Corrected Census Data Reduces Number of Gay Couples

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. D.C. has the highest percentage of same sex couple households in the U.S.

The new figures come after 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. The summary file counts originally showed that there were 349,377 married couple households and 552,620 same-sex unmarried partner households.

“We understand how important it is for all groups to have accurate statistics that reflect who we are as a nation,” said Census Bureau Director Robert Groves in a prepared statement.

Evan Wolfson, president of Freedom to Marry, told The Washington Blade that the numbers reflect the need for more states to legalize gay marriage. “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,” Wolfson told The Blade.

In addition to having the greatest percentage of same-sex households in the U.S. within that group, the District has the highest percentage of unmarried partner households. D.C. comes in third for percentage of households with same-sex married couples, behind Mass. and Vt., which legalized same-sex marriage in 2004 and 2009 respectively. Same sex marriage was legalized in D.C. on Dec. 18, 2009.