Survey: Record Low 51% Of All Americans Are Married

MIAMI (CBSMiami.com) – For some, the dream of a beautiful wedding and honeymoon in a place like South Florida is a key part of the American dream.

But the Great Recession and changing views of marriage has left just half of all Americans married, according to a new poll from the Pew Research Center.

The poll found that in 1960, 72 percent of adults over 18 were married. In 2011, the marriage numbers have dropped to just 51 percent.

Pew said that if the current trends continue, the amount of adults married will drop below 50 percent.

In addition, the average age for people to first get married has jumped from 22.8 for men and 20.3 for women in 1960; to 28.7 men and 26.5 for women.

The research was not without a certain amount of confusing numbers. Nearly forty percent said that marriage is becoming obsolete; but 61 percent of people who have never married would like to someday.

The poll found that marriage has declined much less for adults with college educations than among the less education, according to Pew.