A growing number of men expect their wives to earn more money, but not more than they do, a survey has found.

The findings, analysts said, reflect the rising cost of living in China and the increasing role women play as breadwinners.

On Monday, the Social Sciences Academic Press published the Annual Report on Social Mentality in China 2012-13, which included a research report on the criteria that people use to choose a spouse.

Less than 1 percent of male participants said they hope their future spouses will earn more than they do, while the ratio of men expecting to find a wife who makes as much as men increased from 18.3 percent in 2005 to 25.7 percent in 2010.

A couple enjoy a light moment in the snow at a university campus in Beijing in December. [Photo/China Daily]

Meanwhile, women's income expectations for their spouses did not show any notable trends. Forty-four percent of the female respondents said they believe their husbands should earn more money than they do.

"In general, women set higher requirements for men's incomes. But with fast social development, the cost of forming and supporting a family is increasing, so the new trend for most families is that men are no longer the only breadwinners," said Zhang Zhen, one of the writers of the report and a researcher at the Institute of Psychology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Similarly, the age gap accepted by men and women has changed with the changing role of husbands and wives.

In the report, women respondents generally said they want to marry men older than them, but the anticipated age difference between men and women has narrowed in recent years.

In 2005, the average age difference accepted by women was 4.14 to 12.58 years, while in 2010 it was 1.1 to 8.47 years. Men accepted women 5.24 years younger to 0.99 years older than them in 2010.

The report was jointly conducted by the institute and the online dating website Baihe.com. More than 35,000 randomly selected users participated in the survey, and the analysis was based on 31,435 respondents between the ages of 18 and 40.