Interfaith Alliance of Iowa

Iowa ended a four-year decline in the number of couples getting married last year - and experts say the turnaround could have been aided in part by an April 2009 court ruling that legalized marriage equality.

Susan Stewart, associate professor of sociology at Iowa State University, said marriage rates nationally “have never been lower” so there’s a good chance the new phenomenon of same-sex marriages weighs into Iowa’s increase. “It would seem like a big coincidence if the same-sex couples getting married weren’t part of this,” she said.