Sexual Orientation and Neighborhood Quality: Do Same-Sex Couples Make Better Communities?

Abstract

This study provides an initial empirical analysis on identifying the general relationship between housing values and the spatial distribution of same-sex couples across the U.S. The paper uses the 1990 and 2000 census 5% Public Use Microdata Samples and introduces the gay index into the social-amenity-based hedonic housing models. The results show significant correlation between the spatial concentration of same-sex couples and housing values; furthermore, housing values are higher in a city where the proportion of same-sex couples was higher a decade ago, suggesting that same-sex couples make better communities.

Keywords: Same-sex couples, Hedonic model, Gentrification, Gay index

JEL Classification: A14, J15, R14, R31