Transgender census: Who transitions, when, and where

With a highly anticipated interview with Diane Sawyer set to air on Friday, former Olympian Bruce Jenner may soon become one of the most famous transgender individuals in the world.

But in some ways, according to the scarce data available, the 65-year-old Jenner is an exceptional case.

LGBT individuals are more likely to be non-white than white, and the majority of transgender people report transitioning before the age of 44. Transgender individuals are also four times more likely than the rest of America to make less than $10,000 per year, according to a 2012 report from two LGBT civil rights groups, The National Center for Transgender Equality and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force.

Take a look at some other findings about the trans community in the U.S.

Many of the numbers provided below are rough estimates because data collection on transgender individuals is so limited. Still the studies offer a glimpse into the characteristics of trans people in the U.S.

POPULATION

There are an estimated 700,000 transgender people living in the United States, according Gary Gates, an LGBT demographer at UCLA’s Williams Institute.

Gates estimates about 0.3% of adults are transgender based on analysis of two studies conducted in California and Massachusetts.

But that’s a rough estimate because data resources are so limited with regard to the transgender population.

RACE

Nonwhite individuals are more likely to identify as LGBT, according to the largest single study of the distribution of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender population in the U.S.

The 2012 Gallup survey included 120,000 interviews. But it’s unclear how many of the respondents were transgender.

AVERAGE AGE

The National Center for Transgender Equality and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, both LGBT civil rights groups, published one of the largest surveys of the transgender U.S. population in 2011. Their report includes many demographic characteristics still widely used by policy makers and academics.

The study, “Injustice at every turn” surveyed close to 6,500 trans people and found over half of respondents were under the age of 44.

AGE OF TRANSITION

The majority of people surveyed in the “Injustice at every turn” report said they transitioned between the ages of 18 and 44.

Generally, transgender men transitioned at earlier ages than transgender women.

LOCATION

According to the Injustice at Every Turn survey transgender people are underrepresented in the southern United States.

DISCRIMINATION AT WORK

Ninety percent of those surveyed reported experiencing harassment, mistreatment or discrimination on the job, according to the “Injustice at every turn” report.

INCOME

About 70 percent of those surveyed in the “Injustice at every turn” said they were employed.

However, the respondents “reported much lower household incomes than the population as a whole, with many living in dire poverty.”

Fifteen percent of respondents reported making under $10,000 per year, nearly four times the rate of the same household income category for the general population.

The report found “people of color in general fare worse than white participants across the board, with African American transgender respondents faring worse than all others in many areas examined.”