In 2015, the US Supreme Court ruled on Obergefell v. Hodges, thereby legalizing same-sex marriage nationwide. Households headed by same-sex couples have increased 131.3%, from 334,829 in 2014 before the ruling to 774,553 in 2023.
Even before Obergefell v. Hodges, the number of households with same-sex couples was rising as some states legalized same-sex marriage in the mid-2000s. By the time same-sex marriage was legalized federally, it had already been legal in 38 states and Washington, DC.
But let’s get back to this map, which is focused on the time since Obergefell v. Hodges.
Since 2014, Montana had the largest increase in married same-sex households, 466.5%. Montana started with one of the lowest counts, however — 540 married households in 2014 — which grew to 3,059 by 2023. Nevada followed at 361.5%, and Georgia was third at 258.9%.
The number of same-sex marriage households doubled in all but 10 states and grew in every state except Iowa (where same-sex marriage was legalized in 2009). The number of Iowa households headed by someone in a same-sex marriage fell from 4,653 households in 2014 to 4,123 in 2023 — down 11%.
In 2009, Iowa was the third state to legalize same sex marriage (after MA and CT). The next “red as of 2024” state to legalize it was Pennsylvania, #18, in May 2014. So basically, Iowa was the only now-red state to have legal gay marriage well before the 2014 starting point of this data. Given political shifts in Iowa since 2014, I could see LGBT households leaving, contributing to the only percent decline in the graphic.
It could be helpful to add a symbol or texture to states that had legal gay marriage *before* 2014. Sixteen states legalized it before 2014, while 19 more did so in 2014.
Is Montana some kind of small base population issue? Like did it go from 3 gay marriages to 17 or something?
Fuck’s happening in ~~Indiana~~ Iowa?
I know that a ton of people with money from California (and likely other liberal places like Washington) moved to Montana during/since the pandemic. My guess is that the huge jump in married gay couples there is due to them moving in from other states.
The Iowa situation is pretty simple to understand and the ridiculous theories here are hilarious to read.
Iowa had legal gay marriage in 2014 when all its neighbors did not. So lots of people from surrounding states came into Iowa to get married in 2014. Now that gay marriage is legal nationally, they don’t see that big influx from their neighbors, so it looks like a decline.
Can’t blame people for getting the fuck out of Iowa.
give it a chance for the administration to push their “traditional Christian values” and we will see some change. I was actually surprised that the Kim Davis hasn’t received presidential intervention to support her.
Percentage increases are unclear without real numbers. A 466% increase sounds large, but it depends on the starting value.
Government data is often a bother
Percentage increases are unclear without real numbers. A 466% increase sounds large, but it depends on the starting value.
Government data is often a bother
OK, what is with all the gay loving in Montana?
The most shocking thing about this data is Idaho.
I’m a straight person and I would never move to Idaho.
Biggest changes towards gay marriage seem to be in Red states.
Imagine moving to Iowa in 2014 to get married and only a year later you had moved to Iowa for nothing, YOURE GAY AND STUCK IN IOWA, I’d leave too
I would enjoy seeing how many of those states are red. I see some southern states are growing at a good rate which seems to go against the stereotype of red states hating same sex marriage. The hypocrisy is unreal.
Interesting data, and good job using a colorblind -friendly colormap!
That said, I would suggest to fix the dark green end to -466% to mirror the upper end of the scale. Right now, there’s an equal amount of shades of green representing 11% as there is for purple’s 466%. Without looking at the numbers, the map reads as if there was a decrease in Iowa that’s as big as the increase in Montana, which is misrepresenting the actual data.
Former (still gay) Iowan that can maybe help.
As others have mentioned, it was one of the earliest states to adopt same-sex marriage.
However, I moved to 2010 from Illinois at 18 years old and 3 months old, so I can say that I’ve spent 99% of my adult life in an area where gay marriage was legal. For that, I am grateful. Iowa is still very friendly toward gay people.
