College major’s effect on marriage and children

We investigate how college major is associated with later-life family outcomes such as marriage and children. Using 2016–2020 data from the American Community Survey, we find that the effect of college education on family outcomes varies greatly by major. Almost all majors are significantly more likely than non-college-graduates to be married, but the size of this association varies more than threefold by major. We find that some majors such as agriculture and theology are associated with significantly higher fertility relative to non-college-graduates, while others like fine arts yield significantly lower fertility.