Marital Age Heterogamy and Homogamy, 1900 to 1980

Using US census data from 1900 1960 and 1980 this paper investigates age differences between spouses over time and examines the structural variables that differentiate age-homogamous marriages from age-heterogamous marriages to see if these trends also differ over time. The variables examined include wifes education wifes employment status husbands occupational status wifes occupational status annual family income race rural residence wifes country of birth and number of times married (1960) or number of years married (1900). Wives are further divided into younger middle-aged and older groups as a control variable. A shift has occured: Marriages were characterized by age heterogamy in 1900 and by age homogamy in 1960 and 1980. Using discriminant analysis to identify variables that distinguish between age-homogamous and age-heteragamous marriages in each time period the findings show that husband-younger and husband-older marriages (a difference either way of at least 5 years) tend to be characterized by lower socioeconomic attributes compared to same-age marriages. In general age-heterogamous marriages are associated with foreign birth lower education levels lower family income lower occupational status and nonemployment of wives. Further black and remarried individuals are more likely to be in age-heterogamous marriages. The authors suggest that the current trend toward age homogamy may reflect the current trend toward male-female equality in marriage that age differences may also indicate status differences.