However, Iowa suffers from a massive brain drain problem, as well as the strongest urban vs rural divide that I’ve ever personally seen. You have some cities along the Mississippi, Iowa City (probably the most liberal in the state), Des Moines, and Ames that will vote blue, but even though a substantial number of people live there, the rural population’s power is incredibly strong to counteract the cities.
As such, when I moved in 2010, it was a truly purple state. It voted for Gore in 2000, Obama in 08 and 12, had a Democrat governor at the time, etc. However, especially in the late 2010s-2020, it took a rightward turn and basically got rid of any federally elected Democrats in favor of Republicans. The MOST brutal one to experience was Iowa’s Second District, where the GOP candidate to the US House won by 6 votes in 2020. Six. I’ve never seen an election that close in my life. Ever since, they have been restricting rights to the LGBT by the year.
If you’re a parent of a same-sex household surrounded by Illinois and Minnesota after its turn, are you going to stay, or are you going to leave? Chances are, you will leave. I’m not even a parent, but I now again live in Chicago, where I was born and raised. Those two particular states provide much more advantages nowadays to you than living in Iowa.
It all sucks. I actually highly enjoyed living in Iowa, and my parents and younger bro still live along the Mississippi in Iowa, and I love to visit. However, it’s no longer the state it once was in 2010.
What’s going on with Montana? should someone who is gay consider moving there?
Asking for a friend .
Thank you for my soaring property value
Post this to r/conservative and convince them that gay couples are taking over and will outnumber the straights in a few years.
a country full of sick people.
Yet now states are having resolutions banning it. How’s that gonna go for them?
Interesting topic! You might want to look at recent surveys and census data to see trends in public opinion and marriage rates among same-sex couples.
![[OC] How is gay marriage changing in the US?](https://www.europesays.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/k0eauqhurooe1-1920x1024.png)
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Source: [US Census Bureau](https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT1Y2023.B11009?q=B11009:%20COUPLED%20HOUSEHOLDS%20BY%20TYPE&g=010XX00US$0400000&moe=false)
Tools: Datawrapper, Illustrator
More data [here](https://usafacts.org/articles/what-is-the-state-of-gay-marriage-in-the-us/)
A bit of background on this chart:
In 2015, the US Supreme Court ruled on Obergefell v. Hodges, thereby legalizing same-sex marriage nationwide. Households headed by same-sex couples have increased 131.3%, from 334,829 in 2014 before the ruling to 774,553 in 2023.
Even before Obergefell v. Hodges, the number of households with same-sex couples was rising as some states legalized same-sex marriage in the mid-2000s. By the time same-sex marriage was legalized federally, it had already been legal in 38 states and Washington, DC.
But let’s get back to this map, which is focused on the time since Obergefell v. Hodges.
Since 2014, Montana had the largest increase in married same-sex households, 466.5%. Montana started with one of the lowest counts, however — 540 married households in 2014 — which grew to 3,059 by 2023. Nevada followed at 361.5%, and Georgia was third at 258.9%.
The number of same-sex marriage households doubled in all but 10 states and grew in every state except Iowa (where same-sex marriage was legalized in 2009). The number of Iowa households headed by someone in a same-sex marriage fell from 4,653 households in 2014 to 4,123 in 2023 — down 11%.
More data [here](https://usafacts.org/articles/what-is-the-state-of-gay-marriage-in-the-us/).
In 2009, Iowa was the third state to legalize same sex marriage (after MA and CT). The next “red as of 2024” state to legalize it was Pennsylvania, #18, in May 2014. So basically, Iowa was the only now-red state to have legal gay marriage well before the 2014 starting point of this data. Given political shifts in Iowa since 2014, I could see LGBT households leaving, contributing to the only percent decline in the graphic.
It could be helpful to add a symbol or texture to states that had legal gay marriage *before* 2014. Sixteen states legalized it before 2014, while 19 more did so in 2014.
Is Montana some kind of small base population issue? Like did it go from 3 gay marriages to 17 or something?
Fuck’s happening in ~~Indiana~~ Iowa?
