The number of Americans identifying themselves as living with a same-sex partner has risen quickly in the past decade, according to new census data. The Census Bureau doesn't ask people about their sexual orientation. But since 1990, respondents have had the option to identify themselves as living with a same-sex partner. This group grew by half nationwide between 2000 and 2010, figures released this week show.
The total number of self-reported same-sex couples nationwide grew 52% to 901,997 from 594,391 in 2000.
The increase is too big to be explained by a sudden jump in coupling among gay people, said Gary Gates, a scholar at the Williams Institute at the University of California at Los Angeles, a think tank on sexual-orientation policy. Instead, he said, same-sex couples appear to be more willing to describe themselves as such, including in states farther away from the coasts.
The number of self-identified gay couples rose by nearly 90% in Montana, Nevada and West Virginia, for instance, while California, New York and Washington, D.C., saw increases of 40% or less, according to Mr. Gates's analysis of the data.
"What it tells you is that social acceptance of same-sex couples is moving beyond the coasts," Mr. Gates said.
Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama also experienced growth of less than 40%, which Mr. Gates said may have been related to population upheaval following Hurricane Katrina.
Stacy Vidal, a Census Bureau spokeswoman, said errors in the census figures may have resulted in some heterosexual couples being misidentified as same-sex, but said the broader trend stood.
Polls suggest wider acceptance of gays nationwide. About 46% of people oppose gay marriage today, for instance, down from 65% in 1996, according to the Pew Research Center.
Montana native Ken Spencer, 46 years old, said he has seen the shift firsthand. Growing up, he said, he believed that "if you were gay, you had to leave Montana." He kept his homosexuality a secret for years.
But gay people have become more visible in the state, with this year's Montana Pride celebration in Bozeman drawing about 2,000 people, up from a few hundred in 2002.
Mr. Spencer said he identified himself as living with his same-sex partner for the first time in 2010.
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