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UCLA’S WILLIAMS INSTITUTE
RELEASES NEW STUDY ANALYZING
CENSUS DATA ON SAME-SEX COUPLES
IN KANSAS: MORE THAN 6,500
COUPLES LIVE THROUGHOUT STATE;
RAISING ALMOST 1,800 CHILDREN
Press Release January 24, 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 more than 6,500 same-sex couples in Kansas. The study shows that about 17% of the same-sex couples in Kansas are raising an estimated 1,797 children. The study also shows that same-sex couples, especially those raising children, have fewer economic resources and own homes at a significantly lower rate than their heterosexual, married counterparts. The full report may be found at: http://www.law.ucla.edu/williamsinstitute/publications/KansasCensusSnapshot.pdf KEY FINDINGS INCLUDE: · In 2000, there were 3,973 same-sex couples living in Kansas. By 2005, the number of same-sex couples increased to 6,663. · There are an estimated 72,557 gay, lesbian, and bisexual people (single and coupled) currently living in Kansas. · Same-sex couples live in every county in Kansas and constitute 0.7% of coupled households and 0.4% of all households in the state. Sedgwick County reported the most same-sex couples with 820 couples (0.46% of all households in the county), followed by Johnson County with 679 couples (0.39%), and Wyandotte County with 298 couples (0.50%). The counties with the highest percentage of same-sex couples are Kearny County (0.71% of all county households), Jackson County (0.68%), and Douglas County (0.62%). · Kansas’s same-sex couples are as racially and ethnically diverse as their married counterparts: 12% of same-sex and married couples are nonwhite. · Despite the military’s historic policies of excluding gay men and lesbians from service, individuals in same-sex couples have served in the military: 11% of individuals in same-sex couples are veterans, compared to 16% of married individuals. KANSAS’S SAME-SEX COUPLES ARE RAISING CHILDREN WITH FEWER ECONOMIC RESOURCES THAN MARRIED PARENTS · Same-sex parents in Kansas have fewer financial resources to support their children than married parents. The median household income of same-sex couples with children is $50,400, or 11% lower than that of married parents ($56,530). The average household income of same-sex couples with children is $49,837, significantly less than $68,886 for married parents. · While 57% of same-sex couples with children own their home, a significantly larger percentage of married parents (80%) own their home. SAME-SEX COUPLES ARE ACTIVELY ENGAGED IN THE KANSAS ECONOMY · Individuals in same-sex couples in Kansas are more likely to be employed than are married individuals: 73% of individuals in same-sex couples are employed, compared to 69% 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 Kansas earn $27,637 each year, significantly less than $44,320 for married men. The median income of men in same-sex couples in Kansas is $24,000, or 31% less than that of married men ($35,000). · Women in same-sex couples in Kansas earn an average of $32,348 per year (with a median of $25,000), more than married women, whose earnings average $23,107 (with a median of $20,000). 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 Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Texas, available at http://www.law.ucla.edu/williamsinstitute/publications/Policy-Census-index.html. ###
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