Public opinion of same-sex marriage in the United States

Public opinion of same-sex marriage in the United States has significantly changed since the 1990s, and the overwhelming majority of Americans now favor same-sex marriage.

From 1988 to 2009, support for recognized same-sex marriage increased between 1% and 1.5% per year, and accelerated thereafter, rising above 50% in Pew Research Center polling for the first time in 2011. A 2022 Public Religion Research Institute poll found that a majority of people in every state support same-sex marriage except in Mississippi, where there is plurality support. The same poll updated in 2024 found majority public support in every state.

A 2023 New York Times/Siena poll found that 70% of Americans support same-sex marriage and 22% oppose it. Younger generations report higher approval; in the 2022 General Social Survey, almost 80% of 18–34 year olds either agreed or strongly agreed that same-sex couples should have the right to marry. Garretson (2018) writes: "The transformation of America's response to homosexuality has been — and continues to be — one of the most rapid and sustained shifts in mass attitudes since the start of public polling."

According to Gallup, in July 2015, just after Obergefell was decided, 74% of Democrats, 62% of independents, and 30% of Republicans agreed that same-sex marriages should be legally recognized. A year later, support had jumped to 79% of Democrats, 65% of independents, and 40% of Republicans. In 2021 and 2022, Democratic support was at 83% and 87%, independents was at 72% and 77%, while Republican support reached a record high of 55% in both years. In May 2025, a record-high 88% of Democrats supported same-sex marriage, support from independents stood at 76%, while Republican support dipped back down to 41%.

Overview Public opinion of same-sex marriage in the United States has changed radically since polling of the American people regarding the issue was first conducted in 1988. The issue of same-sex marriage was not brought up as an issue for public debate until at least the 1950s and was not a political issue until the 1970s. According to statistician Nate Silver of the poll aggregator FiveThirtyEight, from 1988 to April 2009, support for same-sex marriage increased between 1% and 1.5% per year and about 4% from April 2009 to August 2010. A Pew Research Center poll, conducted from May 21, 2008, to May 25, 2008, found that, for the first time, a majority of Americans did not oppose same-sex marriage, with opposition having fallen to 49%. An ABC News/Washington Post poll, conducted from April 21, 2009, to April 24, 2009, found that, for the first time, a plurality of Americans supported same-sex marriage at 49% and that a majority of Americans supported the marriages of same-sex couples validly entered into in one state being recognized in all states at 53%. A CNN/Opinion Research poll, conducted from August 6, 2010, to August 10, 2010, found that, for the first time, a majority of Americans supported same-sex marriage at 52%. A Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research poll, conducted from January 25, 2015, to January 31, 2015, found that, for the first time, 60% of Americans supported same-sex marriage. This was five months before the landmark June 26, 2015 Supreme Court decision, Obergefell v. Hodges, which ruled that the fundamental right to marry is guaranteed to same-sex couples by both the Due Process Clause and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution. The 5–4 ruling required all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the Insular Areas to perform and recognize the marriages of same-sex couples on the same terms and conditions as the marriages of opposite-sex couples, with equal rights and responsibilities.Obergefell v. Hodges, 576 U.S. 644, 675–76 (2015) ("The Court now holds that same-sex couples may exercise the fundamental right to marry. ... [T]he State laws challenged by Petitioners in these cases are now held invalid to the extent they exclude same-sex couples from civil marriage on the same terms and conditions as opposite-sex couples."). Prior to Obergefell, same-sex marriage had already been established by statute, court ruling, or voter initiative in 36 states, the District of Columbia, and Guam.

Continual polling by Gallup over the course of more than two decades has shown that support for same-sex marriage has grown rapidly, while opposition has simultaneously collapsed. In 1996, 68% of Americans opposed same-sex marriage, while only 27% supported. In 2018, 67% of Americans supported same-sex marriage, while only 31% opposed. As of 2018, 60% of Americans said they would not mind if their child married someone of the same gender.

National polls Since Obergefell v. Hodges

2020–present A May 2026 Gallup poll found that 65% of Americans (87% of Democrats, 67% of Independents, and 37% of Republicans) believed that same-sex marriages should be valid, while 32% opposed it.

A May 2025 Gallup poll found that 68% of Americans (88% of Democrats, 76% of Independents, and 41% of Republicans) supported same-sex marriage, while 29% opposed it.

A Religious Landscape Study by Pew Research conducted between 2023 and 2024 found that 67% of American adults favored same-sex marriage while 32% opposed it.

A 2024 Gallup poll found that 69% of Americans (83% of Democrats, 74% of Independents, and 46% of Republicans) supported same-sex marriage, while 29% opposed it.

A 2023 poll by the New York Times and Siena College Research Institute found that 70% of Americans supported same-sex marriage, while 22% opposed it.

A 2023 Gallup poll found that 71% of Americans supported same-sex marriage, while 28% opposed it.

