Contributions to College Costs by Married, Divorced, and Remarried Parents

This study investigates parents’ financial contributions toward their children’s college education. While divorced parents contribute significantly less than married parents, remarried parents contribute amounts similar to divorced parents, despite having much higher incomes. Furthermore, the contributions of divorced and remarried parents do not increase when they live in states that require child support for college.

This project was funded by the State of Wisconsin Dept of Workforce Development, through the Institute for Research on Poverty.