The Williams Institute

Extending marriage to same-sex couples in Oregon would generate nearly $50 million in spending to the state economy. According to 2010 U.S. Census, the most recent data available, 11,773 same-sex couples live in Oregon. Of those couples, the report estimates that 50 percent (5,887 couples) would choose to marry in the first three years, a pattern that has been observed in Massachusetts and elsewhere. Nearly 4,000 marriages would occur in the first year alone, and bring over $30 million in revenue to the state of Oregon that year. Direct spending by resident same-sex couples on their weddings would add an estimated $37.7 million to the state and local economy over the first three years, with $24.1 million in the first year alone. Wedding-related spending and tourism would also generate approximately 468 new jobs in Oregon over the first three years. Estimates do not take into account the impact of same-sex couples from other states who travel to Oregon to marry, or the impact of existing marriages and domestic partnerships among Oregon’s same-sex couples.