USA - How many people are LGBT in the United States? It turns out that perception and reality are two very different things. According to a Gallup survey released Thursday, adults in the United States believe that 23.6 percent of their countrymen are LGBT. That’s nearly one in four — almost five times the actual number. “Americans’ estimate of the proportion of gay people in the US is more than five times Gallup’s more encompassing 2017 estimate that 4.5% [approx 15 million] of Americans are LGBT, based on respondents’ self-identification as being lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender,” the study said. Part of the reason for the disparity, the pollsters felt, was an overrepresentation of LGBT individuals in the media.