Poll: Is Marriage Obsolete?

Has saying “I Do” lost its cool?

A Pew Research Center study released this week says maybe so: In 1960, 72 percent of all adults ages 18 and older were married; today just 51 percent are, according to the study.

Other findings:

• The age of a first marriage for women is at an all-time high: 26.5 (28.7 for men.)
• The number of new marriages in the U.S. declined by 5 percent between 2009 and 2010.

In Columbia, which has a population of 90,527, marriage percentages are higher than national rates, according to the Census Bureau's Amercian Community Survey.

There are 20,267 men age 15 and older in Columbia who are married, which translates to 58 percent of the male population, according to the survey.

The national rate is 52.3 percent.

The marriage rate of Columbia women trends higher than the national average as well, though not as dramatically.

There are 19,566 Columbia women ages 15 and older who are married, for a percentage rate of 51.4, compared to 48.4 percent nationally.

What do you make of this trend? Weigh in below, or in our poll.