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UCLA’S WILLIAMS INSTITUTE
RELEASES NEW STUDY ANALYZING
CENSUS DATA ON SAME-SEX COUPLES
IN GEORGIA: ALMOST 24,500
COUPLES LIVE THROUGHOUT STATE;
RAISING OVER 8,850 CHILDREN
Press Release January 15, 2008
Media Contacts:
Gary Gates (310)825-1868/gates@law.ucla.edu LOS ANGELES - Today, the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law released a new research study providing demographic and economic information about the almost 24,500 same-sex couples in Georgia. The study shows that about 20% of the same-sex couples in Georgia are raising an estimated 8,852 children. The study also shows that same-sex couples raising children have fewer economic resources and own homes at a significantly lower rate than heterosexual, married parents. The full report may be found at: http://www.law.ucla.edu/williamsinstitute/publications/GeorgiaCensusSnapshot.pdf KEY FINDINGS INCLUDE: · In 2000, there were 19,288 same-sex couples living in Georgia. By 2005, the number of same-sex couples increased to 24,424. · There are an estimated 278,943 gay, lesbian, and bisexual people (single and coupled) currently living in Georgia. · Same-sex couples live in every county in Georgia and constitute 1.1% of coupled households and 0.6% of all households in the state. Fulton County reported the most same-sex couples with 3,481 couples (1.08% of all households in the county), followed by DeKalb County with 3,431 couples (1.38%), and Cobb County with 1,246 couples (0.55%). The counties with the highest percentage of same-sex couples are DeKalb County (1.38% of all county households), Fulton County (1.08%), Montgomery County (0.82%), and Atkinson County (0.77%). · Georgia’s same-sex couples are more racially and ethnically diverse than their married counterparts: 28% of same-sex couples are nonwhite, compared to 25% of married couples. · Despite the military’s historic policies of excluding gay men and lesbians from service, individuals in same-sex couples have served in the military: 10% of individuals in same-sex couples are veterans, compared to 16% of married individuals. GEORGIA’S SAME-SEX COUPLES ARE RAISING CHILDREN WITH FEWER ECONOMIC RESOURCES THAN MARRIED PARENTS · Same-sex parents have fewer financial resources to support their children than married parents in Georgia. The median household income of same-sex couples with children is $54,000, or 9% lower than that of married parents ($59,080). The average household income of same-sex couples with children is $56,160, significantly less than $74,482 for married parents. · While 50% of same-sex couples with children own their home, a significantly larger percentage of married parents (79%) own their home. SAME-SEX COUPLES ARE ACTIVELY ENGAGED IN THE GEORGIA ECONOMY · Individuals in same-sex couples in Georgia are significantly more likely to be employed than are married individuals: 81% of individuals in same-sex couples are employed, compared to 67% of married individuals. · Contrary to a popular stereotype, the annual earnings of men in same-sex couples are significantly lower than those of married men. On average, men in same-sex couples in Georgia earn $43,414 each year, significantly less than $50,340 for married men. The median income of men in same-sex couples in Georgia is $34,000, or 9% less than that of married men ($37,000). · Women in same-sex couples in Georgia earn an average of $33,274 per year (with a median of $29,000), more than married women, whose earnings average $26,433 (with a median of $22,000). Women in same-sex couples earn less than married men as well as men in same-sex couples. The Williams Institute also released today similar Census Snapshots for Georgia and Louisiana, which are available at http://www.law.ucla.edu/williamsinstitute/publications/Policy-Census-index.html. ###
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