Same-Sex Couples: Williams Institute Releases National Data On Gay Couples, San Francisco Tops List

Nearly one million gay couples live in almost every county in the United States, according to groundbreaking data released Thursday by UCLA's same-sex advocacy think tank, The Williams Institute.

(SCROLL DOWN FOR PHOTOS)

The census research discovered that 901,997 same-sex couples live in 99 percent of American counties, in cities from West Hollywood, Calif. to New Hope, Pa. Sixty percent of the couples are female, and 22 percent currently raise children.

Researchers ranked large, mid-size and small cities by concentration of gay households (adjusted for population size). Not surprisingly, San Francisco topped the list of large cities, with 11,555 couples. But the data revealed some unexpected discoveries as well: Salt Lake City, for example, ranked among the highest mid-sized cities, while New York City was nowhere to be found on any list. North and South Dakota showed the lowest numbers.

Williams Institute Demographer Gary Gates said the research reflects a significant societal shift. "The LGBT community has dispersed beyond traditional enclaves as social stigma eases, couples are more comfortable coming out, and a generation of aging and out same-sex couples begin to retire," he said.

SFGate noted that he findings will undoubtedly be cited in upcoming debates concerning issues important to the gay community, like the Defense of Marriage Act and state marriage laws.

Take a look at which cities ranked the highest below, and read the full Williams Institute report here.

1 of 25

San Francisco, CA

1 of 26

First Slide

Previous Slide

@

Oakland 160th Anniversary: An Editor's Ode To The Town

Burning Man On Probation: Festival In Trouble For Exceeding Population Limit (PHOTOS)

Johannes Mehserle, Ex-BART Officer, Asks Court To Overturn Manslaughter Conviction (PHOTOS)

California Governor's Mansion To Be Rented Out For Parties (PHOTOS)

gadgets/slideshows/220559/slide_220559_919675_small.jpg

Dolores Park In Slow Motion: Video Features San Francisco's Most Hipster Park (VIDEO)

Stephen Elliott On 'About Cherry,' The Rumpus And Why San Francisco Is Porn's Ground Zero (VIDEO)

comments(699)

Total comments: 699 | Post a Comment

1 of 26

Rate This Slide

Rank #2  |  Average: 4

Not My Favorite City Great Place To Live!

• 
  1
• 
  2
• 
  3
• 
  4
• 
  5
• 
  6
• 
  7
• 
  8
• 
  9
• 
  10

Current Top 5 Slides

loading...

Choose your Top 5 Slides

UserName

 | Become a fan

Picked These as the Top 5 Slides in the Slideshow

loading...

Top User Slides

← Prev|Next →

 | Become a fan

Picked These as the Top 5 Slides in the Slideshow

loading...

Users who voted on this slide

← Prev|Next →

loading...

All images by Thinkstock.

Comments

[alysonlpowers]

07:14 PM on 09/02/2011

The more it is out there, the more those who choose this feel they are in the "ok." Prevelance has been predicted. The people are okay, but this choice in life is not. No matter what the body speaks. No matter what the urge. If they don't believe in God's words, then they must know — it goes against the natural world. It goes against nature.

I had 5 best friends that were gay, I loved them dearly. But their choices are not righteous ones. Two of them shot and killed themselves before they were 22. The confusion is sad. These people are not "bad" — the choice in action is.

If you don't like the opposite sex, fine. If you have same-sex friendships and love your friends, fine. If you commit sex with the same, this path is dangerous. Religion aside, the philosophy is deep and one day will come to light, proving the destructive effect of this chosen path. God does know best.

[talkstocoyotes]

04:25 AM on 09/04/2011

I'm sorry to hear that two of your "best friends" succumbed to the lethal effects of homophobia when their adult lives had hardly got started. That is a tragedy that hopefully will become more rare as young gay people grow up in a more accepting society. You sound like you mean well but your attitudes are currently part of the problem.

[blackreign]

09:19 PM on 09/04/2011

You should learn to read before you respond. Suicide is a self-inflicted act and is NOT the fault of others.

Homosexuals need to take responsibility for their own choices and actions and stop looking to blame the attitudes and choices of others. Live your life, and blame yourself for your choices, not others. You'll be a much happier person, I promise.

[blackreign]

09:26 PM on 09/04/2011

Good points. I don't take a scientist to know that homosexuality is not natural.

[WheelsOnFire]

12:13 AM on 09/05/2011

Thousands of scientists have come to the conclusion that being gay is natural.

Indeed, homosexuality is found throughout mammals, reptiles, insects, birds, fish, and other species.

You may want to believe that homosexuality is not natural. That does not make it so.

[StevenKeirstead]

02:51 PM on 08/31/2011

One interesting thing in the report is that gay or lesbian couples in rural areas of the US seem to be somewhat more likely to be raising children than urban couples (though with many exceptions). See page 3 of http://www3.law.ucla.edu/williamsinstitute/pdf/Census2010Snapshot_US.pdf

[JAVA VB]

02:00 PM on 08/31/2011

Everybody's journey is individual. If you fall in love with a boy, you fall in love with a boy. The fact that many Americans consider it a disease says more about them than it does about homosexuality.

