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 Couples

  • As of 2022 there were slightly more than 60.1 million different-sex married couples in the United States representing 98.79% of all married couples.
  • There were over 700,000 same-sex married couples representing 1.21% of all married couples. Among married same-sex couples 47% were marriages among male couples and 53% were among female couples.
  • On average, currently married couples of different sexes have been married longer with a median duration of 20 years. Married couples of the same sex have a median duration of 6 years.

Figure 1. Married couples by couple type, 2022

Figure 1. Married couples by couple type, 2022
Source: NCFMR analyses of the American Community Survey, 1 year PUMS, 2022

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

Fig2
Source: NCFMR analyses of U.S. Census Bureau, 2022 American Community Survey, 1-year PUMS

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 spous
  • 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

Fig3
Source: NCFMR analyses of U.S. Census Bureau, 2022 American Community Survey, 1-year PUMS

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

Fig4
Source: NCFMR analyses of U.S. Census Bureau, 2022 American Community Survey, 1-year PUMS

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

Fig5
Source: : NCFMR analyses of U.S. Census Bureau, 2022 American Community Survey, 1-year PUMS

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 

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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.

National Center for Family and Marriage Research

Updated: 05/04/2026 11:43AM