Opportunities for Marriage, Partnership Shape Women’s Family Incomes

White Women More Likely Than Black Women to Move Up Income Ladder Due to Differences in Partnering, Men’s Incomes

White women were not only more likely than Black women to have a spouse or partner but their spouses and partners tended to earn more, making White women more likely to attain upward mobility through partnerships, according to new U.S. Census Bureau research. White women who grew up in families in the bottom 20% income bracket were more likely than Black women from the same economic background to move out of the bottom bracket up to the top 20% income bracket.

No matter their childhood family income, White and Asian women were more likely than women from other race/ethnic groups to have access to more income as adults because they were more likely to have a partner and that partner was more likely to be affluent.

But this wasn’t because of differences in personal income since Black and White women from similar economic backgrounds had similar personal incomes. It was because White women had access to more income from spouses and unmarried partners, according to the study exploring how marriage and partnerships affect a woman’s chances of being better off economically than their parents. 

Measuring Family Income in Adulthood and Childhood

Researchers analyzed a sample of adults who responded to the American Community Survey (ACS) between 2011 and 2019. The sample included women ages 28 to 32 and men ages 31 to 35 (since women tend to partner with slightly older men). They focused on Black and White women but also examined some outcomes for women and men from other racial and ethnic groups. The study classified people as Black, White, Asian or American Indian/Alaska Native if they identified as that race only and did not identify as Hispanic. It classified people as Hispanic if they identified as Hispanic, regardless of their race. A person’s adulthood family income is their personal income and, if they live with a spouse or unmarried partner, the income of their partner. (Due to data limitations, this analysis was limited to different couples.)