A new data from the U.S. Census Bureau shows that the number of same-sex couple households in the United States has more than doubled over the past two decades.
In 2024, about 1.7 million U.S. households were headed by same-sex couples, which is roughly 1 percent of all households. This is up from approximately 777,000 in 2004. Of those, around 836,000 were married couples, while about 551,000 were unmarried.
Married same-sex couples have outnumbered unmarried couples since 2015, following the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, which legalized marriage equality nationwide. Census data also highlights demographic and economic shifts. Married lesbian couples now outnumber married gay male couples, reversing trends from 2004.
Median household income for lesbian couples reached $108K compared to about $104K for male couples, despite similar employment rates. Globally, 40 countries have legalized same-sex marriage since the Netherlands became the first in 2001. In the U.S., support has risen to 63 percent, up from 35 percent in 2001.
