A new study by the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law finds that 48% of surveyed transgender adults have either already relocated and/or are considering moving to a location in the United States that they perceive as more affirming for transgender individuals. Additionally, 45% of respondents indicated a desire to move out of the country.
The most frequently cited reasons for wanting to move focused on the increasingly hostile landscape for transgender people, including concerns about LGBTQ rights in general (76%), the sociopolitical climate (71%), the anti-transgender environment in their state (60%), and anti-transgender state laws and policies (47%).
Respondents from less supportive communities and states with unsupportive laws and policies, along with those worried about federal policies affecting health care access, discrimination, and vulnerability to hate crimes, were more likely to want to move to a more transgender-affirming state. Those with lower incomes were also more likely to want to relocate.
Using data collected from 302 transgender, nonbinary, and gender-diverse adults in December 2024, researchers examined how the 2024 election and the broader sociopolitical climate were impacting transgender people’s travel plans and their desire to move.
Nearly one-third (30%) of respondents said that they were traveling less frequently as a result of the 2024 election, and 70% said that they would be much (48%) or somewhat (22%) less likely to go on vacation to states they view as less transgender-affirming.
“This survey was conducted in December 2024, so the desire to move and fears regarding travel for transgender people may be even more pronounced today,” said lead author Abbie E. Goldberg, Affiliated Scholar at the Williams Institute and Professor of Psychology at Clark University. “Conversely, recent anti-transgender federal policies, which can affect even states with supportive laws, may have lessened the belief among transgender people that relocating will lead to significant improvement.”
Many transgender people face economic and other barriers to moving, including the cost of relocating (82%), the cost of living (64%), employment concerns (56%), and housing issues (49%).
For those who wanted to relocate to another country, the most frequently cited barriers were visa or immigration concerns, language issues, limited travel experience outside of the U.S., and health care concerns.
“Whether or not the transgender people who want to move will ultimately be able to relocate, the desire to move is a measure of the extreme pressure that transgender people are feeling about the safety and health of themselves and their families,” said study author Brad Sears, Distinguished Senior Scholar of Law and Policy at the Williams Institute. “That pressure has mental health, physical health, and economic impacts on those who move and those who stay.”
The Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law is an academic research institute dedicated to conducting rigorous, independent research on sexual orientation and gender identity law and public policy.