College Students Identifying As Trans And Non-Binary Absolutely Craters In Just Two Years
The number of Gen Z Americans identifying as transgender or nonbinary has declined rapidly since 2023, according to a new study.
Data from a survey conducted this year by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) shows that about 3.6 percent of undergraduates in the United States always claim to be something other than male or female. However, that number represents a significant drop from the previous year, according to a report from the Center for Heterodox Social Sciences.
In 2024, 5.2% of U.S. undergraduates claimed a transgender or nonbinary identity, and in 2022 and 2023, the figure was 6.8%, the data showed. The most recent survey, conducted in 2025, found that only 3.6% of students identified as something other than male or female, a drop of almost 50% since 2023. (RELATED: Harvard Hires Drag Queen ‘LaWhore Vagistan’ as Visiting Professor for Course on ‘Sexual Dissidents’)
Although several theories have circulated about what has been driving the increasing adoption of non-biological gender identities – such as social contagion, social media or issues related to mental health – the change in trend may itself indicate some answers.
As the report’s author speculates, mental health disorders like depression and anxiety began to decline over a similar period among American college students. After an alarming 44% of university students showing signs of depression in 2022, this number fell to 41% in 2023 and 38% in 2024, according to a survey by The Economist. This is the first positive data trend in over 15 years.
Santa Monica College at the 2024 WeHo Pride Parade on June 2, 2024 in West Hollywood, California. (Photo by Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images)
Interestingly, abandoning gender ideology does not appear to be part of a broader political shift. FIRE’s 2025 report finds that a growing number of students support left-wing tactics such as using violence to shut down speech they disagree with.
Social contagion is another widely held theory about what’s behind the rise in young people pretending to be something other than male or female. A 2023 study found that more than half of teenage girls who claim to be transgender had friends who also claimed to be transgender, and that teenage girls of both sexes were more likely to claim a transgender identity when they had friends who were also transgender. Even if politics among young people remains stable and teen social media use remains high, transgender identities may simply become less fashionable.
Despite these promising statistics, a report released in August by the Williams Institute at UCLA Law School found that transgenderism among 13- to 17-year-olds is rapidly increasing, with a staggering 724,000 children, or 3.3 percent, saying they do not identify with their biological sex.
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