Parenting at Age 27

If you want proof that going to college delays childbearing, the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 has the evidence. This survey has been tracking the educational attainment, employment status, and living arrangements of a representative sample of Americans born in the early 1980s since they were aged 12 to 17 in 1997. The latest data, collected in 2011-12, reveals the status of these young adults at age 27. The results show striking differences in childbearing by education...

Percent living with own or partner's child
Total sample at age 27: 40.7%
High school dropout: 60.8%
High school graduate only: 52.3%
Some college/associate's degree: 44.1%
Bachelor's degree or higher: 19.4%

At age 27, most young adults with a high school diploma or less education are living with their own or a partner's child. In contrast, fewer than one in five of those with at least a bachelor's degree are caring for children. Interestingly, partner status varies much less by education, with 55 percent of the least educated and 52 percent of the most educated 27-year-olds living with a partner (married or cohabiting).

Bureau of Labor Statistics, America's Young Adults at 27: Labor Market Activity, Education, and Household Composition: Results from a Longitudinal Survey Summary