Marriage Rates for Women Without College Degrees Are Dropping

According to a new study led by scholars at Yale University, in partnership with colleagues from Cornell University and Harvard University, marriage rates among women without a college education are steadily decreasing.

The authors examined federal data on women born between 1930 and 1980 regarding their education level and marriage status. Among women born between 1930 and 1940, marriage rates were similar regardless of women’s education level. Since then, the percentage of college-educated women who are married has remained relatively unchanged, while marriage rates among women without college degrees have steadily dropped. Among women born in 1980, about 71 percent of college-educated women were married by age 45, compared to 52 percent of women without postsecondary degrees.

The authors find this trend in declining marriage rates for non-college-educated women is largely due to a decline in men’s economic outcomes over the same time period. Since the mid-twentieth century, the share of men in college has steadily declined relative to women. However, this trend has not affected the marriage prospects of women with college degrees. According to the study, a substantial share of college-educated women marry non-college-educated men. The average annual income of men without degrees, born in 1980, who married college-educated women was about $68,000, compared to $46,000 for those who did not marry women with postsecondary degrees.