Jun 14, 2024 - News
Iowans are more likely to get married
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Money can't buy happiness, the old adage says. But maybe combining it with marriage can help.
By the numbers: Around 33% of Iowans 15 and older have been married at least once, which is above the national average, according to Gallup 2022 data.
The big picture: Marital status is a stronger predictor of American adult well-being than education, race, age and gender, according to newly released data from the Institute for Family Studies and Gallup.
- Last year, married adults between 25 and 50 years old were 17 percentage points more likely to be thriving than adults who never married.
- Household income adjustment has the biggest sway on well-being for individuals and typically rises after marriage when a couple pools their resources.
Between the lines: Marriage, as an institution or relationship, isn't necessarily the source of happiness.
- People with character attributes linked to happiness, like agreeableness, emotional stability and conscientiousness, may be more likely to seek out marriage, according to Gallup.
What we're watching: There's a striking similarity between political ideology and the likelihood of marriage.
- Couples from more conservative areas said they believed society was better off if people prioritized marrying and having children, while the majority of Democrats did not view those as priorities.
- Rural areas and small towns, like many of those found in Iowa, were also more likely to encourage marriage, according to the New York Times.