Pew Research Center — For Valentine's Day, 5 facts about single Americans

What the study found

In a Pew Research Center survey of 6,034 U.S. adults fielded in July 2022, 63% of men under 30 described themselves as single, compared with 34% of women in the same age group. Overall, 30% of all U.S. adults were single, where "single" meant not married, not living with a partner and not in a committed romantic relationship. Among single people, 50% of men and 35% of women said they were looking for a relationship or casual dates, and younger men were far more likely than older men to be single — a pattern not mirrored among women. ^[1]

63% of men under 30 described themselves as single, compared with 34% of women in the same age group

^[1]

Why it matters here

This survey is the primary source behind the frequently cited figure that most young men are single. It supports the headline number for men under 30 while showing that women in the same age group are far less likely to report being single, which is why it anchors discussion of whether 63% of young men are single. Because it also records how many single men are actively looking for a relationship or dates, it bears on debate about a male loneliness epidemic — though the data measure relationship status and dating intentions, not loneliness itself.