The Marriage Market at Age 35

Increasingly, a bachelor's degree is a prerequisite for marriage. The latest data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 (NLSY) provides further evidence of this fact. The NLSY has been tracking a nationally representative sample of men and women born during the years 1980 through 1984. Respondents were aged 12 to 17 the first time they were interviewed in 1997. In the latest (19th!) survey, fielded in 2019–20, respondents were aged 34 to 40. 

At age 25, there were few differences in marital status by educational attainment among the NLSY respondents, with just 27 percent of them married. By age 35, big differences by educational attainment had emerged. Overall, 53 percent of the NLSY respondents were married at age 35. But the married share ranged from a low of 37 percent among the high school dropouts to a high of 65 percent among those with a bachelor's degree or more education.

Partner status at age 35 among people born 1980–84 by educational attainment

	Married	Cohabiting	Single
Total people	53%	17	31
Less than high school diploma	37%	25	38
High school grad, no college	43%	23	34
Some college/associate's degree	50%	16	34
Bachelor's degree or more	65%	11	24

What accounts for these differences in marital status by educational attainment? The Marriage Market. The better educated are more likely to be married because their earnings are higher and their jobs more secure, making them more attractive marriage partners.

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Labor Market Experience, Education, Partner Status, and Health for Those Born 1980–1984