Los Angeles Tops Counties With Most Male and Female Same-Sex Couples
Men in same-sex couples don’t always live in the same parts of the country as women in same-sex couples, according to 2020 Census data that show where same-sex couple households live within each state by sex.
County-level maps show higher percentages of both types of same-sex couples in Florida, the Northeast and on the West Coast.
Overall, female same-sex couples made up 0.9% of U.S. coupled households and male same-sex couples made up an additional 0.8% of U.S. coupled households in 2020. For both sexes, these coupled households were often in and around the population centers of each state (Figures 1 and 2).
County-level maps show higher percentages of both types of same-sex couples in Florida, the Northeast and on the West Coast. Counties in those regions also had the highest number of same-sex couples and counties with the highest percentage of same-sex coupled households.
Where Female and Male Same-Sex Couples Live Varies
In 2020, Los Angeles County, California, had the highest number of both female and male same-sex couples.
In both Los Angeles and Cook County, Illinois, there were more male-male than female-female coupled households.
Also heading the top-10 list with the most male and female same-sex couples: Maricopa County, Arizona; Harris County, Texas; King County, Washington; and San Diego County, California.
Four counties were in the top 10 only on the female-female couples list: Kings County, New York; Alameda County, California; Clark County, Nevada; and Bexar County, Texas.
Four counties only appeared on the male-male list: New York County, New York; San Francisco County, California; Broward County, Florida; and Riverside County, California.
As expected, most of the counties in the top 10 list had large populations.
Where Female and Male Same-Sex Couples Were Concentrated
While the top 10 list of counties with the highest number of female and male same-sex couples were similar in 2020, counties with the highest share of same-sex couples differed.
Los Angeles County, for example, fell out of the top 10 lists for highest share of both female and male same-sex couples. But San Francisco County was No. 1 for male-male couples (5.9%).
No counties in California were in the top 10 for share of female-female couples. Hampshire County, Massachusetts, topped the list (3.9% of all coupled households were female-female), followed by Multnomah County, Oregon, (2.8%).
A few counties landed in the top 10 for both female and male same-sex couples but not always in the same spot.
The District of Columbia had the second biggest share of male-male households (5.7%) but was No. 9 for female-female couples (2.3%). The share of male couples was more than double the percentage of female couples in D.C., even though they were both in the top 10.
In Richmond City, Virginia, 2.7% of coupled households were female-female and 2.5% were male-male. Yet, the city ranked third for female and ninth for male same-sex couples.
This review of geographic variation builds on a recent Census report, which compared the characteristics of spouses in opposite-sex and same-sex married couples and also looked at the characteristics by sex of the couple. It also expands on a previous America Counts story, which explored the share of same-sex households in select cities.
Related Statistics
Subscribe
Our email newsletter is sent out on the day we publish a story. Get an alert directly in your inbox to read, share and blog about our newest stories.
Contact our Public Information Office for media inquiries or interviews.
-
Families and Living ArrangementsOver Half of Spouses in Same-Sex Marriages Tied the Knot After 2014A new report provides characteristics and living arrangements of spouses in same-sex and opposite-sex couples.
-
Same-Sex CouplesInterracial Couples More Common Among Same-Sex CouplesMale same-sex couples had higher median household incomes than female same-sex couples even though the shares with both partners working did not differ.
-
Families and Living ArrangementsNumber of Same-Sex Couple Households Exceeded 1 Million in 2021Compare demographic and economic characteristics of U.S. same-sex and opposite-sex couple households in new Census Bureau table package and graphics.
-
PopulationStates With High Median Ages May Not be as Uniformly Old as You ThinkJune 26, 2025A state’s median age does not tell the whole story. Florida has the fifth highest median age yet also has counties younger than the national median.
-
PopulationAn Aging Nation: U.S. Median Age Surpassed 39 in 2024June 26, 2025Median age rose in 85% of the nation’s 387 metro areas from 2020 to 2024 and was higher than the national median of 39.1 in almost half of metro areas.
-
EmploymentTrends in Self-Employment Among Hispanic WorkersJune 18, 2025Census Bureau data show that among younger and foreign-born workers, Hispanic workers are self-employed at higher rates than non-Hispanic workers.
-
HousingProperty Insurance Costs Can be High in Every U.S. RegionJune 10, 2025American Community Survey data show the price of property insurance varied widely across the nation, but every region had pockets of high cost.