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UCLA’S WILLIAMS INSTITUTE
RELEASES NEW STUDY ANALYZING
CENSUS DATA ON SAME-SEX COUPLES
IN TEXAS: ALMOST 50,000 COUPLES
LIVE THROUGHOUT STATE; RAISING
ALMOST 17,500 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 almost 50,000 same-sex couples in Texas. The study shows that about 20% of the same-sex couples in Texas are raising an estimated 17,444 children. The study also shows that same-sex couples with 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/TexasCensusSnapshot.pdf KEY FINDINGS INCLUDE: · In 2000, there were 42,912 same-sex couples living in Texas. By 2005, the number of same-sex couples increased to 49,423. · There are an estimated 579,968 gay, lesbian, and bisexual people (single and coupled) currently living in Texas. · Same-sex couples live in 99% of the counties in Texas and constitute 1.0% of coupled households and 0.6% of all households in the state. Harris County reported the most same-sex couples with 8,612 couples (0.71% of all households in the county), followed by Dallas County with 7,067 couples (0.88%), and Travis County with 2,984 couples (0.93%). The counties with the highest percentage of same-sex couples are Culberson County (1.05% of all county households), Presidio County (1.03%), and Hudspeth County (1.01%).Texas’s same-sex couples are racially and ethnically diverse: 35% of same-sex couples are nonwhite, compared to 38% 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 15% of married individuals. TEXAS’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 Texas. The median household income of same-sex couples with children is $41,720, or 20% lower than that of married parents ($52,400). The average household income of same-sex couples with children is $52,927, significantly less than $67,508 for married parents. · While 50% of same-sex couples with children own their home, a significantly larger percentage of married parents (73%) own their home. SAME-SEX COUPLES ARE ACTIVELY ENGAGED IN THE TEXAS ECONOMY · Individuals in same-sex couples in Texas are significantly more likely to be employed than are married individuals: 79% of individuals in same-sex couples are employed, compared to 64% 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 Texas earn $40,271 each year, significantly less than $47,592 for married men. The median income of men in same-sex couples in Texas is $32,000, or 9% less than that of married men ($35,000). · Women in same-sex couples in Texas earn an average of $32,251 per year (with a median of $27,500), more than married women, whose earnings average $25,094 (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 Kansas, Nebraska, Missouri, and Oklahoma, which are available at http://www.law.ucla.edu/williamsinstitute/publications/Policy-Census-index.html. ###
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