Though LGBTQ adults say society has become more accepting of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people in the last 10 years, nearly 1 in 5, 18%, say they have never come out to anyone, according to a new Gallup survey.

“Roughly 1 in 5 LGBTQ+ Americans are comfortable telling Gallup that they’re LGBTQ+, but not comfortable telling others,” said Justin McCarthy, an analyst at Gallup.

That rate is higher for bisexual adults, with 23% reporting that they aren’t out to anyone, compared to 5% of gay and lesbian adults. When broken down by gender, 16% of LGBTQ men and 19% of LGBTQ women reported that they aren’t out to anyone. Though trans Americans were included in the data, due to sample size limitations Gallup was not able to report their specific experiences.

McCarthy noted that the majority, about 70%, of LGBTQ adults nationally and U.S. adults overall report that societal acceptance of LGBTQ people has “gotten a lot” or “gotten a little” better in the past 10 years.

However, “just because they acknowledge societal changes doesn’t mean that you’re not going to have any personal experiences of discrimination,” which 1 in 4 LGBTQ people reported experiencing in the past year, with more than one-third, 36%, of gay and lesbian adults reporting such experiences. 

LGBTQ adults reported knowing they were LGBTQ at similar ages across generations: 14 years old for respondents ages 18-29, 15 for those 30-64, and 16 or those 65 and older, the survey found.

Nearly three-quarters, 71%, of LGBTQ adults report that they came out to others before they turned 30, including 57% who came out by the age of 22. One in 10 LGBTQ adults said they came out later in life, with 7% reporting they came out in their 30s, 2% in their 40s and 1% at age 50 or older. 

LGBTQ adults today report coming out at younger ages than previous generations. LGBTQ adults aged 18 to 29 came out at a median age of 17, while those aged 30 to 64 came out in their early 20s. Adults 65 and older came out at a median age of 26. 

When comparing the median ages in which each group knew they were LGBTQ and when they came out to others, Gallup found that young adults were not out to others for the shortest amount of time before coming out, at three years, and senior citizens were not out to others for the longest, at 10 years. 

Though the majority of LGBTQ adults reported that society has become more accepting of the community, 1 in 5 said society’s treatment of LGBTQ people has “gotten a lot” or “gotten a little” worse.

“Future research will tell us if we’re seeing more advancement,” McCarthy said, or if LGBTQ people are perceiving a greater increase in society acceptance, “or if that is taking a different turn.”

McCarthy noted that the survey, which was conducted online May 1-15, is part of Gallup’s larger research effort over the past decade to examine the experiences of LGBTQ adults. Past Gallup research has found that the percentage of LGBTQ adults in the U.S. continues to increase, with an all-time high of 7.6% in 2023. Research published in March found that 30% of Gen Z women identify as LGBTQ, with most identifying as bisexual.