Why is it called a delusion calculator?
The name spread through social media posts about how rare a person’s dating wish list might be. This version shows the estimate without rating your standards.
How does the dating standards calculator work?
A delusion calculator estimates how many people meet a set of dating standards. The name is a nickname, not a diagnosis.
By Nora HaleChoose an age range and location, then add income, height, education, and marital-status filters.
2 sourcesFilter effectsCompare small changes
FILTERS WITH THE LARGEST CHANGE
Which filters change each estimate?
Remove one filter at a time. Keep every other filter the same. Every bar uses the same 0–100% scale.
How to use it
Start with your age range and location. Add one filter at a time. Open the calculation details to see how each filter changes the group.
What counts as single?
The Not married filter includes people who have never married, are divorced, separated, or widowed. Some may live with a partner.
How the estimate is made
The calculator counts age, income, education, and marital status together in 2024 Census records. Height and health filters use separate CDC surveys. Combining those sources adds uncertainty.
How to read the result
A result of 1 in 100 means about 1% of the selected group meets all your filters. It describes how common those traits are in the population.
Choose a calculator
Estimate the men’s pool
Shows the men’s result first.
Estimate the women’s pool
Shows the women’s result first.
Male and female standards calculator
Uses the same filters for both groups.
Sources (2)
2024 American Community Survey (ACS) Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS) Documentation
2024 American Community Survey (ACS) Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS) Documentation ↗
Census person-level records used to count age, personal income, and marital status together.
CDC Anthropometric Reference Data ↗
Measured height and BMI distributions used for separately labeled physical-trait models.
Common questions
Does income mean salary?
It means annual personal income, which can include sources beyond a job. It is not household income or wealth.
Can I choose a city?
You can choose the United States, any state, or Washington, D.C. This data does not support exact city estimates.
Dating standards and pool size
Browse 3 more guides
About Nora Hale
Nora Hale writes about looking for love today, from choosing a dating app to wondering why dating feels so hard. She uses research to answer the questions people ask along the way.
Meet Nora and read more