[blackreign]

09:23 PM on 09/04/2011

I never heard homosexuality called a disease. That's a bit over the top. Based on science and what I've learned interacting with homosexuals, the behavior is similar to other vices and sexually deviant behavior that people struggle to control.

But no one would ever dream of arguing that the other sexually deviant acts are "by birth". Homosexuality gets "special" exemption with a complete ignorance of science.

[WheelsOnFire]

12:23 AM on 09/05/2011

You say that homosexuality is "sexually deviant behavior that people struggle to control."

Been reading the agenda-laden websites of the anti-gay crowd again? And be honest for a change, you have not interacted with homosexuals at all if that is what you claim to have learned from gays.

As for "ignorance of science" -- well, take a long hard look in the mirror.

Scientific studies have found that there is no psychological difference between straights and gays. And decades of scientific study have concluded that homosexuality is a normal human condition.

As for "special exemption" -- what are you babbling about?

[kyosaku]

06:49 PM on 08/30/2011

"Sixty percent of the couples are female." I find this interesting because there is so much less venomous press towards lesbians. Perhaps, it is my perceptions that are skewed...but it seems that they homophobes start spinning on their tails and blowing smoke out their ears, the are usually referring to men with men.

[crnlrobert]

11:37 PM on 09/01/2011

It is skewed. The focus is on large cities, not rural areas. Gay and lesbian couples, many of whom have adopted children, are all over America's rural areas. This misconception (unintentional or intentional) only reentrenches the MYTH that "gay" and "couple," "gay" and "family," are never synonymous. To them, we are immature "juvenile delinquents" incapable of ever forming long-lasting commitments and relationships, and certainly "not" getting married and having families. Anita Bryant and Jerry Falwell, in my generation, reinstilled this MYTH, but that was back in the 1970s/'80s: We are living in the age of lesbian AND GAY MALE couples often being together for over a decade; gay/lesbian civil unions, even gay/lesbian MARRIAGE. Many ARE families who've adopted children, or are having children of their own. We aren't redefining the institution of marriage and the family, we are simply engaging ourselves more and more in marriage and the family, more now because in prior generations we were totally disfranchised from this constitutional right through societal unacceptance, and still are today.

After all, anyway, we never WERE confined to America's urban gay "ghettos"; we never WERE all single, oversexed "perverts" the way in past times religious leaders, the Far Right, and mass media have portrayed us to be. But now, with "liberal" data and polls such as these, I realize, though not surprised, that myths continue to persist, and nothing has really changed much in the new millenium as far as preserving and persisting myths are concerned.

[blackreign]

09:25 PM on 09/04/2011

And since you are going back in time, how can you speak about homosexuals in teh 70s and 80s and totally omit HIV?

[talkstocoyotes]

04:31 AM on 09/04/2011

I don't think your perceptions are skewed. Even sympathetic coverage of same-sex weddings, like we saw in New York this summer and in California in 2008, shows that kind of bias; photos of newly-wed women kissing abound but there's still a taboo in some quarters on images of men kissing. (Images of men killing each other can get quite graphic, evidence of a very real perversion.)

My theory is that straight men, who still determine most of the norms, are often turned on by pornographic images of lesbian sex -- or as it's invariably called, "girl on girl action" [drool, drool, pant, pant] So if you're a straight guy and you insist that female-female sex, like male-male sex, is disgusting, perverted, a big ol' poke in God's eye, makes you want to barf, etc. BUT those two "girls" turn you on -- what does that say about you? Nothing very flattering!

[Hrover]

02:55 PM on 08/30/2011

Great, after 27 years with my partner we still pay double income taxes, 6 school bonds on our property taxes in Walnut Creek, CA ... But no kids, our medical insurance is double, no social security benefits if one of us dies. And the list goes on . But still I'm glad there are so many gay couples in the US.

[kyosaku]

06:57 PM on 08/30/2011

The SS widow's benefit never occurred to me. My Uncle who had life long partner, many years his junior, solved some of the other problems by adopting him.

I think one of the most inhuman feature of what you are talking about is the medical issues. If your partner is hospitalized, you might be prevented from seeing him because you are neither spouse nor family. I had a heart attack at 47, 26 years into my own partnership. It would have been devastating to not have her with me during my recovery. Love is love...no difference...

[J0E1]

02:51 PM on 08/30/2011

San Francisco #1? I don't buy it.

[billy goat]

02:04 PM on 08/30/2011

I was shocked to see St. Louis up there. I fled 30 years ago. Guess I can go back now?

[J0E1]

02:49 PM on 08/30/2011

Was ANY city same-sex friendly 30 years ago?

[billy goat]

04:05 PM on 08/30/2011

Well I live in SF now for the last 30 years. Relatively speaking yes it was friendlier that my home town of STL or DC or Richmond VA. Although I'm happy for the progress, I'm left feeling a bit cheated that so much of my youth was spend in search of a place for the basics. I'm not that disappointed though. It's been a good life. I was reading an obit from my home town paper of a woman I went to school with. She was a sweet attractive person who never married, had children, or left the microscopic corner in which she inhabited. She was a house cleaner and was known for remembering birthdays. I've come a long way.

