A new report found the highest percentages of gay and lesbian couples who are raising children are located in socially conservatives states where such families are less likely to be recognized.

According to new estimates from the Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law, Salt Lake City and its suburbs have the nation's highest percentage of gay parents. More than 25 percent of gay couples in the Salt Lake City area are raising children.

Researchers also found that Mississippi ranks highest among states, with 26 percent of gay couples parenting.

However, the number of gay couples raising children is higher in more liberal cities such as New York or Los Angeles, where larger numbers of gay couples reside.

Researchers noted that many of the gay couples living in conservative areas came out gay after they had children with opposite-sex partners.

“When you ask, 'Why are you living here?' they almost always say family,” Abbie Goldberg, an associate professor of psychology at Clark University, who has studied such couples, told the Los Angeles Times. “It shouldn't really be surprising. They value family – and now they're creating families of their own.”