DATE TAB / 2026 SURVEY← Main calculator
Dating spend calculator.
Monthly tab. Annual total.
Move one slider to turn monthly date spending into an annual total, then compare your answer with the bands reported by U.S. Gen Z adults in a nationally weighted Bank of America and Ipsos survey.
RUN THE CALCULATOR↓DATE TAB / 2026BANK OF AMERICA + IPSOS
of Gen Z reported spending $0 a month on romantic dates.
That is a spending answer, not a count of active daters. In the same survey, 45% were single and not actively dating.
YOUR DATE TABMONTHLY → YEARLY
ONE YEAR$600
THE NEXT 14%Your answer falls in the survey’s $1–$50 monthly spending band.
Survey benchmark, not transaction data. Ipsos surveyed 1,133 U.S. Gen Z adults ages 18–29 online from February 10–28, 2026. Results were weighted to national benchmarks; margin of sampling error ±3 percentage points. Read the report ↗
THE SHORT ANSWER
What the number can—and cannot—say.
What does the 51% dating-spend statistic mean?
In the 2026 survey, 51% of Gen Z adults ages 18–29 reported spending $0 per month on romantic dates. The sample included people who were not actively dating, so the result should not be described as half of active daters spending nothing.
Monthly costs hide the annual number
A recurring $50 monthly date budget becomes $600 a year; $200 a month becomes $2,400. The calculator performs that simple conversion and keeps the survey comparison separate from your personal total.
Survey answers are not bank transactions
The benchmark is self-reported survey data, not observed card spending. It is useful for understanding how respondents answered, with a stated sample, weighting method, field dates, and margin of sampling error.
COMMON FOLLOW-UPS
How much does the average person spend on dates?
This tool does not claim a transaction-based national average. It compares your monthly answer with selected bands from a 2026 survey of Gen Z adults, including the 51% who reported $0 and the 14% who reported $1–$50.
What should count as dating spend?
Use a consistent definition that is useful to you: meals, drinks, tickets, transportation, childcare, grooming, or app subscriptions. The calculator converts whatever monthly amount you enter and does not inspect or save purchases.
Does the calculator save my spending data?
No. The slider calculation happens in your browser and does not require an account or submit your answer to a database.
POPULAR QUESTIONS
Search the claim. Check the receipt.
Plain-language answers for the dating-statistics questions people are already arguing about—each connected to the underlying calculator.