The data reveals that gay men in relationships are attracted to large cities, typically located on the coasts, while lesbian couples prefer to live in smaller towns and rural areas.
The counties with the highest number of gay men in relationships are San Francisco, Manhattan and Boston. San Francisco County has the highest percentage of men who openly identify as “gay in relationships,” at nearly 6 percent.
The counties with the most openly lesbian couples were the Berkshires, Massachusetts, Portland, Oregon, and Asheville, North Carolina. The Berkshires, a mountainous region of New England known for its universities and fall foliage, had the highest concentration of lesbian households, at nearly 4 percent.
Areas where high concentrations of gay men and lesbian couples overlap include Los Angeles, Washington DC, Richmond and St. Louis.
The census, which is conducted every 10 years, currently only collects data on LGBTQ+ identity for people living in relationships. The Census Bureau added “same-sex” and “opposite-sex” options over the past decade for married and unmarried couples living together.
The 2021 American Community Survey, the Census Bureau’s comprehensive annual survey of American life, found that there were about 1.2 million same-sex households in the United States that year. That compares to an estimated 13.9 million LGBTQ+ people in the country, according to data from the Williams Institute that same year.
The bureau is currently working on questions to potentially add to the American Community Survey on sexual orientation and gender identity for people ages 15 and older.