According to The Nation, a private poll conducted by Centerline Action before the passage of the Respect for Marriage Act in late 2022 found that 73% of Americans support same-sex marriage; the percentage of Americans opposed to same-sex marriage was not listed.

A December 2022 Quinnipiac University poll found that 68% of Americans supported same-sex marriage, while 22 percent opposed it.

A September 2022 Grinnell College National Poll found that 74% of Americans believe same-sex marriage should be a guaranteed right while 13% disagreed and 13% were uncertain.

A May 2022 Gallup poll found that 71% of Americans supported same-sex marriage, while 28% were against.

The 2022 American Values Atlas by Public Religion Research Institute found that 69% of Americans supported same-sex marriage, while 28% opposed it.

A June 2021 CBS News/YouGov poll found that 64% of Americans supported same-sex marriage while 36% were opposed. Two-thirds of Republicans over age 45 are opposed, but the opinions of Republicans under age 45 are almost evenly split with 52% oppose and 48% support same sex marriage.

A 2021 Public Religion Research Institute poll found that 67% of Americans supported same-sex marriage, while 32% were opposed.

A June 2021 Gallup poll found that 70% of Americans supported same-sex marriage and 29% were against.

A June 2020 Gallup poll found that 67% of Americans supported same sex marriage, while 31% were against, matching their May 2018 record high.

A Public Religion Research Institute nationwide & state-by-state poll conducted in 2020 found that 67% of Americans supported same-sex marriage, 27% opposed, and 5% refused to answer or answered "don't know," with there being majority support for same-sex marriage in 46 states, and plurality support in 4 states.

A 2020 American National Election Studies poll found that 66% of Americans supported legal recognition of same-sex marriage, 20% supported civil unions, while 14% of Americans were opposed to any legal recognition of same-sex relationships.

2016–2019 A June 2019 CBS News poll found that 67% of Americans supported same-sex marriage, while 28% were against.

A June 2019 IPSOS/Reuters poll found that 58% of Americans supported same-sex marriage, while 28% were against.

A May 2019 Pew Research Center poll found 61% of Americans supported same-sex marriage while 31% were against.

A May 2019 Gallup poll found that 63% of Americans supported same sex marriage, with 36% opposing it. While this is a drop when compared to 2018, same sex marriage approval still remains stable.

A May 2018 Gallup poll found that 67% of Americans supported same-sex marriage, 31% opposed, and 2% had no opinion.

An April 2018 NBC News poll found that 64% of Americans supported same-sex marriage, 33% opposed, and 3% had no opinion. The poll was reported by NBC News as notable as it found that 55% of Southerners supported same-sex marriage, which represented an historic change for a region that was previously staunchly opposed.

A Public Religion Research Institute nationwide & state-by-state poll conducted throughout 2017 found that 61% of Americans supported same-sex marriage, 30% opposed, and 9% refused to answer or answered "don't know," with there being majority support for same-sex marriage in 44 states, plurality support in 4 states, plurality opposition in 1 state, and majority opposition in 1 state.

An August 2017 NBC News/The Wall Street Journal poll found that 60% of Americans supported same-sex marriage, 33% opposed, and 7% had no opinion.

A June 2017 Pew Research Center poll found 62% of Americans supported same-sex marriage, 32% opposed, and 6% had no opinion. This marked the first Pew poll where a majority of Baby Boomers supported same-sex marriage, did not oppose same-sex marriage.

A May 2017 Gallup poll found 64% of Americans supported same-sex marriage, 34% opposed, and 2% had no opinion. This marked the first Gallup poll where a majority of Protestants supported same-sex marriage.

A May 2016 Gallup poll found 61% of Americans supported same-sex marriage, 37% opposed, and 2% had no opinion. This marked the first Gallup poll where a majority of Americans aged 65 and older supported same-sex marriage.

Before Obergefell v. Hodges

2010–2015

2015 A May Gallup poll found 60% of Americans supported same-sex marriage, 37% opposed, and 3% had no opinion.

A February–March Wall Street Journal poll found that 59% of Americans favored same-sex marriage.

A January–February Human Rights Campaign poll found that 60% of Americans favored same-sex marriage, while 37% opposed. The same poll also found that 46% of respondents knew a same-sex couple who had gotten married.

A February 12–15 CNN/ORC poll found that 63% of Americans believed same-sex marriage is a constitutional right, while 36% disagreed.

2014 A May Gallup poll found that 55% of Americans supported same-sex marriage, 42% opposed, and 4% had no opinion.

An April Public Religion Research Institute poll sponsored by the Ford Foundation found that 55% of all Americans supported same-sex marriage, while 39% were opposed.

A Pew Research Center poll released in March found 54% of Americans favored same-sex marriage, 39% opposed, and 7% didn't know. It also researched support for same-sex marriage among Republican leaning voters in the United States. 61% of Republican leaning voters aged 18–29 supported allowing same-sex couples to marry, while only 27% of Republican leaning voters over 50 years of age were supportive. 52% of Republican voters aged 18–50 supported same-sex marriage.