Same-sex couples with children show dramatic increase

According to the latest data released by the U.S. Census Bureau, a startling picture of California is unveiled. The number of hetero married couples raising kids has declined 10% over the last ten years while currently holding at 23%. Over a quarter of heterosexual married households are without a child and yet nearly a quarter of same-sex couples have kids in their households!

The Census found that 125,515 gay and lesbian couples statewide and more than 34,000 same-sex couples are living in married or unmarried partnerships in the Bay Area. With this release, California had 36% increases on the number of same-sex couples between 2000 and 2010.

Specifically, Bay Area has about 30% of California's same-sex households though it represents only 20% of the state's population.

The figures also reveal that 53% of the 125,515 same-sex couples are lesbian households while 47% are gay couples in the State. Although Oakland has been increasingly seen as the lesbian capital of the world, San Francisco remained as the largest concentrated residence for both lesbians and gays.

Another interesting fact is that lesbian couples are more likely to have children according to the report. Across the Bay Area, more than 8,600 lesbian households are raising children, compared to fewer than 4,000 gay couples.

The U.S. saw 8% of same-sex couples reported having an adopted child in their household nationwide in 2000 but in 2010, so far it has jumped to approximately 19% of couples. As the count so far is based on only seven states reported, it is evident that the number of same-sex couples raising children is dramatically on the increase.

Top 5 Bay Area cities with the highest number of same-sex couples

1. San Francisco: 10,384 couples (3 % of all households headed by same-sex couples)

2. Oakland: 3,442 couples (2.2 % of all households headed by same-sex couples)

3. Berkeley: 961 couples (2.1 % of all households headed by same-sex couples)

4. Santa Rosa: 757 couples (1.2 % of all households headed by same-sex couples)

5. Concord: 512 couples (1.2 % of all households headed by same-sex couples)