Same sex and unmarried partner household data are collected for those households where the householder and his or her partner are not married, but are living in a close personal relationship. An unmarried partner can be of the same sex or opposite sex of the householder.

An unmarried partner, in an unmarried partner household, is an adult who is unrelated to the householder, but shares living quarters and has a close personal relationship with the householder. This relationship is based on the self-identification of respondents.

Here are some sources for your use:

• The American FactFinder contains two sources:
•  
  • American Community Survey   Table B11009, shows "Unmarried Partner Households by Sex of Partner."
  • Census 2000, Summary File (SF) 1 Table PCT14, "Unmarried Partner Households by Sex of Partner" is available for the nation, state, metropolitan statistical area, city/place, county, and various other geographies.
  • Additionally, same-sex unmarried partner household data were collected in the 1990 Census. The Technical Note on Same-Sex Unmarried Partner Data From the 1990 and 2000 Censuses provides guidance on comparing these data.
• The Census 2000 special reports include:
  • Married-Couple and Unmarried Partner Households: 2000 and
  • Population and Housing Table, PHC-T-19, Hispanic Origin and Race of Coupled Households provides race and gender for unmarried partner households for the U.S.
• The Census Bureau also collects data for same sex and unmarried partner households in ongoing survey programs, but does not regularly produce tabulations on this topic. For more information and special studies on the subjects of same gender couples and unmarried partner households based on the Census Bureau's survey programs, visit the Population Division Working Papers:
•  
  • No. 34, Unbinding the Ties: Edit Effects of Marital Status on Same Gender Couples.
  • No. 35, Racial-Ethnic and Gender Differences in Returns to Cohabitation and Marriage: Evidence for the Current Population Survey.
  • No. 36, How Does POSSLQ Measure Up? Historical Estimates of Cohabitation.

The website was created for individuals and organizations:

1) Who want to find information about lesbians, gays and bisexuals grounded in  scientific knowledge,

2) Who want to find datasets to analyze that include sexual orientation data, and

3) Who want to learn how to collect sexual orientation data.