WASHINGTON, DC – Today, the National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE) announced its launch of the 2022 U.S. Transgender Survey (USTS). With over 33,000 transgender people who have pledged to take the survey—far surpassing the number of people who completed the survey the last time it was offered (in 2015)—it is expected to be the largest survey of transgender people in U.S. history. Trans advocates such as Alok Vaid-Menon, Elliot Page, Jazz Jennings, Kayden Coleman, Patricio Manuel and Charlie Amáyá Scott are supporting the survey.
In a video supporting the U.S. Trans Survey, Alok Vaid-Menon, an internationally renowned gender non-conforming writer and performance artist, said, “[The survey] actually helps us understand trans and nonbinary people’s experience navigating employment, health care, housing—every facet of society. And it’s really instrumental in showing how diverse the lived experiences of our community are.”
The U.S. Trans Survey is the main source of data about transgender people, covering health, employment, income, the criminal justice system and other aspects of life. Many questions in the USTS are modeled after questions used in federal surveys, allowing for comparisons between the USTS sample and the U.S. population as a whole.
“This project is deeply personal, and the opportunity it provides the transgender community to help shape a future in which we can not only survive, but also thrive, is particularly hopeful,” said Josie Caballero, NCTE’s U.S. Trans Survey and special projects director. “The U.S. Trans Survey honors the lives and experiences of transgender people in the United States. The more people who take the survey, the better we can understand our entire community.”
The USTS is for people of all transgender identities, including binary and nonbinary transgender identities, ages 16 and up. The research team aims to collect survey responses that reflect the diversity of the trans community across the entire nation, including people of color, older people, those who live in rural areas, immigrants, Spanish speakers and those who are living with HIV.
Transgender people who are interested in taking the survey can do so at ustranssurvey.org now through Nov. 21, 2022. All survey responses will be anonymous and will not be used to identify respondents.
Members of NCTE’s U.S. Transgender Survey team, along with community partners serving trans communities around the country, will kick off the opening of the survey with a livestreamed event today at 12pm EST on NCTE’s Facebook page.
NCTE plans to issue a series of reports, including breakdown reports by state and by race/ethnicity, using the survey findings. Its 2015 reports are widely regarded as critical resources for researchers, policymakers, and advocates seeking to better understand the needs of transgender people.
The 2022 U.S. Trans Survey is spearheaded by the National Center for Transgender Equality, in partnership with the Black Trans Advocacy Coalition, TransLatin@ Coalition, National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance, and other organizations that serve transgender people nationwide.