KFDA - NewsChannel 10 / Amarillo News, Weather, SportsCensus: NM ranks 5th in proportion of gay couples

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) - New census figures show that New Mexico has the fifth-highest proportion of same-sex couples in the nation.

The recently released analysis of 2010 Census figures shows that nearly 10 out of every 1,000 New Mexico households are headed by same-sex couples. That's a 73% jump from 2010.

The Williams Institute on Sexual Orientation Law, based at the University of California, Los Angeles, released the report..

Gary Gates, 1 of the study's authors, said the jump is likely a result of increased migration to the state and because more couples are identifying as same-sex households.

The report said only Vermont, Massachusetts, California and Oregon had higher proportions of same-sex couples.