Census Bureau to test questions to better represent the LGBTQ+ community

The U.S. Census Bureau is testing questions about sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) on the American Community Survey (ACS).

The bureau received approval from the White House Office of Management and Budget on July 11 following a brief period to receive public comment on the questions, the Bay Area Reporter reported. The announcement follows through on a commitment by President Joe Biden during Pride Month two years ago when he issued a directive to federal agencies directing them to find ways to better gauge and serve the LGBTQ+ community.

The ACS is sent to 295,000 households every year. The results are used to analyze household data and allocate federal funding.

In 2022, the ACS found approximately 1.3 million same-sex couple households in the U.S. Of those couples, around 741,000 (or 57 percent) were married while the rest were not. Additionally, 31 percent of the married same-sex couples were interracial, significantly higher than opposite-sex married couples.

Of particular interest to the Bureau is the use of proxy reporting in responding to census questions.

“In 2023, the AHS asked SOGI questions of adult respondents in regular, occupied housing units; one-half of the sample included experimental proxy questions for all members of the household along with the self-response questions,” the Bureau wrote in a press release announcing the proposed SOGI questions in June. “This research will help us understand how LGBT households compare to non-LGBT households on things like housing characteristics, housing costs, and housing quality, among others. It will also tell us about differences or similarities in trends between respondent and proxy data.”

The news was welcomed by a former Census Bureau and SOGI expert Nancy Bates, who is a lesbian.

“This is a watershed moment for both the Census Bureau and the entire US federal statistical system," Bates told the Reporter via email. “I eagerly await the findings and ultimate implications this will have for the LGBTQI+ community.”