2009. In addition, among
those with children in the
household, married adults
tend to have more children.
The greater presence of
children in married-couple
households may help explain
the lower share of two-earner
couples among married
adults.
Among adults without
college degrees, the majority
of both married adults (85%)
and cohabiters (67%) have
children in the household.
The relatively large presence
and number of children in the
households of cohabiters
without college degrees may
reduce the extent to which
both partners in such
relationships can earn
income.
Whatever their partnership
status, adults in households
with children have
significantly lower median
household incomes than
comparably educated adults
in households without
JOY FEELINGS
children. Cohabiting adults
without college degrees are
much more likely to be in a
household with children than
are college-educated
cohabiters, diminishing their
potential economic gains
from cohabitation.
The earnings of collegeeducated adults who live
without opposite-sex partners
constitute the bulk of their
household income (88%). A
college-educated cohabiter’s
earnings typically make up
50% of the household
income, suggesting that those
who move in with a partner
obtain a net boost to their
household incomes.
Among adults without
college degrees, earnings of
those who live without
opposite-sex partners
constitute 43% of their
household income. Earnings
of cohabiters make u