New patterns of poverty in the lesbian, gay, and bisexual community

M. Badgett, L. Durso, A. Schneebaum

This study draws on recent data from four datasets to estimate recent poverty rates for LGB people in all walks of life: same-sex couples (2010 American Community Survey), LGB people aged 18-44 (2006-2010 National Survey of Family Growth), LGB adults in California (2007-2009 California Health Interview Survey) and single LGBT-identified adults (2012 Gallup Daily Tracking Poll). We compare the LGB or LGBT (including transgender people) rates to poverty rates for heterosexual people. Data on couples suggests that same-sex couples are more vulnerable to poverty in general than are different-sex married couples. Poverty rates for female same-sex couples and unmarried different-sex couples were higher than those of married different-sex couples.