{"id":261680,"date":"2025-06-12T09:55:37","date_gmt":"2025-06-12T13:55:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/?p=261680"},"modified":"2025-06-13T22:45:53","modified_gmt":"2025-06-14T02:45:53","slug":"rising-number-of-u-s-households-are-headed-by-married-same-sex-couples","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/social-trends\/2025\/06\/12\/rising-number-of-u-s-households-are-headed-by-married-same-sex-couples\/","title":{"rendered":"Rising Number of U.S. Households Are Headed by Married Same-Sex Couples"},"content":{"rendered":"

Along with love and companionship, a majority of adults with a same-sex spouse cite legal rights and benefits as a reason for marrying<\/h2>\n\n\n
About this project<\/summary>\n

Pew Research Center conducted this study to understand the demographic characteristics and experiences of adults who are married to or living with a same-sex spouse or partner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This analysis is part of a broader project focused on the experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer adults 10 years after the Supreme Court\u2019s Obergefell v. Hodges ruling<\/a> legalized same-sex marriage nationwide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The analysis in this report is based on three separate data sources. The number of same-sex married and cohabiting households comes from the U.S. Census Bureau\u2019s characteristics of same-sex couple households<\/a>. Data is not provided for the year 2020 due to data collection issues during the COVID-19 pandemic. The analysis of where couples live, education, employment, income and family characteristics comes from the American Community Survey (ACS). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The data on same-sex couples\u2019 relationship satisfaction and division of household tasks was collected as part of a larger Center survey of 3,959 LGBTQ U.S. adults conducted from Jan. 8 to Jan. 19, 2025. This analysis is based on responses from 1,154 of those LGBTQ adults who are married to or living with a same-sex spouse or partner. The sample for this survey includes respondents from three different sources: Pew Research Center\u2019s American Trends Panel (ATP), SSRS\u2019s Opinion Panel (OP) and Ipsos\u2019 Knowledge Panel (KP). The ATP is a group of people recruited through national, random sampling of residential addresses who have agreed to take surveys regularly. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The survey included oversamples of transgender adults and gay, lesbian or bisexual adults who are married or living with a partner from Ipsos\u2019 KnowledgePanel. Like the ATP, the Opinion Panel and KnowledgePanel are probability-based online survey web panels recruited primarily through national, random sampling of residential addresses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Interviews were conducted either online or by telephone with a live interviewer. The survey is weighted to be representative of the U.S. LGBTQ adult population by gender, race, ethnicity, partisan affiliation, education and other factors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are the questions used for this analysis<\/a>, the topline<\/a> and the survey methodology<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Pew Research Center is a subsidiary of The Pew Charitable Trusts, its primary funder. This report was made possible with support from the Trusts and from the People & Voices Initiative<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n

Terminology<\/summary>\n

References to LGBTQ adults<\/strong> include adults who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Throughout this report, we use the term \u201cdifferent-sex\u201d to refer to couples that consist of a man and a woman in keeping with The Associated Press Stylebook<\/a>, a resource we use often.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the secondary data findings, same-sex couples<\/strong> refer to those who are living with a spouse or unmarried partner of the same sex. Different-sex couples <\/strong>consist of a man and a woman who are married or unmarried and living in the same household.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the survey findings, references to same-sex couples <\/strong>are based on those who indicated they are married or living with a partner. Additionally, only those who have one partner, or who have more than one partner but consider one to be their primary partner, of the same sex are included.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Living with partner<\/strong> and cohabiting<\/strong> are used interchangeably to refer to people who currently live with their partner but are not married.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

References to college graduates <\/strong>or people with a college degree<\/strong> comprise those with a bachelor\u2019s degree or more education. \u201cSome college\u201d<\/strong> includes those with an associate degree and those who attended college but did not obtain a degree. \u201cHigh school\u201d<\/strong> refers to those who have a high school diploma or its equivalent, such as a General Educational Development (GED) certificate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

References to employed adults <\/strong>include those who are working full or part time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Household income <\/strong>is the sum of incomes of all household members age 15+ during the previous year.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n

Ten years after the Supreme Court\u2019s ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges<\/a> legalized same-sex marriage nationwide, a Pew Research Center survey<\/a> finds that two-thirds of LGBTQ adults say the decision made the country more accepting of same-sex couples.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Chart<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Since 2015, the number of households headed by same-sex married couples<\/strong> in the United States has risen steadily from 425,357 to 774,553 in 2023, according to U.S. Census Bureau data.[1. Prior to the Supreme Court\u2019s ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges, same-sex marriage was legal in 36 states and the District of Columbia<\/a>.] <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The number of households headed by same-sex cohabiting couples<\/strong> has also risen over this period. It started at 433,539 in 2015 and increased to 536,894 by 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite these increases, same-sex married couples represent a very small share of all married couples \u2013 just 1.3% in 2023.<\/strong> Same-sex cohabiting couples account for 5.6% of all cohabiting couples. (Read a demographic profile<\/a> of same-sex couples below.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our accompanying survey finds that while love and companionship are top reasons for same-sex couples to get married, a majority of adults with a same-sex spouse also say legal rights and benefits are a major reason.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In general, men and women in same-sex couples express a great deal of satisfaction with their relationship. Those who are married tend to be more satisfied with certain aspects than those who are living with a partner. (Read more from our survey<\/a> about how same-sex couples describe their relationships.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These findings come from a Pew Research Center survey and analysis of government data. The survey data is based on the responses of 1,154 adults who are married to or living with a same-sex spouse or partner as part of a larger, nationally representative survey of LGBTQ U.S. adults conducted Jan. 8-19, 2025. The analysis of government data about same-sex and different-sex couples is based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau and American Community Survey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Related: <\/em><\/strong>The Experiences of LGBTQ Americans Today<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A demographic profile of same-sex couples<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The demographic characteristics of same-sex married couples vary somewhat from those of different-sex (sometimes referred to as opposite-sex) married couples. The patterns are largely similar when comparing same-sex and different-sex cohabiting couples.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Chart<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Learn more:<\/em><\/strong> Detailed tables on cohabiting couples<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Where do same-sex married couples live?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

While substantial shares of same-sex married couples live in all four regions of the United States, there are some differences in where they live compared with different-sex couples.<\/p>\n\n\n\n