I know that a ton of people with money from California (and likely other liberal places like Washington) moved to Montana during/since the pandemic. My guess is that the huge jump in married gay couples there is due to them moving in from other states.
The Iowa situation is pretty simple to understand and the ridiculous theories here are hilarious to read.
Iowa had legal gay marriage in 2014 when all its neighbors did not. So lots of people from surrounding states came into Iowa to get married in 2014. Now that gay marriage is legal nationally, they don’t see that big influx from their neighbors, so it looks like a decline.
Can’t blame people for getting the fuck out of Iowa.
give it a chance for the administration to push their “traditional Christian values” and we will see some change. I was actually surprised that the Kim Davis hasn’t received presidential intervention to support her.
Percentage increases are unclear without real numbers. A 466% increase sounds large, but it depends on the starting value.
Government data is often a bother
Percentage increases are unclear without real numbers. A 466% increase sounds large, but it depends on the starting value.
Government data is often a bother
OK, what is with all the gay loving in Montana?
The most shocking thing about this data is Idaho.
I’m a straight person and I would never move to Idaho.
Biggest changes towards gay marriage seem to be in Red states.
Imagine moving to Iowa in 2014 to get married and only a year later you had moved to Iowa for nothing, YOURE GAY AND STUCK IN IOWA, I’d leave too
I would enjoy seeing how many of those states are red. I see some southern states are growing at a good rate which seems to go against the stereotype of red states hating same sex marriage. The hypocrisy is unreal.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=71PNZH1OaW0
I guess they had it wrong
Interesting data, and good job using a colorblind -friendly colormap!
That said, I would suggest to fix the dark green end to -466% to mirror the upper end of the scale. Right now, there’s an equal amount of shades of green representing 11% as there is for purple’s 466%. Without looking at the numbers, the map reads as if there was a decrease in Iowa that’s as big as the increase in Montana, which is misrepresenting the actual data.
Former (still gay) Iowan that can maybe help.
As others have mentioned, it was one of the earliest states to adopt same-sex marriage.
However, I moved to 2010 from Illinois at 18 years old and 3 months old, so I can say that I’ve spent 99% of my adult life in an area where gay marriage was legal. For that, I am grateful. Iowa is still very friendly toward gay people.
However, Iowa suffers from a massive brain drain problem, as well as the strongest urban vs rural divide that I’ve ever personally seen. You have some cities along the Mississippi, Iowa City (probably the most liberal in the state), Des Moines, and Ames that will vote blue, but even though a substantial number of people live there, the rural population’s power is incredibly strong to counteract the cities.
As such, when I moved in 2010, it was a truly purple state. It voted for Gore in 2000, Obama in 08 and 12, had a Democrat governor at the time, etc. However, especially in the late 2010s-2020, it took a rightward turn and basically got rid of any federally elected Democrats in favor of Republicans. The MOST brutal one to experience was Iowa’s Second District, where the GOP candidate to the US House won by 6 votes in 2020. Six. I’ve never seen an election that close in my life. Ever since, they have been restricting rights to the LGBT by the year.
If you’re a parent of a same-sex household surrounded by Illinois and Minnesota after its turn, are you going to stay, or are you going to leave? Chances are, you will leave. I’m not even a parent, but I now again live in Chicago, where I was born and raised. Those two particular states provide much more advantages nowadays to you than living in Iowa.
It all sucks. I actually highly enjoyed living in Iowa, and my parents and younger bro still live along the Mississippi in Iowa, and I love to visit. However, it’s no longer the state it once was in 2010.
What’s going on with Montana? should someone who is gay consider moving there?
Asking for a friend .
Thank you for my soaring property value
Post this to r/conservative and convince them that gay couples are taking over and will outnumber the straights in a few years.
a country full of sick people.
Yet now states are having resolutions banning it. How’s that gonna go for them?
Interesting topic! You might want to look at recent surveys and census data to see trends in public opinion and marriage rates among same-sex couples.
Comments are closed.