New data shows gay & lesbian couples don’t live in the same places. Where does your city rank?

New data from the 2020 U.S. Census reveals where same-sex male and female couples are living in states across the country, and it’s not always in the same places.

While both male and female coupled households were often found in and around the main population centers of each state, coupled women gravitate toward smaller towns on average compared to coupled men, who reside in larger numbers than women in the country’s biggest cities, all with larger LGBTQ+ populations.

Related:

Finally, the Census Bureau will ask questions about LGBTQ+ people

However, some worry that the questions will still continue to erase some queer Americans.

According to figures broken down by study authors Amara Jones-Myers and Lydia Anderson, female same-sex couples made up just under one percent of U.S. coupled households in 2020, with the number of male same-sex couples coming in at 0.8%.

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County-level maps show higher percentages of both types of same-sex couples in Florida, the Northeast, and on the West Coast. Counties in those areas also had the highest number of same-sex couples and counties with the highest percentage of same-sex coupled households, the data revealed.

The top ten counties with the most same-sex couples overall were Los Angeles County; New York County (New York City); Cook County (home to Chicago); San Francisco County; Maricopa County (Phoenix); Broward County (Ft. Lauderdale); Harris County (Houston); King County (Seattle); Riverside County, California (Palm Springs); and San Diego County.

The list of top counties for women couples includes Kings County, New York (Brooklyn); Alameda County, California (Oakland and Berkeley); Clark County, Nevada (Las Vegas); and Bexar County, Texas (San Antonio).

Male couples dominated the list in New York, San Francisco, Broward County (Ft. Lauderdale), and Riverside County, California (Palm Springs).

Among counties with the largest share of same-sex couples among all couples, men made up 5.9% in San Francisco. For women, the largest share of same-sex couples was found in Hampshire, Massachusetts, in the Berkshires, where 3.9 percent of all couples were female-female. For women couples, Multnomah County, Oregon, (Portland) was the runner-up with 2.8% of all couples. For men, Washington, D.C., ranked second with 5.7 percent of all couples.

Amy Stone, a sociology professor at Trinity University in San Antonio, said the data reveal where male and female couples feel most at ease, from smaller university towns like Hampshire or urban settings with more LGBTQ+ people like San Francisco and New York.

“It’s where people feel safe living or where they find support. Where gay couples feel safe and where female couples feel safe isn’t always the same place,” Stone told the Associated Press.

The U.S. Census currently does not track total LGBTQ+ populations in the U.S.; the survey only captures LGBTQ+ data if the respondents are living together as spouses or partners. It’s estimated that same-sex couples represent about one-sixth of all LGBTQ+ people in the U.S. Those who are single or aren’t cohabitating, as well as LGBTQ+ people in opposite-sex relationships, don’t show up in the numbers.

The Census Bureau says it plans to add questions about sexual orientation and gender identity for people ages 15 and older to its annual American Community Survey, the agency’s most comprehensive look at American life in addition to the traditional census.

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