And That Gay Couples Title Goes To…

As the release of U.S. Census data for 2010 nears an end, so far the city with the highest proportion of same-sex couples is -- surprise, surprise -- Provincetown, Mass.

Provincetown (pictured) has 163 same-sex couples per 1,000 households, topping Wilton Manors, Fla., a Fort Lauderdale suburb that has 140 per 1,000, according to an analysis of census information by the Williams Institute, a think tank on LGBT issues based at the University of California, Los Angeles, School of Law.

Massachusetts and Florida were two of the four states, plus the District of Columbia, on which the Census Bureau and Williams Institute released data last week. The others were Michigan and South Carolina. To date information has been released on 45 states and D.C. Data is scheduled to be published Thursday on North Dakota, New Mexico, Tennessee, Mississippi, and Rhode Island.

Before the numbers were released on Provincetown, long a gay mecca, and Wilton Manors, which has become one in recent years, Palm Springs, Calif., was the city with the highest number of gay couples per 1,000 -- 115.

Also, if D.C. is counted as a state rather than a city, it's the nation's gayest state, with 19 gay couples per 1,000 households. Among actual states, though, the top one is Vermont, with 10.9 per 1,000, followed by Massachusetts with 10.2 and California with 9.9.

Massachusetts's second-gayest city was also not surprising -- the college town of Northampton, which has been dubbed "Lesbianville." It had 45.3 same-sex couples per 1,000 households, according to the Williams Institute. It was followed by Easthampton Town, Greenfield Town, and Arlington.

Oakland Park, another Fort Lauderdale suburb, was Florida's second-gayest community, with Miami Shores, Fort Lauderdale, and Key West, long known for its gay appeal, rounding out the top five.

Michigan's five gayest cities included four Detroit suburbs -- Pleasant Ridge first (59.6 gay couples per 1,000 households), Ferndale second, Huntington Woods third, and Royal Oak fifth -- with Ypsilanti, a university town, placing fourth.

In South Carolina, the resort town of Myrtle Beach had the highest proportion of same-sex couples, with 11.7 per 1,000 households. It was followed by St. Andrews, Hanahan, Cayce, and North Myrtle Beach.

Detailed reports on each state, including breakdowns of male and female couples and the percentage raising children, are available as PDFs at the Williams Institute's website.