Married/Living Together Couples - Who makes more?

[Chebass88]

I am an engineer & my wife is a teacher.

My salary is 1.75X hers.

This isn't entirely fair though, as teaching is only a 9 month job. If you normalize it to being a 50 week job, the ratio shrinks to 1.32X.

It just means I get to do things like pay down the mortgage more.

 

[EricF]

At the moment, on base salary, I make more than my wife by a very small amount. However, she gets bonuses throughout the year that push her income past mine. When my industry was doing really well, I was receiving bonuses and a percentage of my company's net profits that (in 2008) almost tripled my base salary. I bout a lot of gear that year. Unfortunately, it's been a couple of years since we've made any money or been able to distribute bonuses.

 

[GregC]

I got a big raise last year, while she moved 800 miles to live with me and hasn't landed a job in her field yet. Plus there's an age gap. So I'm making quite a bit more right now. I tell her one day I'm going to retire and she's gonna support me.

 

[slobake]

My wife makes about 5x more per hour than me right now. It's okay, she has her own business and for years I have had a 40 or 41+ hour per week steady job. I always a reliable income with benefits, that allowed her to develop her business. It's paying off now, she only has to work two or three days per week and still makes a lot more than me. I'm happy about that.

 

[UncleFluffy]

I make about 3x per year / 2x per hour, but I'm 10 years further into my career than she is.

 

[bassinplace]

Never been married, but co-habitated twice. Once for 5 years, once for 2 1/2. Both times never asked each other how much the other was making and didn't care. As long as we could both take care of ourselves, never saw the relevance of a dollar amount. ymmv.

 

[spade2you]

My wife comes from money, so she doesn't have to get a job, especially one she doesn't like. She'll likely remain a stay at home mom for a while.

 

[hrodbert696]

It's been a see saw for us. For a time she was home with the kids and all we lived on was my grad stipend and some part-time job income.

Then the kids turned school age and she got a full-time job and swung ahead of me.

Then we moved for a full-time teaching position for me, and had another kid; she worked part-time, I was making more.

Then my full-time teaching dried up and was reduced to adjuncting, while she started working full-time again.

In a month I begin a new full-time job, which will make us 50/50 for the first time since we started having kids. Except that she's applied to take her retiring boss's job, which will put her ahead about 60/40 if she gets it...

By the way, the poll didn't give a 50/50 option.

 

[ADbassman]

We make almost exactly the same amount of money. Neither of our jobs was really affected by the economy.

 

[MatticusMania]

Not necessary how much but who makes more? I ask cause I wonder if men are still mostly taking home the bacon. That and I'm just curious about everything.
In my household my girlfriend is the larger income earner by about a 6:4 margin. Not that I really mind in my preivous relationships I've made more by a vast margin usually 85% or more.
Its nice though being with someone who has a good job. Though sometimes I feel a bit inadequate, but at the end of the day the bills get paid.

My ex and I were about on par. When we first met we were both pretty broke.
She got out of that slump first, and was making more than me. Then I uh, sold some 'merch'' and we were about equal. Then in the summer time she would lose clients (she was a piano teacher) and I was making more than her.
Money was never really a concern in our relationship, we seemed to have enough when it mattered.

 

[turbo chicken]

single income ... wife stays home...

now that both kids are in school... she is going back...

 

[Bloodhammer]

My past two live-in girlfriends were broke.

The one before that made about as much as me, but she didn't want to work anymore, so she married some other guy and had his kids. I'm glad I'm not him.

I really need to find a chick with a career. In the mean time, I'm enjoying being single with a little disposable income.

 

[sloasdaylight]

I make more, by a significant margin.

I make 20% more than her in base pay, and usually work at least 10 hours overtime each week. There have been more than a few occasions where my weekly paycheck has been more than her bi-weekly paycheck.

 

[FinlessPorpoise]

I had a relationship that ended because I was making much more than my bf. he ended up only working two days a week and relying on me for loans. I think I was too eager to please in my very naive phase, and ended up buying him very expensive things (guitars, leather jackets etc) when he said he was sad about not having much money. Sigh. I guess it was my own fault, I shouldn't have done all that, but I just wanted him to be happy.

 

[RosieB]

He makes twice as much as I do, but I just went back to work after being a stay-at-home mom for 15 years. I make enough to make ends meet on my own.

 

[LSquared]

Before kids, my wife and I were very close in income. After kids, we made a joint decision that she would be primary caregiver for our kids. This led to some serious lifestyle modifications, including moving to a more affordable part of the country, and changing our overall spending patterns. Through the past 25 years, she's mostly worked part-time around the kids' schedules, and brings in a fraction of what I do. She's busier than I am, though, and more important to keeping the family running smoothly.

It's worked well for us, guess we just have that 50's mentaility. Probably not that typical these days.

 

[gearhead1972]

I am a union sheet metal worker, so I normally make about twice what my wife makes. Right now though construction is pretty slow, so I am turning wrenches at a mower shop so I make about the same as her.

 

[blendermassacre]

We make about the same, which...isn't enough. She's about to finish her Bachelor's Degree, though, so there is going to definitely be an upswing in her pay. Hopefully I can go back to school after she's established and we can both make a lot more.

 

[Jazz Ad]

In western countries, all things equal, women make about 30% less than males for the same job. Of course in the end men tend to make most of the money.
I make 3 to 4 times as much as Mrs Jazz Ad. Completely different jobs.