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

Extending marriage to same-sex couples in Michigan would generate an estimated $53.2 million in spending to the state economy. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the most recent data available, 14,598 same-sex couples live in Michigan. Of those couples, the Institute estimates that fifty percent (7,299 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 over $34.1 million in revenue to the state of Michigan that year.