“63% of men under 30 are single.”
What we found.
In Pew’s July 2022 U.S. survey, 63% of men ages 18–29 said they were single. Pew defined single as not married, not living with a partner, and not in a committed relationship.
men younger than 30 who described themselves as single.
FULL GROUP COUNTED: U.S. men ages 18–29 in the July 2022 surveywomen younger than 30 who described themselves as single.
FULL GROUP COUNTED: U.S. women ages 18–29 in the July 2022 surveysingle adults who said they were looking for a relationship or dates.
FULL GROUP COUNTED: All single U.S. adults in the July 2022 surveyIncludes the claim, verdict, source, and review date.
‘Single’ is not one measure.
Scroll the table sideways to see all definitions and limits. With a keyboard, focus the table and use the arrow keys.
| Measure | What it means | What it does not mean |
|---|---|---|
| Pew romantic ‘single’ | Not married, not living with a partner, and not in a committed romantic relationship. | Not dating, not having sex, lonely, or looking for a relationship. |
| ACS ‘not currently married’ | Never married, separated, divorced, or widowed in Census microdata. | Romantically unattached; an unmarried cohabiting partner can still be present. |
| Co-residential ‘unpartnered’ | Not living with a spouse or unmarried partner in the same household. | No partner outside the household or no committed relationship. |
| Single and looking | A single respondent who also said they were looking for a relationship or dates. | All people counted as single; Pew reported 57% of single adults were not looking in that survey. |
| Current dating-app user | A separate behavior that requires its own time window and survey question. | Everyone classified as single or everyone who has ever tried online dating. |
A later 42% statistic answers a different question
Pew later reported that 42% of U.S. adults were ‘unpartnered’ in 2023 using Census-based household data. In that analysis, unpartnered meant not living with a spouse or partner.
That measure can include someone in a committed relationship who lives elsewhere. The 2022 survey’s romantic-status definition can exclude that person. The 2023 figure is useful context, not a direct update of the 63% result.
Compare Census marital status
The calculator can show ages 20–29 who are not currently married. This Census definition includes some partnered people and differs from Pew’s definition.
Open the calculator →Sources (4)
- 01 / Main source · Pew Research Center
For Valentine’s Day, 5 facts about single Americans ↗
Published result, romantic-status definition, subgroup percentages, and looking/not-looking context.
- 02 / Method details · Pew Research Center
Single Americans questionnaire and topline ↗
Field dates, sample, weighting notes, full-sample margin of error, and questionnaire wording.
- 03 / Method details · U.S. Census Bureau
2024 ACS 1-year PUMS Data Dictionary ↗
Official coding definitions for the MAR marital-status variable and PWGTP person weight used by the calculator.
- 04 / Comparison source · Pew Research Center
Share of U.S. adults living without a romantic partner has ticked down ↗
A later Census-based co-residential unpartnered measure that should not be treated as the same definition.
Updates and corrections
We review this page when: Review when Pew publishes a directly comparable romantic-status estimate for adults younger than 30, or when the original source issues a correction.
Initial evidence review published from Pew’s report and questionnaire/topline.
Attached the official 2024 ACS PUMS data dictionary to the calculator’s separate not-currently-married definition.
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