New CDC data shows 5% of all youth are trans—but it also shows something worrying

The CDC just came out with new data that reveals something surprising—over 5% of high schoolers identify as trans or are questioning their gender.

The data comes from the Youth Risk Behavior Survey, a biannual survey of over 20,000 young people across the country. The data pool in 2023 is the most recent one regarding children’s gender modalities and gender identities.

However, the data also reveals some heartbreaking information. The survey uncovered that trans students face higher rates of violence, housing insecurity, suicidal ideation, and lower school connectedness than cisgender peers. While 8.5% of cisgender students said that they skipped school for safety concerns, 25.3% of transgender students and 26.4% of gender questioning students did the same.

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40% of trans and questioning students reported being bullied at school, while 69% of questioning and 72% of trans students reported feeling sad and hopeless. 26% of trans and questioning students reported attempting suicide within the past year, compared to 8% of their cisgender peers.

This heartbreaking statistic is illuminated all the more by a recent study that shows how anti-trans laws continue to cause a massive increase in suicide attempts in transgender youth across the nation. This increase is independent of other factors and is directly related to the effects that these laws have on students’ every day life.

“What we’re finding is that when you don’t create safe and supportive school environments for the most vulnerable youth,” Dr. Kathleen Ethier, the director of C.D.C.’s adolescent and school health division, said to the New York Times, “it has an impact on their mental health and their suicidal thoughts and behaviors.”

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