On March 6, the Williams Institute submitted the findings of two reports in a friend-of-the-court brief for Supreme Court same-sex marriage cases in Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee. The reports show that same-sex married couples are far more likely to adopt or foster children than different-sex married couples. Married same-sex couples are more economically secure than same-sex unmarried couples.
In general, same-sex couples are less than half as likely as different-sex couples to raise children. But same-sex couples nationally are nearly three times more likely than different-sex couples to adopt or foster children. In Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and Tennessee, where adoption laws tend to be more restrictive, same-sex couples are still twice as likely as different-sex couples to adopt. And most same-sex couples that adopt are married. Nationally, more than 25 percent of same-sex married couples had children compared to only 15 percent of same-sex unmarried couples. When comparing only married couples, same-sex couples are five times as likely as different-sex couples to adopt or foster children. Among couples with other children, 22 percent of same-sex couples are raising an adopted or foster child compared to 3 percent of different-sex couples. Gary Gates, Research Director at the Williams Institute, told Windy City Times "[Same-sex couples] are likely a great future source of foster and adoptive parents for states with child welfare systems that are often overburdened."
As with different-sex couples, marriage among same-sex couples comes with its economic advantages. On average, same-sex married couples earn 27 percent more income than same-sex unmarried couples. The poverty rate among same-sex unmarried couples is more than four times the poverty rate of same-sex married couples.
The economic advantages of marriage also exist in same-sex couples that have children. The average annual income of same-sex couples with children is 5 percent lower than that of different-sex couples raising children. But, among married couples with children, the average annual income of same-sex couples is over 15 percent higher than that of different-sex couples. And while 24 percent of children raised by same-sex couples live in poverty, only 9 percent of children raised by married same-sex couples live in poverty.
Couples who are married are also more likely to own homes than unmarried couples. Among same-sex couples, 71 percent of married couples own homes compared to 65 percent of unmarried couples. Among different-sex couples, 80 percent of married couples own homes compared to 41 percent of unmarried couples.
The number of same-sex married couples has increased dramatically over the last year. The American Community Survey of 2013 estimated 130,000 same-sex married couples in the United States. But recent Gallup data implies that there are now 350,000 same-sex married couples across the country. When asked if this increase will continue, Gates said "If marriage for same-sex couples becomes legal across the country, I'm sure you will see a significant rise in the short term. There is certainly a pent up demand for marriage … After an initial surge, I suspect that rates of marriage among same-sex couples will become more similar to those among different-sex couples."
Geographically, same-sex couples show a slightly different pattern than different-sex couples. At least one same-sex couple lived in 93 percent of U.S. counties. But same-sex couples were more likely than different-sex couples to live in the Northeast and West and less likely to live in the Midwest and South. This difference is more pronounced among married couples. While over 60 percent of married same-sex couples live in the Northeast and West, only 41 percent of married different-sex couples live in the same regions. The Northeast and West are considered to be areas with higher LGBT acceptance and more access to same-sex marriage.
Nationally, there is slightly more racial and ethnic diversity among different-sex couples. But, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee show more racial diversity among same-sex couples. And, like different-sex couples, same-sex couples of racial and ethnic minorities were more likely to raise children than white same-sex couples. Nationally, only 23 percent of all same-sex couples were racial or ethnic minorities while 34 percent of the same-sex couples raising children were racial or ethnic minorities.
The average age of same-sex couples was five years younger than the average age of different sex couples. And same-sex couples seemed to marry younger. The average age of an unmarried different-sex couple was 13 years younger than that of a married different-sex couple. But unmarried and married same-sex couples were, on average, less than a year apart. Married same-sex couples raising children also tended to be younger than married different-sex couples raising children. But unmarried same-sex couples raising children tended to be older than unmarried different-sex couples raising children.
The two full reports are accessible through williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/research/census-lgbt-demographics-studies/demographics-of-married-and-unmarried-same-sex-couples-analyses-of-the-2013-american-community-survey/ and williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/research/census-lgbt-demographics-studies/demographics-of-same-sex-couples-in-kentucky-michigan-ohio-and-tennessee-analyses-of-the-2013-american-community-survey/ .