The Labor of Love: Occupational Education and the Transition to First Marriage

David McClendon, University of Texas at Austin
Janet Kuo, University of Texas at Austin
Kelly Raley, University of Texas at Austin

Explanations for the marriage gap by educational attainment in the US emphasize the economic and cultural attractiveness of a college degree on the marriage market. However, education may also shape the opportunities that men and women have to meet other college-educated partners, particularly in contexts with significant educational stratification. We focus on work—and the social ties it supports—and consider whether the educational composition of one’s occupation is important for marriage formation. Employing discrete-time event history methods using the NLSY-97, we find that occupational education is positively associated with transitioning to first marriage and with marrying a college-educated partner for women but not for men. This association does not vary by women’s own educational attainment and is not significant for entry into cohabitation. Our approach calls attention to an unexplored, indirect link between education and marriage that, we argue, helps explain why college-educated adults enjoy better marriage prospects.