Today, 48 percent of American women won't be going home to a valentine, a university researcher said. Rather, they'll be returning to spouseless homes.

Trent Alexander, of the University of Minnesota, based his findings on women 18 and older.

Alan Booth, professor of sociology, human development and demography, said the main reason for the high number of women living without spouses is not a desire to avoid marriage, but to delay it.

"The average age for marriage used to be in the late teens or in the early 20s," Booth said. "Today, people are waiting until age 25 or even later, into their 30s."

Mary Faulkner, a graduate student and public relations chairwoman for Penn State's Women's Studies Graduate Organization, said the "single woman" has become a part of American culture that many are talking about, inspired by television shows such as Sex and the City.

"There is a growing acceptance that it isn't strange to be a single woman," Faulkner said. "It demonstrates that women have options about how they want to live their lives."

The widespread belief about this statistic is that it encompasses mainly young, professional women making a choice of career over marriage, Faulkner said.

However, women living without spouses include divorced women, widows, single mothers and women of lower incomes living alone, Faulkner said.

"The poverty of single mothers is a big issue in our country, and we should see what we can do through our government," Faulkner said. "We can't forget that segment of the population."

Booth said today it is possible for women to live independently without their parents or spouses because they are able to earn a living to support themselves.

It is even unnecessary today for women to be married to have and raise children, he said.

"About one-third of children are born outside of marriage," Booth said. "Marriage is no longer a prerequisite for having children."

Despite the decreased number of women living with spouses, Booth noted that this fact does not symbolize Americans losing faith in marriage or a stark change in traditional American values of marriage.

"People still regard marriage as something they want to achieve eventually," Booth said. "There are things they want to achieve beforehand, though. People need a dependable income."

Faulkner said she believes the numbers of women who are staying single longer has probably reached its peak.

"I don't expect great changes now," Faulkner said. "We are already reaching equilibrium around 48 or 50 percent."

Amanda Blocher, a non-degree graduate student, said that she believes the increase in women living alone longer is a positive development.

"It's all personal preferences," Blocher said. "Some women who are more goal-oriented today will more likely focus on that."