New data from the U.S. Census Bureau shows a significant increase in the country’s number of female same-sex couple households over the past two decades.
Overall, there were some 1.4 million same-sex couple households in the U.S. in 2024 — nearly double the amount in 2005. These couples represent about 1.0 percent of all U.S. households. Between 2005 and 2024, the total number of married same-sex couple households grew from 392,000 to 836,000, while the number of unmarried same-sex couple households rose from 385,000 to 551,000.
Notably, the number of both married and unmarried female same-sex couple households grew dramatically during this time period. Female same-sex married couple households more than doubled from some 178,000 in 2005 to 450,000 in 2024. In contrast, the number of male same-sex married couple households grew more modestly, rising from 214,000 in 2005 to 386,000 in 2024.