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Trends in U.S. Female Educational Hypogamy by Rurality and Race, 2008–2023 Zhihao Pan*, Zhihao Pan, Shannon Monnat,

Women’s rising educational attainment has reshaped U.S. marriage markets, yet little is known about how these shifts vary across geography or race. Using data from the 2008–2023 American Community Survey, we examine trends in female educational hypogamy—marriages in which women have more education than their spouses—among newlywed heterosexual women ages 25–49. Survey-weighted logistic regressions estimate adjusted odds by rural–urban residence and race/ethnicity. Results show that overall rates of female hypogamy remained stable despite women’s growing educational advantage. However, rural females consistently had higher odds of hypogamy than urban females. Furthermore, the study uncovers a key interaction by metro status and race. The rural–urban gap was largest among White and Asian/Pacific Islander women, smaller among Black and Other Race women, and absent among Hispanic women. These findings underscore the importance of considering both rurality and race in understanding contemporary educational hypogamy in the United States.