New survey shows 3% of high schoolers are transgender

New CDC survey shows about 3% of high schoolers identify as transgender, and many struggle with mental health

What you probably already know: A new survey by the Centers for Disease Control that was rolled out in 2023 has revealed that around 3.3% of high school-age kids identify as transgender and another 2.2% are questioning their gender identity. These same kids reported significantly higher rates of suicidal thoughts and bullying at school, as well as feelings of persistent sadness. This was the first time the CDC’s survey asked about whether students identify as transgender, and thus is the first set of data on this demographic from this reporting agency.

Why? While there have been numerous stories about the challenges cisgender girls are facing when it comes to mental health and social media, there has been less coverage of transgender children, as the data has been harder to come by. This new report, however, paints a disturbing picture: About 70% of transgender and questioning students said they felt sad or hopeless for more than two weeks at a time in the last year, compared with 50% of cisgender girls and 26% of cisgender boys.

What it means: Transgender kids have been in the news, however, though generally related to the political fights over whether they can gain access to gender-affirming medical care. At least 26 states have introduced legislation or passed laws banning these kids from receiving gender-affirming care and the Human Rights Campaign says 39.4% of all transgender youth live in states that have passed these bans. The bans have led to violence and increased hate crimes against transgender people. Texas and Florida, which both have bans on the books, were home to almost 20% of all the fatal attacks on transgender people in the last decade.

What happens now? Now that the CDC is tracking this data, it could help school officials, as well as parents and guardians better understand the risk factors for students in their care who identify as transgender. It could also help the government track outcomes in states with anti-trans legislation to see if students there experience higher degrees of mental health challenges than students in areas that are more LGBTQ friendly.