Study: Gay marriages contribute $111 million into Mass.

AMHERST, Mass. -- A study says the over 12,000 same-sex marriages performed in Massachusetts since 2004 have pumped over $111 million into the state's economy.

The report from the Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law says a typical same-sex couple spent about $7,400 on their wedding, with one in ten couples spending over $20,000.

A second study by the same group found that young, highly educated people in same-sex relationships were 2.5 times more likely to move to Massachusetts after 2004 than before gay marriage became legal.

M.V. Lee Badgett, a researcher at the University of Massachusetts and a study co-author, says allowing gay couples to marry has helped businesses in tough economic times.

Sunday marks the five-year anniversary of Massachusetts recording its first same-sex marriage licenses.

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