Released: August 25, 2011 How Accurate Are Counts of Same-Sex
Couples? The counts and characteristics of same-sex couples are
among the most written-about data from the 2010 Census and
American Community Survey. Yet, two decades after the Census
Bureau began offering people the option to describe themselves
as a same-sex “unmarried partner,” producing accurate numbers
remains a challenge. The quality of information about same-sex
couples depends both on the questionnaire responses the Census
Bureau receives, and the procedures the agency implements to
collect and edit those responses. There have been changes to
both during the years the bureau has been releasing same-sex
couple data, and the agency has cautioned against comparing
numbers from different years to produce trends. The Census
Bureau has just completed the release of state-by-state total
counts of same-sex couples from the 2010 Census, which adds up
to a national total of about 902,000. Later this year, the
bureau will release a highly anticipated