Men of all ages earn more money if they are
married. In 1999, three quarters of never-married men ages 15 to 24
earned less than $10,000 in the previous year. In contrast, only a
fourth of married men earned less than $10,000. The same pattern
occurs among men ages 35 to 44.
Like married men, married women have higher personal earnings
than women who are previously or never married, but only among the
younger age groups. Over 80 percent of young, never-married women
(ages 15 to 24) earned less than $10,000 in 1998, compared with only
63 percent of young, married women. However, among women ages 35 to
44, never-married women had higher personal earnings than their
married counterparts.