[Ainsi sera groigne qui]

06:38 AM on 09/01/2011

Well thirty years ago would only have been the 1970's and can say by all accounts the "gay meccas" of the USA; New York, San Francisco and few other major cities were certianly "gay friendly".

You saw this when NYS made same sex marriage legal and couples in their 60's, 70's and above went down to apply for licences.

Mind you not every place within a given city would have welcomed gays. I mean if one was living in Harlem, Staten Island, Bayridge, Bensonhurst and other areas of NYC you probably kept your business quiet and went into the "City" (Manhattan) for your pleasures. As did many from Long Island, and New Jersey.

Two men or women living as a gay couple isn't new. You can go back 50, 60 or even 100 years and find such people. Thing was they tended to live in major urban areas that accepted them (such as GV in NYC) and were surrounded by people who if not out right accepted them more or less left things alone.

Apartment building walls are *very* thin here in NYC, one gets to hear *EVERYTHING*! *LOL* Therefore then as now not much is kept a secret long.

[AMCD]

01:15 PM on 08/30/2011

I've said it before and I'll say it again.

Same sex marriages have no affect on my marriage. The gay people I know tend to be more tolerant, more compassionate than many self proclaimed 'Christians' that I know.

[Hrover]

02:43 PM on 08/30/2011

Amen

[Dorothy De Avila]

11:30 AM on 08/30/2011

It has been my experience as a native San Franciscan that Gay couples are wonderful neighbors. They are hard working, take care of their property and are respectful of yours. The gay community as been a great asset for our City. Thank you!

[Gabriel]

10:22 AM on 08/30/2011

San Francisco, no kidding?
No, surely not! There must be some mistake!

[Don Hastie Cain]

09:38 AM on 08/30/2011

Republicans and the sanctuary of marriage:
Recent Census stats reveal top 10 states for Divorce rates: 1. Oklahoma, 2. Arkansas, 3. Alaska, 4. Alabama, 5. Kentucky, 6. Nevada, 7. Mississippi, 8. Georgia, 9. Tennessee, 10. Arizona.
NOTICE that 8 out of the 10 are RED states and the other 2 are Purple states.
Not a Blue State in the Bunch.
You need to stop worrying about Gay marriage and worry about your own.

[marianproletarian]

12:12 PM on 08/30/2011

F+F

[mercury613]

12:51 PM on 08/30/2011

And according to their own Bible, to divorce and remarry is to commit adultery.

[talkstocoyotes]

04:34 AM on 09/04/2011

That one's been conveniently forgotten, for sure.

[UserNameJane]

04:46 PM on 08/29/2011

We are everywhere, and Im sure the numbers would be even higher when Everyone comes clean.

[kyosaku]

07:21 PM on 08/30/2011

It is theorized, among those who study such things, that there is a scale with totally heterosexual and totally homosexual at either end of the scale. It suggest that there are few that are 100% one way or the other, and that orientation somewhere along the scale is more likely. I wonder how you would fit the tweeners into the count, if they even can "out" the little slips in their impulsive thoughts. Bet that will irritate the hell out of the homophobes.

As the saying goes, "The great thing about being bisexual is that it doubles your chance for a date on a Saturday night." (if anyone can remember who said it, please give the credit)

BTW, your micro bio is fine, but you may not want to wear the plaid shorts.

[talkstocoyotes]

04:36 AM on 09/04/2011

I think Woody Allen was the one who made the observation about Saturday night date prospects. ; )

[zeeke]

02:55 PM on 08/29/2011

I find this hard to believe about NYC since it has by far the largest gay population.

[Busbydav]

06:09 PM on 08/29/2011

Not per capita.

[Ainsi sera groigne qui]

06:48 AM on 09/01/2011

Not every gay person in NYC lives here. Some come in to work and or play from NJ, Conn, PA and all over the world. So just because you see bars, restaurants, streets and so forth filled with same sex couples or gay men/women do not assume they all make NYC their home.

Also as I've said before despite Messrs Cuomo and Bloomberg going on about same sex marriage being accepted by majority of New Yorkers, the reality can be different. So much so that there is still quite a decent gay population here in NYC still in "the closet" (Mr. Tom Cruise comes to mind), and or those for whatever reason don't wish their sexual preferences shouted from the house tops. This inculdes ticking a box on a federal form for information that one day may become public record. For every hedge fund manager or doctor you see announcing his or her same sex marriage in the Sunday New York Times there are three or more who would rather die first

Finally it was explained to me by a gay African American friend that being "out" would simply add yet another excuse for him to face discrimination in this city, so he keeps his business "on the down low".

[NAMU2010]

11:58 AM on 08/29/2011

I don't believe this list is complete without including Palm Springs. I've lived in LA, Long Beach and now Palm Spriungs and neither compares to PS, where it seems everyone is coupled up, although they tend to be a bit older.. They don't call it God's waiting room for nothing...lol.

[AGooglyMinotaur]

06:04 PM on 08/28/2011

All my best to all their families!!!

:) I'm happy to read this.