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STUDY: As Many As 6 Million Americans Have An LGBT Parent

A new report released by the Williams Institute estimates that 37% of LGBT Americans have had a child, meaning that as many as 6 million children and adults have an LGBT parent.

“These analyses highlight the diversity and prevalence of LGBT parents and their children in the U.S.,” said the study’s lead scholar Gary J. Gates. “The data show that LGBT families are clearly part of modern American life.”

Other findings from LGBT Parenting in the United States include:

* About 39% of individuals in same-sex couples raising children under age 18 are non-white, as are half of their children —compared to to 36% of those in different-sex couples who are non-white.

* Among children under 18 living with same-sex couples, 50% are non-white compared to 41% of children living with different-sex couples.

*Same-sex couples raising children are four times more likely than their different-sex counterparts to be raising an adopted child. An estimated 16,000 same-sex couples are raising more than 22,000 adopted children in the US.

* States with the highest proportions of same-sex couples raising biological, adopted or step-children include Mississippi (26%), Wyoming (25%), Alaska (23%), Idaho (22%), and Montana (22%).

* Single LGBT adults raising children are three times more likely than their heterosexual counterparts to report household incomes near the poverty threshold. Married or partnered LGBT individuals living in two-adult households with children are twice as likely.

*More than 111,000 same-sex couples are raising an estimated 170,000 biological, step, or adopted children

*Same-sex couples are six times more likely than their different-sex counterparts to be raising foster children. Approximately 2,600 same-sex couples are raising an estimated 3,400 foster children in the US.

*The median annual household income of same-sex couples with children under age 18 in the home is lower than comparable different-sex couples ($63,900 versus $74,000, respectively).

The full report can be found here.