Counts use mailing addresses; how we count.
After 12,743 licenses in 2024, couples from California obtained 11,212 in 2025. The California difference amounts to 12.0%.
The largest yearly group from California numbered 24,729 in 2007. Its smallest published group was 11,212 in 2025.
The largest percentage setback in the published California series occurred in 2022, when 14,224 licenses followed 17,909 the previous year.
California recorded its fastest annual percentage growth in 2021: 25.4%, reaching 17,909 licenses.
Read the data table
| License issue year | Licenses issued |
|---|---|
| 2007 | 24,729 |
| 2008 | 21,060 |
| 2009 | 20,296 |
| 2010 | 19,653 |
| 2011 | 18,492 |
| 2012 | 17,704 |
| 2013 | 16,275 |
| 2014 | 15,693 |
| 2015 | 15,341 |
| 2016 | 15,480 |
| 2017 | 14,547 |
| 2018 | 12,948 |
| 2019 | 12,620 |
| 2020 | 14,282 |
| 2021 | 17,909 |
| 2022 | 14,224 |
| 2023 | 12,746 |
| 2024 | 12,743 |
| 2025 | 11,212 |
In the California age counts, 27,965 partners fell in the leading 30-34 band. Following that band, California had 25,440 partners aged 25-29. Compared with 19.3% across all origins, California recorded 20.3% of partners in its 30-34 age band, a share above the countywide figure. Younger partners, those under 35, made up 47.4% of California records, higher than 42.7% for all couples. Further down the California age distribution, 35-39 accounted for 20,264 people and 40-44 for 14,884, giving those bands the third and fourth positions by published count.
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| Age band | People |
|---|---|
| 15-19 | 795 |
| 20-24 | 11,006 |
| 25-29 | 25,440 |
| 30-34 | 27,965 |
| 35-39 | 20,264 |
| 40-44 | 14,884 |
| 45-49 | 11,467 |
| 50-54 | 9,492 |
| 55-59 | 6,643 |
| 60-64 | 4,795 |
| 65-69 | 2,640 |
| 70-74 | 1,326 |
| 75-79 | 601 |
| 80-84 | 257 |
| 85-89 | 76 |
| 90-94 | withheld |
| Unclassified age | fewer than 10 |
First marriages for both partners numbered 37,925 in the California group, alongside 30,909 couples in which someone had married before. California's both-first-marriage share reached 55.1%, or 4.92 percentage points above the 50.2% across all couples.
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| Category | Licenses issued |
|---|---|
| Both first marriage | 37,925 |
| At least one repeat marriage | 30,909 |
| Unclassified history | 0 |
April drew the largest published month total from California: 6,442 licenses, or 9.4% of the recent total. January had the smallest published month count, 4,514, leaving a gap of 1,928 licenses between the busiest and quietest months. May followed with 6,354 licenses.
Read the data table
| Category | Licenses issued |
|---|---|
| January | 4,514 |
| February | 5,913 |
| March | 6,017 |
| April | 6,442 |
| May | 6,354 |
| June | 5,781 |
| July | 5,872 |
| August | 5,395 |
| September | 5,225 |
| October | 5,921 |
| November | 5,775 |
| December | 5,625 |
Across all couples, April accounted for 9.70% of recent licenses, compared with 9.36% for California, a gap of 0.34 percentage points below the overall share. The next month after May for California couples was March, with 6,017 licenses, placing it third in the published monthly ranking. Together, April, May and March supplied 18,813 recent California licenses, or 27.3% of the 68,834 total; those same months accounted for 27.5% of all-origin licenses in 2021 to 2025.
Couples from California had a median matched distance of 228 straight-line miles to Las Vegas, with matches for 68,715 licenses. Matching covered 99.83% of recent California licenses, using home postal-area or place centroids.
The latest California total corresponds to 35.96 licenses per 100,000 adults, using the Census count of 31,180,511 adults.
The state-occurrence estimate for California is 228,316 marriages in 2024, using 39,364,774 residents and a provisional CDC rate of 5.80 per 1,000. For comparison, the Las Vegas California count in that year was 12,743 licenses. California's CDC rate includes registered nonlicensed marriages.
California's ACS 2024 first-marriage medians were 32.1 years for men, margin 0.3, and 30.4 for women, margin 0.2 years.
City origins, 2021 to 2025
| Mailing locality | Licenses issued |
|---|---|
| Los Angeles city | 5,166 |
| San Diego city | 2,609 |
| Bakersfield city | 1,817 |
| San Jose city | 1,164 |
| Long Beach city | 1,149 |
| Riverside city | 1,081 |
| Fresno city | 880 |
| Lancaster city | 867 |
| Victorville city | 859 |
| San Francisco city | 830 |
| Sacramento city | 784 |
| San Bernardino city | 690 |
| Fontana city | 636 |
| Palmdale city | 633 |
| Anaheim city | 606 |
| Moreno Valley city | 603 |
| Ontario city | 594 |
| Irvine city | 565 |
| Hesperia city | 548 |
| Chula Vista city | 535 |
| Oceanside city | 504 |
| Corona city | 481 |
| Glendale city | 481 |
| Rancho Cucamonga city | 480 |
| Hemet city | 468 |
| Stockton city | 435 |
| Apple Valley town | 430 |
| Pomona city | 414 |
| Visalia city | 407 |
| Oakland city | 391 |
| Santa Ana city | 388 |
| Huntington Beach city | 380 |
| Whittier city | 380 |
| Pasadena city | 373 |
| Torrance city | 367 |
| Oxnard city | 328 |
| West Covina city | 326 |
| Murrieta city | 322 |
| Escondido city | 312 |
| Twentynine Palms city | 309 |
| Chino city | 308 |
| Modesto city | 306 |
| Menifee city | 302 |
| Barstow city | 301 |
| Temecula city | 299 |
| Perris city | 295 |
| Rialto city | 289 |
| El Cajon city | 288 |
| Inglewood city | 284 |
| La Puente city | 269 |
| Lake Elsinore city | 258 |
| Ridgecrest city | 256 |
| Compton city | 251 |
| El Monte city | 251 |
| Vista city | 251 |
Before you travel: California government guidance on marrying abroad.
Looking back at California couples, the published counts were 24,729 in 2007, 12,620 in 2019, 14,282 in 2020, 17,909 in 2021, 12,746 in 2023. The latest California count is 11.2% below the 2019 figure, using the same address grouping. Couples from California supplied 18.32% of recent Las Vegas licenses: 68,834 within a countywide 375,664 in 2021 to 2025. For California, the latest count accounts for 15.88% of 70,598 Las Vegas licenses in 2025. The California share at the beginning of this record was 22.92% in 2007, when 24,729 of the county's 107,901 licenses carried that address.
Plan the $102 license visit
If you are arranging your visit from California, the marriage license guide covers the $102 fee, identification and collection together at the bureau. For proof to use back in California, follow the certified-copy guide after the marriage is recorded: a certified certificate costs $20 per copy, and the officiant must return the completed document within 10 days of the ceremony for recording.