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Written by Lisa Neff, Staff writer
Jun 30, 2011
The first same-sex couple estimates derived from the 2010 biennial Census were released in June, offering snapshots of gay domesticity in seven states.
The earliest estimates, released by the Williams Institute, a think tank at UCLA School of Law, are for Alabama, California, Delaware, Hawaii, Kansas, Pennsylvania and Wyoming, with more state estimates to arrive as the data review continues.
Same-sex couples can be counted in the Census Bureau’s mandated 2010 survey because “Person 1” on a questionnaire could describe his or her relationship with another adult of the same sex in the household as “husband,” “wife” or “unmarried partner.” The questionnaire did not ask people to identify as LGBT.
The Williams Institute maintains that the Census figures “may reflect an under-count of same-sex couples” because some couples may have been unwilling to identify themselves, even in an anonymous survey, and the survey would not reveal same-sex couples unless the relationships involved heads of household. Same-sex couples may also be mis-coded.
Still, the estimates are important resources in local, state and national discussions about LGBT people and equality issues, according to Williams Institute scholar Gary Gates.
The first 2010 Census data on same-sex couples released by the Williams Institute shows 4,328 same-sex couples in Hawaii. About 23 percent of those couples are raising children. About 53 percent of the same-sex couples are women.
In Alabama, the data shows 11,259 same-sex couples – about 5.98 same-sex couples per 1,000 households in the state. An estimated 60 percent of same-sex couples are female, and 27 percent are raising children.
In Pennsylvania, the Census count includes 33,602 same-sex couples, according to the Williams Institute. The majority are female, and about 20 percent are raising children.
The Delaware count shows 3,353 same-sex couples, the majority of them female and about 19 percent raising children.
In Kansas, the data shows 6,176 same-sex couples – about 5.55 same-sex couples per 1,000 households in the state. About 26 percent of the couples are raising children and 71 percent are female.
The count in Wyoming includes 1,147 same-sex couples, with about 73 percent female and 28 percent raising children.
The numbers in California, with a much larger population than the other states, are 125,516 same-sex couples, about 53 percent of them female and 21 percent raising children. There are 9.98 same-sex couples per 1,000 households in the state, according to the Williams Institute report.
