WASHINGTON – The U.S. Census Bureau has released new statistics on same-sex married couple and unmarried partner households. According to revised estimates from the 2010 census, there were 131,729 same-sex married couple households and 514,735 same-sex unmarried partner households in the United States.
The results of the 2010 census revised estimates are closer to the results of the 2010 American Community Survey (ACS) for same-sex married and unmarried partners. The 2010 ACS estimated same-sex married couples at 152,335 and same-sex unmarried partners at 440,989.
The new, preferred figures revise earlier estimates of same-sex unmarried partners released this summer from the 2010 Census Summary File 1 because Census Bureau staff discovered an inconsistency in the responses in the 2010 census summary file statistics that artificially inflated the number of same-sex couples. In addition, a breakdown of couples who reported as same-sex spouses is now available. The summary file counts originally showed that there were 349,377 married couple households and 552,620 same-sex unmarried partner households.
Marriage equality campaigners said the figures show the need for gay couples to be given the right to wed. Evan Wolfson, president of Freedom to Marry, said “The Census Bureau’s most recent estimates of same-sex couples reiterate the need to end marriage discrimination once and for all. The number of gay and lesbian couples in committed, loving relationships, raising families together, continues to grow, leaving more and more families without the critical safety-net of marriage.”
Rea Carey, executive director of the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force, said the data would give gay couples far more visibility. “No longer are our marriages rendered invisible in the snapshot of our country provided through the census,” she said. “And no longer can anyone ignore the presence of our relationships all across the country.”
Census Bureau Director Robert Groves said, “We understand how important it is for all groups to have accurate statistics that reflect who we are as a nation. As scientists, we noticed the inconsistency and developed the revised estimates to provide a more accurate portrait of the number of same-sex couples. We’re providing all three – the revised, original and ACS estimates – together to provide users with the full, transparent picture of our current measurement of same-sex couples.”
This is the first time census data on gay households has been collected.
