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June 25, 2008

college and kids

I guess this is a well-known story, but I wanted to document it. Here is the median age that American women have their first child (in dark blue) and the percentage of younger women (age 25-34) who have completed four years of college (in red). From 1945-1965, women bore their first babies at an increasingly early age, and women's educational attainment did not rise much. This was the era of the Feminine Mystique and "Leave it to Beaver." Then we see a very substantial rise in educational attainment, and childbearing is delayed. Today, it is common for a woman in her late 20s to have a college degree and children in her future, but none born yet. That combination was really quite rare in 1960.

June 25, 2008 2:41 PM | category: none

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