of all households in the state. Most couples lived in Salt Lake, Weber and Utah counties, but the counties with the highest percentage of same-sex couples were Piute (0.79% of all county households) and Duchesne (0.77%). Same-sex partners in Utah were on average younger than opposite-sex partners, and more likely to be employed. In addition, the average and median household incomes of same-sex couples were higher than different-sex couples, but same-sex couples were far less likely to own a home than opposite-sex partners. 19% of same-sex couples in Utah were raising children under the age of 18, with an estimated 1,226 children living in households headed by same-sex couples in 2005. 2020 estimates from the United States Census Bureau showed that there were 619,250 married opposite-sex couples in the state, 51,115 cohabiting opposite-sex couples, 5,878 married same-sex couples (2,460 male couples and 3,418 lesbian couples), and 2,573 cohabiting same-sex couples. Utah ranked third in the nation for the proportion of its same-sex couples who had chosen to marry, at 69.6% (behind North Dakota at 72.5% and Montana at 71.8%). Domestic partnerships In 2005, Utah Senator Greg Bell, a Republican from the 22nd Senate District in Davis County, sponsored legislation (S.B. 89; "Mutual Dependence Benefits Contract") to provide "for the creation of mutual dependence benefits contracts, which would have allowed two adults, not eligible for marriage, to share certain rights and responsibilities regarding property ownership or health-related matters". The bill was unsuccessful. Utah State University administrators planned to create a domestic partnership registry in early 2005, but university legal counsel Craig Simper said it might violate the Utah Constitution. He said that the marriage amendment required that "no other domestic union may be recognized as a marriage or given the same or substantially equal legal effect." He said that the university "does not want to be the test case and does not intend to be the test case". University Professor Barry Franklin gathered enough petition signatures on November 20, 2005 to raise the issue of giving domestic partner benefits to university employees, including those in same-sex relationships, at the University Faculty Senate. Senate members voted on December 5, 2005 to continue researching the matter. Jenny Wilson, a member of the Salt Lake County Council, unsuccessfully sponsored an ordinance in 2005 to provide domestic partner benefits to county government employees, including those who are in same-sex relationships. Wilson sponsored a similar ordinance