On November 24, the Williams Institute released a new report that provides demographic and economic information for the more than 3,800 same-sex couples in Utah.
The report finds 30% of Utah’s same-sex couples are raising an estimated 2,900 children. Roughly 2% of Utah’s adopted children live with a gay or lesbian parent. However, same-sex couples raising children have lower average household incomes than married parents ($57,203 versus $82,383) and less likely to own their own home (50% versus 81%).
“In many ways, same-sex couples in Utah are similar to married couples,” said study co-author Lee Badgett, “however there are some notable differences among them, particularly when we look at the financial lives of couples raising children.”
Other findings in the report include that Utah’s same-sex couples are racially and ethnically diverse. More than 11% of individuals in same-sex couples in Utah are non-white.
Individuals in same-sex couples in Utah are more likely to have a college degree, but men in same-sex couples earn significantly less than their married counterparts. Women in same-sex couples earn more than married women, but less than men in same-sex couples and married men.