Married Same-Sex and Different Sex Couples: A Demographic Portrait

Family Profile No. 6, 2024
Authors: Krista K. Westrick-Payne & Wendy D. Manning

The first state in the U.S. to legalize same-sex marriage was Massachusetts on May 17th, 2004, predating the federal ruling by eleven years. Marking 20 years since the landmark Massachusetts decision we present a demographic portrait of marriages to same-sex and different-sex couples with 2022 data from the American Community Survey 1-year PUMS files. We begin with an overview of married couples followed by comparisons of individuals in same-sex married couples to those in different-sex married couples based on their marital history, age, education and race/ethnicity. For information about newly married couples please check out our two previously published profiles FP-23-27 and FP-23-28.

Married Individuals

Number of times married

• Most currently married individuals had only been married one time. The share among those with a spouse of the same sex was slightly larger at 81.5% than among those with a spouse of a different sex at 77.3%.

Figure 2. Number of times married by couple type, 2022

Age

• Individuals married to a same-sex spouse were younger on average than those married to a different-sex spouse.
• About one-quarter (24.2%) of individuals married to a same-sex spouse were in their thirties compared to 18.3% of individuals married to a different-sex spouse.
• Over one-third (35.3%) of individuals married to a different-sex spouse were over age 60 in contrast to 24.1% of those married to a same-sex spouse.

Figure 3. Age distribution by couple type, 2022

Educational Attainment

• Individuals married to same-sex spouses had higher levels of education than their counterparts married to different-sex spouses.
• The greatest educational difference existed at the lowest and highest education levels. One-quarter (25.9%) of individuals with a same-sex spouse had a master’s degree in contrast to 17.2% of those married to a different-sex spouse.

Figure 4. Educational attainment by couple type, 2022

Race/Ethnicity

• Similar shares of individuals married to same-sex and different-sex spouses were White or Black.
• Greater shares of individuals married to a different-sex spouse were Asian or foreign born Hispanic than those married to a same-sex spouse.
• A larger share of individuals married to same-sex spouses were native-born Hispanic or labeled as ‘other’ or multiracial than those married to different-sex spouses.

Figure 5. Race/Ethnicity distribution by couple type, 2022

Data Source:
United States Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 1-year Public Use Microdata Sample, 2022

References:
Westrick-Payne, K. K., & Manning, W. D. (2023). Recent marriages to same-sex and different-sex couples: Marital history and age at marriage, 2022. Family Profiles, FP-23-27. Bowling Green, OH: National Center for Family & Marriage Research. https://doi.org/10.25035/ncfmr/fp-23-27

Westrick-Payne, K. K., & Manning, W. D. (2023). Recent marriages to same-sex and different-sex couples: Mobility, region, home ownership, and household income, 2022. Family Profiles, FP-23-28. Bowling Green, OH: National Center for Family & Marriage Research. https://doi.org/10.25035/ncfmr/fp-23-28

Suggested Citation:
Westrick-Payne, K. K., & Manning W. D. (2024). Married same-sex and different sex couples: A demographic portrait, 2022. Family Profiles, FP-24-06. Bowling Green, OH: National Center for Family & Marriage Research. https://doi.org/10.25035/ncfmr/fp-24-06  

This project is supported with assistance from Bowling Green State University. From 2007 to 2013, support was also provided by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation. The opinions and conclusions expressed herein are solely those of the author(s) and should not be construed as representing the opinions or policy of any agency of the state or federal government.