---
title: "The links between education, marriage and parenting"
description: "New data released this week from the U.S. Census Bureau reaffirm the strong linkage between educational attainment and the marital status and living arrangements of parents of minor children"
date: "2013-11-27"
authors:
  - name: "Gretchen Livingston"
    job_title: "Former Senior Researcher"
    link: "https://www.pewresearch.org/staff/gretchen-livingston/"
url: "https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2013/11/27/the-links-between-education-marriage-and-parenting/"
categories:
  - "Family & Relationships"
  - "Marriage & Divorce"
---

# The links between education, marriage and parenting

[![FT_Educ_Differences](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2013/11/FT_Educ_Differences.png)](http://www.census.gov/hhes/families/data/cps2013.html)

New data [released this week](http://www.census.gov/hhes/families/data/cps2013.html) from the U.S. Census Bureau reaffirm the strong linkage between educational attainment and the marital status and living arrangements of parents of minor children.

Among parents who live with a child under the age of 18, 89% of college graduates are married, compared with 64% of parents with less than a high school diploma and 70% of those with just a high school diploma.

Marriage has been on the decline for decades, particularly [for those with less education](https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2010/11/18/the-decline-of-marriage-and-rise-of-new-families/). At the same time, the share of [non-marital births](https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2010/05/06/the-new-demography-of-american-motherhood/) for the less educated has risen dramatically, and the [likelihood of divorce](https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2010/10/07/the-reversal-of-the-college-marriage-gap/4/) remains significantly higher among those lacking a college degree than among those who have one.

Not only is there an educational gap in the likelihood of parents living with their minor children being married, but there is a gender gap as well.

Just over half (53%) of mothers who lack a high school diploma and who live with their children are married, as compared with 78% of dads with the same educational level. These gender differences narrow considerably — but still persist — among the most educated. Some 84% of moms who have a bachelor’s degree and live with their children are married, compared with 95% of dads with a bachelor’s degree.

These gender gaps are largely driven by differences in the patterns of single parenting. While the share of single parents who are dads [has risen dramatically](https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2013/07/02/the-rise-of-single-fathers/), it’s still the case that most single parents are moms.

And since divorce and non-marital births are more prevalent among the less educated, that means single parents — particularly single moms — are more prevalent, as well. Approximately 30% of moms with less than a college degree who live with their kids are living without a spouse or partner, as compared with 7% of comparable dads. In comparison, 13% of college-educated moms who live with their kids are living without a spouse or partner, as are 3% of comparable dads.

**NOTE:** *References to a "high school degree" have been changed to a "high school diploma."*