Wisconsin Statistics Regarding Same-Sex Marriage

Tuesday, April 26th, 2022 -- 12:00 PM

Prior to 2015, same-sex marriage was legal in just 37 states and the District of Columbia.

But in 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in a landmark decision, Obergefell v. Hodges, that all states must license and recognize marriages between same-sex couples, leading to a large increase in the number of same-sex marriages.

Currently, same-sex married couples acount for about 1% of all married couples in the U.S., according to 2020 Census Bureau data. Prior to Obergefell v. Hodges, a separate 2013 Supreme Court ruling required the federal government to recognize state-sanctioned same-sex marriages, extending federal benefits to same-sex couples married in those states.

Research by demographers at the University of California Los Angeles School of Law shows that there were an estimated 230,000 same-sex married couples in 2013, accounting for 21% of all same-sex couples.

By June 2015, when same-sex marriage was legalized across the country, the number of same-sex marriages was 390,000, or 38% of all same-sex couples. Just a few months later, in October 2015, the number of same-sex marriages had increased to 486,000, or 45% of all same-sex couples.

While same-sex marriages are becoming more common, same-sex married couples differ demographically from opposite-sex couples. According to the Tax Policy Center, same-sex married couples skew younger, have higher incomes, and are less likely to have dependents.

Indeed, Census Data shows that among married couples in their 20s and 30s, same-sex couples account for 1.8% and 1.5% of married couples, respectively. For married couples 60 and older, same-sex marriages account for about half that at 0.8%.

Same-sex married couples are highly geographically concentrated, both on a regional basis and also at the local level. States, cities, and neighborhoods report large gaps in their same-sex couple populations.

At the regional level, the Northeast and West Coast have large shares of same-sex married couples. When considering states, Nevada, Delaware, Florida, and Massachussetts have the largest proportions of same-sex couples, with 1.7–1.8% of married couples being same-sex.

In general, states in which same-sex marriage was legal prior to 2015 report more same-sex marriages. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Mississippi and Montana have the lowest shares of same-sex married couples, with just 0.3% of married couples being of the same sex.

To find the states with the most same-sex marriages, researchers at NameChk.com analyzed the latest data from the U.S. Census Bureau. The researchers ranked states according to the percentage of married couple households that are same-sex.

Researchers also calculated the percentage of same-sex couple households that are married, the total number of same-sex married couple households, the total number of male married couple households, and the total number of female married couple households.

The analysis found that in Wisconsin, 0.7% of married couples are same-sex, which accounts for 53.7% of all same-sex couples in the state.

Here is a summary of the data for Wisconsin:

• Total same-sex married couples: 8,644;
• Total male married couples: 2,690;
• Total female married couples: 5,954.

For reference, here are the statistics for the entire United States:

• Percentage of married couples that are same-sex: 1.1%;
• Percentage of same-sex couples that are married: 56.2%;
• Total same-sex married couples: 678,431;
• Total male married couples: 331,344;
• Total female married couples: 347,087.

For more information, a detailed methodology, and complete results, you can find the original report on NameChk.com’s website: https://namechk.com/us-cities-same-sex-marriages

Feel free to contact us with questions and/or comments.