The Williams Institute

This brief explains the methodology used in creating the upcoming series of Census Snapshot reports.

The primary data source for estimates about gay and lesbian households in the United States for the Census Snapshots published by the Williams Institute is the United States 2000 Decennial Census. Unless otherwise noted, we use the 5 percent Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS) to determine the characteristics of same-sex unmarried partner households. The PUMS is a random sample of responses to the census long-form, which contains detailed information about all members of the household.