It’s well established that college graduates in the U.S. tend to partner with other college graduates. In 2019, 81% of household heads with a bachelor’s degree or more education had a spouse or partner who was also a college graduate.

A new analysis of government data shows that this pattern is even more pronounced for adults whose parents also graduated from college. Some 86% of household heads with a four-year college degree – and at least one parent with a degree – have a spouse or partner who is also a college graduate. By comparison, the same is true for a smaller share of household heads who are first-generation college graduates.