According to a new report by the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law, 53% of transgender youth ages 13 to 17 in the U.S.—approximately 382,800 young people—live in 29 states with laws or policies that restrict access to gender-affirming care, sports, bathrooms and facilities, or the use of gender-affirming pronouns in schools. In 2025 alone, 24 states enacted or expanded at least one type of restrictive legislation.
An estimated 724,000 youth in the U.S. identify as transgender. Nearly 40%—or 285,300 teens—live in 17 states and Washington, D.C. that have “shield laws” that protect access to gender-affirming care.
Transgender youth in certain regions of the country are more likely to live in a state that has enacted a law or policy affecting transgender youth. The vast majority (95%) of transgender youth in the South and half (51%) of transgender youth in the Midwest live in a state with at least one restrictive law or policy. The majority of transgender youth in the West (83%) and the Northeast (74%) reside in a state with a shield law.
“For the past few years, we have witnessed a trend of escalating state legislation affecting transgender youth,” said lead author Joshua Arrayales, Law Fellow at the Williams Institute. “The resulting patchwork of laws and policies is creating very different lived realities for transgender youth across the United States.”
Key Findings
RESTRICTIVE LEGISLATION
Bans on gender-affirming care
–362,900 transgender youth—half (50%) of transgender youth in the U.S.—live in 27 states that have passed laws banning access to gender-affirming care.
——Four states—Arkansas, Kansas, New Hampshire, and West Virginia—enacted restrictions on gender-affirming care in 2025.
——–Kansas enacted a new ban, while the others expanded existing restrictions.Seventeen states prohibit the use of Medicaid funds to pay for gender-affirming care for minors.
Bans on sports participation
–382,800 transgender youth—more than half (53%) of transgender youth in the U.S.—live in 29 states with laws that restrict their participation in school sports.
——–Six states—Georgia, Kentucky, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, and Utah—enacted laws restricting access to school sports in 2025.
————Georgia, Kentucky, Nebraska, and New Hampshire enacted new bans, while the others expanded existing restrictions.
Bathroom and facility bans
–348,400 transgender youth—nearly half (48%) of transgender youth in the U.S.—live in 25 states with laws that prohibit transgender youth from using bathrooms and other facilities that align with their gender identity in schools or government buildings or that define “sex” in a way that could deny them access to these spaces.
——–Twelve states—Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Mississippi, Montana, North Dakota, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, and Wyoming—enacted or expanded bathroom laws in 2025.
——–Eight states—Alabama, Indiana, Iowa, North Carolina, Ohio, Texas, West Virginia, and Wyoming—adopted restrictive sex definition laws or policies in 2025.
Bans on gender-affirming pronouns
–262,700 transgender youth—more than one-third (33%) of transgender youth in the U.S.—live in 16 states with laws that restrict gender-affirming pronoun use in schools or facilities and/or require parental notification when a change to pronouns is requested.
——–Five states—Montana, North Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, and West Virginia—enacted or expanded laws restricting pronouns use in 2025.
——–Two states—Ohio and West Virginia—enacted a new parental notification law in 2025.
SECTION TWO: PROTECTIVE LEGISLATION
Gender-affirming care “shield” laws
–285,300 transgender youth—more than one-third (39%) of transgender youth in the U.S.—live in 17 states and D.C. with gender-affirming care shield laws.
——–Eight states—California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, New York, Vermont, and Washington—enacted shield laws and policies in 2025.
——–Connecticut and Delaware enacted new laws and policies, while the others expanded existing protections.
“Research consistently shows that supportive environments for transgender youth are associated with better mental health outcomes,” said co-author Elana Redfield, Federal Policy Director at the Williams Institute. “Unfortunately, many policies at the state and federal level are making it harder for transgender youth to access these supports, and even to participate in basic aspects of public life.”
