTQ people writ large across this country moving towards states that are both more supportive from a policy landscape and create environments that are more welcoming for members of the LGBTQ community. And I think that shifting policy landscape is, to a degree, reflected in some of those numbers.

NINA MOINI: And Jody, let me know if I don't have this correct. But the data, that comes from 2021 through 2023?

JODY HERMAN: That's correct, yes.

NINA MOINI: OK. And so that was interesting to me because the trans refuge law here in Minnesota was signed into law, I believe, in 2023, Kat. So do you think that those numbers may have increased over time, to your point about people wanting to come to states where they can receive health care?

KAT ROHN: Yeah, I think absolutely. I mean, for one, the sweep of anti-LGBTQ laws that we saw at a state by state level really increased greatly from about 2017 or so through our current moment, and I think that is reflected and captured in the data. And certainly, since the passage of the trans refuge law here in Minnesota in the spring of 2023, our organization has recorded hundreds of folks who have moved to the state as a direct result of policy change, and we suspect that number is higher. So I do think that is probably an undercount in the ways in which people are moving, but certainly reflects some of the broader trends in how LGBTQ folks are making choices about where they live.

NINA MOINI: Sure. And Jody, what is your hope for data like this? How do you hope that it could be used, or how could it be used?

JODY HERMAN: Yeah, I mean, of course, what we hope people take away from this particular study is that trans people live everywhere in the US. They're a substantial portion of our population and live in communities across the US, urban, rural, red states, blue states, and in Minnesota, of course.

We hope that the information will be helpful in-- the work that we do at the Williams Institute and law and policy issues is understanding the impact that laws and policies that impact trans people will have. We know that this is a substantial population. And so laws and policies that impact trans people are going to impact people in everyone's communities across the US and in the United States.

NINA MOINI: Oh, Kat, what do you think about just the levels of research that exist or funding for research? Is that something that you feel like needs to be improved upon or there could be more of that?

KAT ROHN: Yeah I mean, I think one of the things that we recognize here in Minnesota, and it's one reason why our state's council on LGBTQIA2S+ Minnesotans conducted a statewide survey of these populations is that there are real gaps in our understanding. While we can make a lot of guesses about how people's experiences play out and what impacts those might have, there is just a lack of data, both on a willful level with the current administration and others who have defunded research and eliminated demographic categories from collection of data, but also just a lack of understanding.

These are newer fields and newer identities. And this research is really only starting to really come into its own. So it's really great and useful to have that hard data to back up the qualitative community experiences that we bring to the table in community events and meetings and things like that. I think it really helps to make the case for good policy to really reiterate that knowledge, as was shared, that trans folks and LGBTQ folks are part of every single demographic group and every single community across this country.

NINA MOINI: And you mentioned, Kat, the survey that you all did, tell me about that again and if people could still take it.

KAT ROHN: Yeah, so the survey was conducted by the state's council on LGBTQIA2S+ Minnesotans. It collected data on folks all across the state, both LGBTQ community members and parents of youth, to really get a better picture of how Minnesotans were experiencing the current moment, what needs they might have, how their lives were being reflected or not within the policies of our state.

And the data from that will be forthcoming here over the next couple of months. Really looking forward to sharing some more of those results and having continuing conversations with folks across the state about how we can best serve their needs as organizations, as state leaders, as folks in community.

NINA MOINI: All right, Kat and Jody, thank you both so much for your time. Really appreciate it.

JODY HERMAN: Thank you.

KAT ROHN: Thank you.

NINA MOINI: Thank you. Kat Rohn is the executive director of Out Front Minnesota, and Jody Herman is a Williams Institute Scholar of Public Policy at UCLA School of Law.