Weddings of Same-sex Couples Boosted State and Local Economies by $813M This Summer, New Study Shows

Spending by the 96,000 same-sex couples who married in the four months following the Supreme Court’s marriage decision generated new jobs and tax revenue.

Marriages by same-sex couples have generated an estimated $813 million boost to state and local economies and $52 million in state and local sales tax revenue since the U.S. Supreme Court's decision extending marriage equality nationwide in June, according to a new study by Christy Mallory, Senior Counsel and Anna M. Curren Fellow at the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law.

Key findings from the report include:

• Total spending on those marriages generated an estimated $813 million, including $635 million on weddings and $178 million by out-of-state guests.
• This economic boost has added an estimated $52 million in sales tax revenue to state and local coffers.
• This spending could support an estimated 9,700 jobs for one full year.

Since the Supreme Court's ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges, 96,000 same-sex couples have tied the knot. This study, titled "Estimating the Economic Impact of Marriage for Same-sex Couples after Obergefell," estimates the impact of those marriages on state and local economies, sales tax revenue and job creation.