WASHINGTON (AP) — Gay and lesbian couples are slightly better educated than married people and earn similar paychecks but aren’t as likely to own their homes, according to a study of Census Bureau data released May 13.

More than 35 percent of people living with same-sex partners had a college degree in 2000 compared with 28 percent of married people and 19 percent of opposite-sex unmarried partners, said the analysis commissioned and released May 13 by the Human Rights Campaign.

Median wages earned by gay and lesbian couples were equal to married people — about $32,000, $8,000 more than for opposite-sex unmarried partners. About 64 percent of gay and lesbian couples owned their homes, compared with 78 percent of married partners and 41 percent of heterosexual unmarried couples.

The data were culled from detailed 2000 census data released for 15 states so far. The Human Rights Campaign study includes data from California, New York and Texas — the states with the greatest number of same-sex unmarried partner homes. Also covered was Vermont, which three years ago passed the nation’s first civil union law recognizing gay and lesbian domestic partnerships.

Other states covered in the report were Nebraska, Alabama, Florida, Illinois, Kansas, Maryland, New Jersey, Ohio, Oklahoma, Rhode Island and Wyoming.

Human Rights Campaign strategist David Smith said the study shows gay couples are “a mirror image of the majority of families in the country” who should have the same benefits and protections.

The 2000 census was the first in which the bureau extensively analyzed data for unmarried partners, regardless of sexual orientation.

A question on the census asked “How is this person related?” For people living together who were unrelated, options included “Roomer, boarder,” “Housemate, roommate,” “unmarried partner” and “foster child.”

Gay rights groups considered a person living with someone of the same sex who checked off unmarried partner to be gay or lesbian.

The Census Bureau does not ask about a person’s sexual orientation and is required by law to keep answers confidential.

Data released two years ago revealed there were 594,000 households headed by same-sex partners — about one percent of the nearly 60 million households in the United States led by couples. The vast majority of those homes — over 54 million — are led by married people.

Differences in homeownership may arise because same-sex couples, especially gays, tend to cluster more in cities, where home prices are more expensive and rental units are more plentiful, said Gary Gates, a demographer from the Urban Institute who did the analysis.

For instance, the median property value for a gay couple that owned a home was over $162,000, $25,000 more than the median for lesbian and married couples, and $50,000 more than for opposite sex partners.

Lesbian couples are more likely to have children than gays and are concentrated more in suburbs, where housing is cheaper, Gates said.

About eight percent of lesbian partners said they had prior military service, compared with one percent of women who are married or who are in unmarried partnerships. About 14 percent of gay men had served in the military, about the same as for men in unmarried partnerships but half the rate of married men.