Estimating the Economic Boost of Marriage for Same-Sex Couples in Mississippi

Extending marriage to same-sex couples in Mississippi would generate an estimated $10.8 million in spending to the state economy. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the most recent data available, 3,484 same-sex couples live in Mississippi. Of those couples, the Institute estimates that fifty percent (1,742 couples) would choose to marry in the first three years, a pattern that has been observed in Massachusetts and elsewhere. The marriages that would occur in the first year alone would bring about $6.9 million in revenue to the state of Mississippi that year.