28% of Married College Graduates on Facebook Attended the Same School As Their Spouse [REPORT]

Wedding cake toppers

Wedding cake toppersDo you feel like everyone from your school is getting married? Or did you yourself marry someone from your high school or college? It turns out marrying someone you went to school with is not uncommon!

The Facebook Data Science Group recently studied anonymized data on all couples in the U.S. 25 years and older who list themselves as married to each other on Facebook. The researchers, Sofus Attila Macskassy and Lada Adamic, paid attention only to those users that attended the same school within four years of each other, which signals that the couple might have met through school. Of the findings, it’s most notable that 15% of married Facebook users attended the same high school as their spouse, and 28% of married college graduates on Facebook attended the same college as their husband or wife! The researchers also discovered that of the top 25 colleges for finding a spouse, the majority have a religious affiliation.

 

Likelihood of Marriage Between High School Peers, by Location

Map of the likelihood of marriage between high school peers

The map depicts the likelihood that an adult Facebook user is married to someone from his/her high school. Blue circles indicate less likely while red indicates more likely. As you can see from the map, those from high schools in densely populated areas are much less likely to marry someone from their high schools. This is presumably because the pickings in densely populated areas aren’t as slim as those in less densely populated areas!

 

Likelihood of Marriage Between College Peers, by Location

Map of the likelihood of marriage between college peers

The map shows how likely a married college graduate is to be wedded to an alumnus of his/her college. The blue circles indicate less likely pairings while red circles indicate more likely. The curved lines indicate ties between pairs of colleges that have an unusually high number of married couples between them. As you can see from the map, a large number of the schools most likely to breed alumni marriages have a religious affiliation, most notably Brigham Young University, the largest religious school on the map.

 

The Top 25 Colleges Where Women Find Spouses

Chart of the top 25 colleges where women find spouses

For women, the Rose-Hulman Institute for Technology, the Michigan Technological University and the U.S. Air Force Academy top the list of the schools most likely to introduce them to their future spouses. Interestingly, 12 of the top 25 colleges where women find spouses are also among the top 25 schools for men.

The Top 25 Colleges Where Men Find Spouses

Chart of the top 25 colleges where men find spouses

When it comes to finding spouses, men appear to have the same luck as women among the top 25 schools. Pensacola Christian College, Cedarville University and Messiah College, however, seem especially helpful to college bros looking for wives.

Do you know anyone who married an alumnus at his/her Alma Mater? Share with us in the comments section!

via Inside Facebook

Lauren Mobertz

By Lauren Mobertz

Lauren is the former managing editor for DashBurst. One part geek, one part urban nomad, she is constantly scouting for the latest tech and world news. In the evenings you'll find Lauren running in strange places or attempting to dance salsa.

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