Men are now ‘Marrying Up’ more than Women: Research

Men are now “marrying up” more than women due to significant increases in highly educated — and paid — females. That’s the gender-upending finding of University of Kansas sociologist ChangHwan Kim.

“The pattern of marriage and its economic consequences have changed over time,” said Kim

, who specializes in such subjects as social stratification. “Now women are more likely to get married to a less-educated man.”

The research, published in the journal Demography, is based on U.S. Census data from 1990 and 2000 and the 2009-11 American Community Survey. Kim and co-author Arthur Sakamoto, of Texas A&M University, focused on education and earnings of people 35-44 years of age.

They found that the number of highly educated unmarried women exceeds the number of single men in the same boat. Consequently, women are more likely to be married to a less-educated man — and earning a higher income than him.

When it comes to wives bringing home more bacon, Kim notes that “men don’t complain a lot about this.”

That’s because, he added, the actual quality of life is determined by “family income rather than by personal earnings. It seems fine for men because their wife is now bringing more income to the household.”

This shift in hypergamy — wedding someone from a higher social strata — illuminates a change in the marital tie that binds.

“Marriage is now becoming more egalitarian and becoming equal,” Kim said. “If you look at gender dynamics or from a marriage-equality standpoint, that is a really good sign.”