Iowans are more likely to get married

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 .

Go deeper: Married people are happier than single adults