These are the population figures the Online Dating Calculator starts from. Each table shows an input the calculator uses, drawn from U.S. Census Bureau and CDC data. The methodology page lists every source. To apply these to your own criteria and city, use the dating standards calculator.
Age distribution of adult American men
Adult men are spread fairly evenly across age groups, with the 18 to 24 group and men 71 and over the largest bands. Source: 2020 Census, in 5-year groups as the calculator uses them.
| Age group | Share of adult men |
|---|---|
| 18 to 24 | 13.2% |
| 25 to 29 | 9.4% |
| 30 to 34 | 9.2% |
| 35 to 39 | 8.8% |
| 40 to 44 | 8.3% |
| 45 to 49 | 8.1% |
| 50 to 54 | 8.4% |
| 55 to 59 | 8.5% |
| 60 to 64 | 7.7% |
| 65 to 70 | 6.4% |
| 71 and over | 12% |
Share of men who are single, by age
Single means never married or divorced or separated. The share falls quickly through the late twenties and thirties. Source: American Community Survey 2022.
| Age group | Men who are single |
|---|---|
| 18 to 24 | 97% |
| 25 to 29 | 78% |
| 30 to 34 | 59% |
| 35 to 39 | 49% |
| 40 to 44 | 43% |
| 45 to 49 | 39% |
| 50 to 54 | 36% |
| 55 to 59 | 33% |
| 60 to 64 | 30% |
| 65 and over | 27% |
Education
Each row shows the share of men 25 and over who have reached at least that level. Source: Current Population Survey 2022.
| Education level | Men at this level or higher |
|---|---|
| At least a high school diploma or GED | 90% |
| At least some college | 62% |
| At least a bachelor's degree | 36% |
| A graduate or professional degree | 14% |
Smoking
13.1% of adult men smoke and 86.9% do not. Source: CDC National Center for Health Statistics, 2022.
Height
The calculator models male height as a normal distribution with a mean of 69.1 inches (5 feet 9.1 inches) and a standard deviation of 2.94 inches, based on CDC NHANES 2017 to 2018. For what that means for a height requirement, see the height data explained.
What happens when you stack filters
This is an illustration using the figures above, assuming the filters are independent of each other. Real combinations can differ because some criteria overlap.
- Men aged 30 to 34 are 9.2% of adult men, and 59% of them are single. That is about 5.4% of all adult men (0.092 x 0.59).
- Add a bachelor's degree or higher (36%) and the share falls to about 2.0% of all adult men.
- Add non-smoker (86.9%) and it is about 1.7%.
Three ordinary criteria leave under 2 in 100 adult men before height, income, location or attraction are considered. That is why the order and number of filters matters more than any single one.
Frequently asked questions
What does "single" mean in these statistics?
The calculator counts a man as single if he is never married or divorced or separated, using American Community Survey 2022 data on marital status by age.
Where do these numbers come from?
They are the inputs the calculator uses, drawn from the 2020 Census, the American Community Survey 2022, the Current Population Survey 2022 and CDC surveys. The methodology page lists each source.
See Your Own Number
Run your criteria through the calculator and see how many men in your city meet them. It takes about three minutes.
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