Prepandemic and Pandemic Marriages among Same-Sex and Different-Sex Couples

Abstract

Most states experienced declines in marriages during the pandemic, with variation across states. Given that marriages to same-sex couples make up a small share of total marriages, these trends are overwhelmingly representative of marriages of different-sex couples. To test if the decline observed among marriages of different-sex couples is also observed among marriages of same-sex couples, the authors calculated ratios (2020 marriage count divided by 2019 marriage count) for 13 states, disaggregating marriages of same- and different-sex couples. The 13 states selected were the only states in which same-sex marriage administrative data were available. The results reveal disparate effects of the pandemic on marriage counts for same-sex and different-sex couples. For 11 of the states examined, marriages of same-sex couples either did not decline or declined less than marriages of different-sex couples. Further investigation is warranted as more state-level data on same-sex marriage become available.