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Key Demographic and Economic Characteristics of Same-Sex and Opposite-Sex Couples Differed

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There were about 1.2 million same-sex couple households in the United States in 2021, according to recently released Census Bureau data.

Roughly 710,000 of the same-sex couple households were married and about 500,000 were unmarried.

These and many other estimates can be found in the Census Bureau’s recently released package of tables and graphics about the characteristics of same-sex couple households, which are based on American Community Survey (ACS) data.

The package, which shows estimates from 2005 through 2021, was not released in 2020 due to the impact of COVID-19 on ACS data collection.

A larger share of same-sex (31.6%) than opposite-sex (18.4%) married couples were interracial.

Other highlights from the release:

  • The average age of householders in same-sex married couples (48.9 years) was lower than in opposite-sex married couples (52.8 years). But the average age of householders in same-sex unmarried couples (42.0 years) was higher than in opposite-sex unmarried couples (39.9 years).
  • The share of female-female and male-male couples with both partners employed did not differ significantly, though median household income in female same-sex couple households ($92,470) was lower than in male same-sex couple households ($116,800).
  • Both partners had at least a bachelor’s degree in a larger share of same-sex (29.6%) than opposite-sex (18.1%) unmarried couples.
  • A larger share of same-sex (31.6%) than opposite-sex (18.4%) married couples were interracial.
  • The District of Columbia (2.5%) had the highest percentage of same-sex couple households of any state or state equivalent.

This is the second time the Census Bureau has released ACS estimates of same-sex couple households since revising the survey’s relationship to householder question to more accurately capture same-sex relationships.

The ACS does not identify all couples living together since it only collects information about each household member’s relationship to the householder, rather than about the relationships among all household members.

Further information regarding ways the Census Bureau has changed how it collects information about same-sex couples over time is available.

Zachary Scherer is a statistician in the Census Bureau’s Social, Economic, and Housing Statistics Division.

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Page Last Revised - November 22, 2022
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