MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota doesn’t permit same-sex couples to marry, but figures from the Census Bureau released Tuesday show the state has nearly as many married same-sex couples as Iowa, where the unions are legal.

The bureau reported Tuesday that it found 1,330 married same-sex couples in Minnesota in the 2010 Census. That’s nearly the 1,373 couples it counted in Iowa, which legalized gay marriage in 2009.

Many are like Javen Swanson, 27, who lives in St. Paul with his husband, but got married in one of the few states where gay marriage is legal. He said they met while studying in the seminary in Connecticut, fell in love and got married there in 2009.

“It’s kind of staggering to think that we are one of 1,300 couples only,” Swanson said. “I do treasure the wedding we had.”

Swanson’s husband is a minister in St. Paul Park. Swanson said he is a community organizer for Outfront Minnesota, a gay rights group, but plans to be ordained by the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America in the future.