The University of Virginia has published a report that college-educated women who wed¹ in their thirties earn an average of 56 percent more than those who get married a decade earlier.

 

Conversely, men who settle down in their twenties have higher incomes than those who wait until after 30, no matter their education.

 

The National Marriage Project's study, entitled² Knot Yet: The Benefits and Costs of Delayed Marriage in America, examines the consequences of marrying later, a growing trend in the US.

 

It notes that the average age of marriage is at an all-time high of 27 for women and 29 for men, compared to 1990 when the averages were 23 for women and 26 for men.

 

But while women have actually benefited financially from delayed marriages, men who wed earlier in life tend to be more successful later on.

 

The study says that childbirth plays a role in these results.

 

Around two-thirds of lifetime income growth takes place during the first ten years of a career, according to clinical psychologist Meg Jay.

 

Since college-educated women who marry in their twenties also tend to have their first baby earlier, forcing them to take a break from their careers, they can take longer to climb the corporate³ ladder.

 

But getting hitched⁴ at a younger age tends to be a good career move for men, perhaps because married men 'are more sure of themselves compared to single men,' leading to more productivity⁵, suggests Business Insider.

 

The study also found that while college-educated women profit from delayed marriage, those without a degree do not.

 

In fact, among women who drop out of high school, 83 percent of first births are to unmarried mothers, according to The Atlantic.

 

A woman without a college education therefore has less time to advance her career during its vital first decade.

 

The graphs from the study also show that men who never marry earn significantly less than those who do, while the opposite is true for women.

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