Interactive Map Contains Clues About Marriage in Your Hometown

The county you grew up in may affect the likelihood you will marry, new data reveals.

The New York Times utilized data from Harvard’s Equality of Opportunity Project to compile a county-by-county map of an individual’s chances of marrying by age 26.

>>> View the Interactive Map

The researchers studied more than 5 million people who moved to a different county while they were children in the 1980s and 1990s.

They concluded the data “suggests places have causal effects on marriage.” The researchers also told The New York Times their findings show “similar patterns” up to age 30.

The researchers found that children who grew up in urban areas are less likely to marry by 26, and children who grew up in rural areas are more likely to marry.

Political ideology also plays a role. Children who grew up in areas that vote Republican are generally more likely to marry.

The researchers also looked at states as a whole. Children who grew up in Utah, Idaho and Arkansas are most likely to be married by 26.

Children who grew up in the District of Columbia, New Jersey and Connecticut are least likely.

What are your county’s odds? Check out the map here.