VERIFIED BRIEFINGUPDATED JUL 21, 20264 MIN READBY POOL REPORT RESEARCH DESK

Online dating statistics: the numbers worth repeating

A source-checked guide to U.S. online dating usage, outcomes, payments, safety, harassment, and scam encounters.

THE SHORT ANSWER

Pew found that 30% of U.S. adults had ever used a dating site or app, 9% had used one in the prior year, and 10% of partnered adults said they met their current partner through one.

30%: of U.S. adults had ever used online dating
53%: of users described their experience as positive
10%: of partnered adults met their partner on a site or app

Usage depends heavily on age

The national headline hides a steep age gradient. Pew reported that 53% of adults under 30 had ever used online dating, compared with 37% of adults ages 30–49, 20% of those 50–64, and 13% of adults 65 and older.

Those figures describe whether someone had ever tried a service. They should not be relabeled as the share currently active, paying, single, or looking for a long-term relationship.

Success is not one metric

Ten percent of partnered adults said they met their current partner through a dating site or app. Among partnered adults under 30, that share was 20%. Separately, 53% of people who had used online dating characterized the overall experience as at least somewhat positive.

A positive experience, a date, a committed relationship, and a marriage are different outcomes. Any useful success statistic must name which outcome it measures and the population answering the question.

The downside belongs in the same summary

Pew also found that 48% of users had experienced at least one of four unwanted behaviors it measured. Meanwhile, 52% said they believed they had encountered a scammer. Those results do not mean half of profiles are fraudulent or abusive; they measure whether a user had ever had the experience.

The survey’s strength is its transparent sample and questionnaire. Its limitation is time: it captures answers from July 2022, not a live readout of a fast-changing app market.

DATA

Compare the denominators.

Selected U.S. online-dating measures from Pew's July 2022 survey
Measure	Estimate	Denominator
Ever used online dating	30%	All U.S. adults
Used in the prior year	9%	All U.S. adults
Positive overall experience	53%	People who ever used online dating
Met current partner online	10%	Partnered U.S. adults
Experienced at least one measured unwanted behavior	48%	People who ever used online dating
Believed they encountered a scammer	52%	People who ever used online dating

Reading rule: These percentages use different questions and denominators. They are not live platform-user or account-fraud rates.

Download this table as CSV ↓

SOURCE RECEIPTS

Open the evidence.

These links go to the publisher—not a secondhand statistic roundup.

01
Pew Research Center
From Looking for Love to Swiping the Field
Nationally representative survey of 6,034 U.S. adults, fielded July 5–17, 2022, with definitions and subgroup tables.
Open source ↗

COMMON FOLLOW-UPS

Are these numbers current dating-app user counts?

No. They are survey estimates from Pew’s July 2022 fieldwork, published in 2023. They measure reported experience among U.S. adults, not live platform accounts or monthly active users.

What percentage of Americans use online dating?

Pew reported that 30% of U.S. adults had ever used a dating site or app and 9% had used one in the prior year as of July 2022.

Do most people have a positive experience?

A narrow majority of users, 53%, described their experience as very or somewhat positive; 46% described it as negative.