Same-sex married couples make more money and are more likely to foster or adopt than opposite-sex married couples. According to the United States Census Bureau, same-sex married couples show a higher median income. The data comes from the 2019 American Community Survey findings.
According to the study, same-sex married couples earn around $10,000 more per year than opposite-sex couples:
- Opposite-sex median household income – $96,903
- Same-sex median household income – $107,200
Couples comprised of two men are what make the difference. The median income for male same-sex couples is $123,600. There’s less than a thousand dollars difference between the median income of opposite-sex couples and female same-sex couples.
Though 58% of same-sex-couple households are married, they account for just 1% of married couples in the U.S. The Census Bureau said 88% of opposite-sex households consist of married couples.
When you check out the poverty rate, you’ll see male same-sex couples are less likely to be poor.
- Male same-sex married households had a lower poverty rate than opposite-sex married-couple households (2.7% and 4.2% respectively).
- Female same-sex married-couple households had a higher poverty rate (5.0%) than both opposite-sex and male same-sex married-couple households.
One factor is that male same-sex couples are less likely to have kids living with them, so they have fewer expenses.
More Likely To Foster Or Adopt
The Census Bureau said same-sex couples are four times more likely than opposite-sex couples to have adopted children or stepchildren. An estimated 43.3% of children of same-sex couples were adopted or stepchildren. The Census Bureau estimated there are around 1 million same-sex couples in the U.S. Around half of those couples are married. The data showed 20.9% of same-sex couples with children had adopted children; the same was true for 2.9% of opposite-sex couples with children.
Same-sex couples tend to have smaller families. The study said 54.7% of same-sex couples one child. Only 39.2% of opposite-sex couples had an only child.
The Census Bureau said there are around 292,000 kids living in same-sex households. Female same-sex couples are more likely to have children than males.
- 22.5% of female same-sex couple households have kids
- 6.6% of male same-sex couple households have children
Male same-sex couples are more likely to have adopted or fostered children.