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PRIDE Month: Commerce Department’s U.S. Census Bureau Offers Valuable Data on Same-Sex Couples


The Department of Commerce (DOC) is proud to join the Nation in commemorating Pride Month. Pride Month is an opportunity to recognize the history of those who paved the way and to reflect on the continued fight for LGBTQ+ rights.

Same-sex families reflect growing diversity and living arrangements in the United States. In honor of Pride Month, the Commerce Department’s U.S. Census Bureau has compiled key statistics on same-sex couples including the total number of same-sex householdswhere same-sex couples live, the percentage of same-sex couples that have children in their households, and incomes and level of education of same-sex married couples compared to opposite-sex married couples.   

Following are some key statistics on same-sex households from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2019 American Community Survey.

  • There were roughly 980,000 same-sex couple households in the United States in 2019 and most were married — around 58% compared to 42% unmarried.
  • Compared with opposite-sex couples, same-sex couples are more likely to have higher incomes, have both people employed, and be more educated.
  • Same-sex married couples tend to be younger than opposite-sex married couples and less likely to own their home. Yet, same-sex unmarried partners tend to be older than their opposite-sex counterparts, and more likely to own their home.
  • Nationally, 53.4% of people in same-sex married couples were female and 46.6% were male.
  • Among people in same-sex unmarried couples in the United States, 52.1% were female and 47.9% were male.
  • Same-sex married couples have a higher median household income than opposite-sex married couples: 107,200 and 96,930.
     

U.S. Census Bureau Graphic on Median Household Income for Married Couples: 2019.

 

  • Fifteen percent (14.7%) of the 1.1 million same-sex couples in the United States had at least one child under 18 in their household, compared with 37.8% of opposite-sex couples. Same-sex couples also tended to have smaller families. Among couples with children, 54.7% of same-sex couples only had one child, compared with 39.2% of opposite-sex couples.
  • Same-sex parents were more likely to be female. In 2019, 22.5% of female same-sex couple households had children under 18 present, compared with 6.6% of male same-sex couple households.

U.S. Census Bureau Graphic on Percentage of Children Living with Couples by Their Relationship to Parents and Couple Type.

 

  • While there are slightly more female same-sex couple households in the United States, male same-sex couple households are more common in cities with the most same-sex households.
  • Same-sex households make up 0.8% of all U.S. households, but some cities, such as San Francisco, have a higher percentage of same-sex households — 3.0% — than the national rate.

U.S. Census Bureau Graphic on Percentage of Same-Sex Couple Households by Selected Cities: 2017.


Through the American Community Survey, the U.S. Census Bureau collects data on same-sex couple households by asking how each person in the household is related to the householder (who owns or rents the home).

Households are identified as same-sex couple households if a spouse or unmarried partner is the same sex as the householder.

For more information, please see the U.S. Census Bureau’s Stats for Stories series: LGBTQIA+ Pride Month: June 2021.

 

 

 

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