Introduction

More than 25 million LGBTQ+ adults live in the United States today. LGBTQ+ people are part of families, workplaces, communities, and institutions nationwide. Still, being part of the population is not the same as being visible. When and with whom someone chooses to be open shapes whether LGBTQ+ people are seen and known in their everyday lives.

Visibility is a personal matter. No one is required to share their identity, and choices about being open often depend on safety, comfort, relationships, and the wider social environment.

The environment has grown increasingly difficult for many LGBTQ+ people, especially transgender and nonbinary people. Changes in federal policy and politics have threatened LGBTQ+ rights, visibility, health care, and public participation. In this context, new findings from HRC Foundation’s 2026 Annual LGBTQ+ Community Survey show how LGBTQ+ adults are deciding whether to be open and visible.

Most LGBTQ+ adults (85%) say they are at least somewhat open about their LGBTQ+ identity with others. Compared to two years ago, one-third (33%) say they are more open, 22% say they are less open, and 45% report no change. These results highlight both the importance of visibility and the real challenges that can make openness harder.

85%
of LGBTQ+ adults are somewhat or very open about their LGBTQ+ identity.
33%
say they are more open about their identity than they were two years ago.
78%
say social acceptance of transgender and nonbinary people has decreased over the past two years.

LGBTQ+ Adults Perceive a Stark Divide in Social Acceptance

LGBTQ+ adults notice two very different social climates. People see much more acceptance for lesbian, gay, and bisexual people than for transgender and nonbinary people. Many LGBTQ+ adults think acceptance has gone down for the whole community in the past two years, but this feeling is especially strong for transgender and nonbinary people.

This divide helps explain the choices LGBTQ+ people make about if, when, and where to be open.

Most LGBTQ+ Adults Are Open About Who They Are

Most LGBTQ+ adults are already open about their identities to at least some degree. And despite a difficult political and social environment, the overwhelming majority have either maintained that level of openness or become more open over the past two years.

This challenges the idea that LGBTQ+ people are simply becoming less visible. Some are less open, and their reasons are important. But for most, openness has stayed the same or increased.

Openness Across Age Groups

Openness varies by age, showing both consistency and change. Older LGBTQ+ adults are most likely to say they are very open about who they are, and they are also the most likely to report that their openness has stayed about the same over the past two years.

This stability stands out right now. Many older LGBTQ+ adults have experienced decades of fighting for visibility and equality, along with important social and legal progress. While the survey does not show if this history explains their openness, the results do not suggest that older generations are pulling back from the open lives they have built.

Younger adults show a different trend. They are a bit less likely to be very open right now, but they are the most likely to say they have become more open in the past two years. This is important for the future of LGBTQ+ visibility, since adults under 35 now make up more than half of the LGBTQ+ adult population.

It's more important than ever for me to be out in every space of my life as an act of resistance. Building community is life-affirming. 

34 year old lesbian from West Virginia

What Shapes LGBTQ+ Adults’ Decisions About Openness

Decisions about openness reflect a mix of purpose, personal well-being, and risk. Factors that can encourage openness extend beyond oneself: wanting to build support for LGBTQ+ equality, believing visibility benefits the broader community, and wanting more people to know someone who is LGBTQ+. For many, openness also affects their mental health and well-being.

Those motivations exist alongside strong pressures in the opposite direction. The current political climate and concerns about harassment, discrimination, or physical safety are among the clearest factors making LGBTQ+ adults less likely to be open.

These findings complement HRC Foundation's recent Trans Visibility, Connection, and Support research, which found that people who personally know a transgender person—particularly those who have regular conversations with one—report greater support for transgender equality.

At the same time, the responsibility for changing public attitudes cannot fall on LGBTQ+ people themselves. Visibility is important, but no one should feel obligated to be open when doing so could compromise their safety or well-being.

These pressures affect people differently. Transgender and gender-expansive adults are a bit more likely than cisgender LGBQ+ adults to say that building support for LGBTQ+ people and equality encourages them to be open. At the same time, they are much more likely to say that the current political climate and concerns about harassment, discrimination, or safety make them less likely to be open.

The fact that LGBTQ+ people continue to live openly should not be mistaken for an absence of fear or pressure. These findings show both at once: powerful forces that can discourage openness, alongside powerful reasons to remain visible. LGBTQ+ people can experience pressure to hide while also seeing real value in being known, living authentically, supporting equality, and creating space for others.

Visibility can help build understanding and support, but the responsibility for creating change should not fall on those most at risk of hostility. Being open remains a deeply personal choice.

Despite the current political climate being anti-trans, I feel it is important to be open. I believe the more people realize that trans people are still people and may even have things in common with them, the more we can change how they see us. Maybe we can show others we deserve the same protections and be allowed to be ourselves.

54-year old transgender, asexual respondent from Arizona

A Community of, by, and for Each Other

Despite concerns about safety, politics, and declining social acceptance, LGBTQ+ people continue to find and build community with each other. Nearly two-thirds (65%) say they feel very or somewhat connected to the LGBTQ+ community.

That connection takes many forms. As the chart shows, LGBTQ+ adults engage with their communities through media and news, LGBTQ+ spaces and events, online communities, social and cultural activities, volunteering, and financial support for LGBTQ+ organizations. Only a small share reported none of the listed forms of engagement, underscoring that connection to LGBTQ+ community life is widespread and extends well beyond any single type of space or activity.

Visibility Is Powerful—and Personal

Coming out has never been an easy choice. Today, LGBTQ+ people have real concerns about safety, acceptance, and the political climate, and these pressures are even stronger for transgender and gender-expansive people. Still, these findings do not show a broad retreat from visibility.

Across generations, LGBTQ+ people keep living openly and building community. Many see value in being known, not just for themselves, but also to support equality, create understanding, and make space for others.

On National Coming Out Day, these findings remind us that visibility is a choice, not something required. Being seen and known can be powerful, but no LGBTQ+ person should have to risk their safety to be visible.

National Coming Out Day is not about demanding that anyone come out. It recognizes the power of being known and every LGBTQ+ person's right to choose when, where, and with whom it is safe to be seen.

Methodology

The 2026 Annual LGBTQ+ Community Survey was conducted online from August 5 through September 8, 2026, among LGBTQ+ adults ages 18 and older living in the United States. Participants were recruited primarily through the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s Community Insights Research Panel and through additional survey distribution channels designed to reach LGBTQ+ adults nationwide. Following eligibility, data-quality, and post-fielding review, the final analytic sample included 9,328 respondents. 

The survey used a nonprobability sampling approach. Results were weighted using iterative proportional fitting (raking) to better align the sample with estimated characteristics of the U.S. LGBTQ+ adult population across sexual identity, gender identity, region, age, race and ethnicity, and educational attainment. Population benchmarks were derived from Human Rights Campaign Foundation estimates using pooled 2021–2024 U.S. Census Bureau Household Pulse Survey data. Because respondents were recruited through nonprobability methods, results should be interpreted as weighted descriptive estimates rather than probability-based population estimates, and conventional margins of sampling error are not reported.

See the full methodology: 2026 Technical Report for the Annual LGBTQ+ Community Survey (ALCS)