Transgender women by the numbers

Posted on by Jessica Wakeman

Asheville’s population of transgender individuals, and transgender women in particular, is unknown.

“This is a demographic that hasn’t been represented in most data collections ever,” says Blue Ridge Pride spokesperson Rosie Bullock. “For the surveys/census that do include trans people, the trust isn’t built, so with the discrimination and safety concerns that trans folk face, many would choose to opt out of any data collection.”

The U.S. Census Bureau began asking questions about gender identity in July 2021. Preliminary results found that 0.6% of adults nationwide identify as transgender.

According to data from various behavioral surveys, the UCLA School of Law Williams Institute, a think tank studying gender and sexuality law, estimates that 0.87% of the North Carolina population over age 18, or about 71,300 people, are transgender. That’s the highest projected percentage of any state in the country.

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About Jessica Wakeman
Jessica Wakeman was a reporter at Mountain Xpress from 2021-24. She has been published in Rolling Stone, Glamour, New York magazine's The Cut, Bustle and many other publications. She was raised in Connecticut and holds a Bachelor's degree in journalism from New York University. Follow me @jessicawakeman
View all posts by Jessica Wakeman →

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