Is Marriage Dying? 50% Okay If Marriage And Children Are Not Priorities

(CBS SF) -- A landmark study from the Pew Research found the percentage of unmarried people is at its highest point in American history, and 50 percent of those surveyed felt society is just as well off it people "have priorities other than marriage and children."

In the latest numbers, one in five adults ages 25 and older had never been married, or 20 percent as of 2012.  Compare that to 1960, when only one in ten had never married

The reasons? More people are cohabiting and raising children outside of marriage. A full 24 percent of never married adults ages 25 to 34 are living with their partner.

The other reason? Couples are marrying later.  Women's median age to get married the first time is 27, and for men it's at age 29.  That's up from just age 20 and 23 back in 1960.

Another interesting take away, especially for those are have never married but would like to cease being in that demographic group: What never-married people are looking for in a spouse. Not surprisingly, women and men want different things.

A whopping 78 percent of the women want a man with a steady job, saying, "this would be very important to them in choosing a spouse or partner." For men, sharing ideas about raising children was more important then the job.

Moral and religious views are not too important to either gender, nor was education, or coupling with someone of the same race.

READ THE ENTIRE STUDY: Pew Research Center