CorrelateAI › Pairs

US Marriage Rate vs US Resident Patent Applications

US Marriage Rate and US Resident Patent Applications correlate at r = -0.95 over 41 years (1980–2021), p < 0.0001. With the time trend removed, r = +0.23. Likely spurious (shared time trend).

Verdict: Likely spurious (shared time trend). Both series mostly just trend over time. After removing that trend the correlation collapses to 0.23 — the relationship is probably coincidental, not causal.

Pearson r
-0.95
p-value
< 0.0001
Years compared (n)
41 (1980–2021)
95% confidence interval
-0.97 to -0.91
Correlation with the time trend removed
+0.23

Sources

Related pairs

Correlation does not imply causation. How the verdict is worked out.