How Does Living In Springfield Affect Your Chances Of Marriage?

Where you grow up may have more of an affect on you than you once thought. According to a recent study, growing up in Springfield does have an affect on your odds of marrying.

If you were raised in Springfield you are 7 percentage points less likely to be married by time you are 26 years old, according to a recent study.

The New York Times analyzed data compiled by a group of Harvard economists studying upward mobility, housing and tax policy and found that the likelihood of getting married was impacted by geography.

The data covers more than five million people who moved as children in the 1980s and 1990s. The economists who conducted the study believe they have identified a causal role that geography plays in people’s lives.

Children who grow up in Springfield or elsewhere in Union County are 7 percentage points less likely to be married by 26. For the state of New Jersey as a whole, growing up in the Garden State makes you 7 percentage points less likely to be married by your 26th birthday, according to the report.

To view the full study and get a look at the interactive map showing marriage likelihood, visit the New York Times here.