Total family income is attributed either to marriage and to personal achievement (earnings) for both spouses, also taking account of the educational attainment of each. Data were taken from the 1973-1977 General Social Surveys conducted by the National Opinion Research Center. The research consisted of yearly interviews with approximately 1500 respondents. This study is limited to married white persons ages 25-54. The amount of the respondent's personal income was related to total family income. The difference between personal income and total family income was then attributed to the marriage. Each increment of education above 0-8 years was associated with a greater increment in median family income for women than for men. A large porportion of the men's family income came from personal achievement while a large proportion of the women's family income came from marriage. The typical payoff of a year of education to women through marriage was substantially greater than the payoff to men through personal achievement. This finding suggests that education increased young women's marital desirability. Changing attitudes toward reliance on marriage for economic attainment among female birth cohorts now entering adulthood will decrease differences found in this study. (KC)