Washington has highest percentage of LGBT

PRINCETON, N.J., Feb. 15 (UPI) -- Washington has the highest percentage of U.S. adults who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender, a 2012 survey indicates.

The survey, conducted from June through December by the Gallup organization, found that LGBT identification ranged from a high of 10 percent in the District of Columbia to a low of 1.7 percent in North Dakota.

The national average was 3.5 percent.

In general, states where residents express more liberal views are more accepting of LGBT individuals, while socially conservative areas are less accepting, Gallup said.

Survey results were based upon 206,186 daily tracking interviews conducted nationwide.

Among the top five after the District of Columbia was Hawaii with 5.1 percent identifying as LGBT followed by Vermont and Oregon with 4.9 percent each and Maine with 4.8 percent.

At the low end of the scale, Tennessee, Mississippi and Montana each reported 2.6 percent.

The margin of error for each state was below two percentage points except for the District of Columbia, where the margin of error was six points, Gallup said.