A new report from the U.S. Census Bureau confirms what many in western Massachusetts likely already knew: the region has some of the nation's highest concentrations of women same-sex couples living together.
Western Mass. has long been considered a haven for some in the LGBTQ community. In 1992, the National Enquirer dubbed Northampton "Lesbianville, USA." But it wasn't until 2020 that the federal government included in its decennial census questions about same-sex households.
Last week, the Census Bureau released a report analyzing that data. The results show Hampshire County has the highest concentration of what the Census Bureau refers to "female-female households" in the entire country – nearly 4% of all coupled households in the county.
Franklin County also made that list, coming in fourth. There, 2.6% of coupled households are “female-female households.” Above Franklin County on that list are Multnomah County, Oregon – which is where the city of Portland is located – and the city of Richmond, Virginia.
The decennial census in 2020 didn’t ask questions about same-sex couples who don't cohabitate or about those who identify as transgender, missing a large portion of the LGBTQ community. The Census Bureau is currently weighing questions about sexual orientation and gender identity for its next census, according to the Associated Press.
