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

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.

Pandemic Shortfall in Marriages and Divorces in the United States.

Prior to the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, marriage and divorce had been in decline across the United States. As more data are released, evidence mounts that this pattern has persisted, and in some states been magnified, during the pandemic. The authors compared the change in yearly marriage and divorce counts prior to the beginning of the pandemic (change from 2018 to 2019) to estimate an expected number of marriages and divorces for 2020. By computing a P score on the basis of expected and observed marriages and divorces in 2020, the authors determined whether individual states experienced shortfalls or surpluses of marital events. Of the 20 states with available data on marriages, 18 experienced shortfalls (exceptions included Missouri and North Dakota), for an overall sample shortfall of nearly 11 percent. Regarding divorces, 31 of the 35 states with available data also experienced shortfalls (exceptions included Hawaii, Wyoming, Arizona, and Washington), for an overall sample shortfall of 12 percent.