The Impact on New Hampshire's Budget of Allowing Same-Sex Couples to Marry

Publication Date: November 2005

Publisher:

Author(s): M.V. Lee Badgett; Brad Sears; Elizabeth Kukura

Research Area: Economics; Social conditions

Type: Report

Abstract:

This analysis, co-authored by the Institute for Gay and Lesbian Strategic Studies (IGLSS) and UCLA's Williams Project on Sexual Orientation Law and Public Policy, estimates the impact of allowing same-sex couples to marry on New Hampshire's state budget. Using the best data available, we estimate that allowing same-sex couples to marry will result in a net gain of approximately $500,000 each year for the State. This net impact will be the result of savings in expenditures on state means-tested public benefits programs and an increase in meals and room tax revenues from increased wedding-related tourism.