New research from SSRS finds that 39% of U.S. adults have used an online dating site or app at some time in their lives, and that 7% are currently using an online dating site or app.
- Nearly two-thirds of adults aged 18-29 (65%) have used online dating sites or apps, and this youngest group of adults is also the most likely to be current users (16%).
- About half of adults aged 30-49 (49%) have used such a site or app at some time in their lives.
These findings are part of an SSRS Opinion Panel Omnibus poll conducted February 7 – 9, 2025, among a nationally representative sample of 2,016 adults aged 18 and older.
The Public’s Use of Online Dating Sites or Apps
Demographically, current users of online dating sites or apps are more likely to be men than women (57% to 38%). In addition, 40% of current users are aged 18-29 and 44% are aged 30-49; 12% are aged 50-64 and only 4% are aged 65 or over.
Profile of Current Online Dating Site/App Users
Online Dating Sites or Apps Used
Among those who have ever used an online dating site or app, 46% say they have used Tinder, making it the most-often used of a list of sites/apps, followed by Plenty of Fish (29%), Bumble (26%), and Match (25%).
The most-used dating sites/apps vary by the age of users. Among 18–29-year-olds who have ever used dating sites/apps, Tinder (73%) and Bumble (45%) are the top two sites/apps used. Among 30-49 year-old users, Tinder (46%) and Plenty of Fish (36%) top the list; among 50-64 year-old users, the top site/app is Match (45%), followed by Plenty of Fish (37%) and eHarmony (35%); and among users age 65 or over, Match (42%) and eHarmony (32%) are the top two, while 38% users aged 65+ report that they have used sites/apps other than those listed in the question.
What Users of Online Dating Sites or Apps Consider Very Important in Matching with Someone
When those who had ever used an online dating site or app were asked how important each of eight characteristics are/were in matching with someone online, sharing similar family values was the characteristic most often cited as very important (57%), followed by sharing similar political beliefs (33%), religious or spiritual beliefs (31%), and hobbies and interests (30%). The lowest-ranked factor was the person making as much money as they do (12% very important). Sharing family values was the top reported consideration among all gender, racial/ethnic, age, and political identification groups.
Among those who have ever used an online dating site or app, women are more likely than men to cite several characteristics as very important in matching with someone online. Notably, about two-thirds of women (66%) cite sharing family values as very important, compared to about half (49%) of men. Women are also significantly more likely than men to say that sharing similar political values (39% of women, 26% of men) and religious or spiritual beliefs (39% of women, 24% of men) are very important. Men are more likely than women (32% to 23%) to say it is very important that the person be as physically attractive as they are. In fact, among men, physical attractiveness ranks behind only sharing family values in reported importance.
Black adults who have ever used an online dating site or app are significantly more likely than white adult users to cite several factors as very important in matching with someone online: sharing similar family values (70% of black adult users, 52% of white adult users), similar religious or spiritual beliefs (44% to 27%), and similar hobbies and interests (46% to 23%); also that the person is as physically attractive (45% to 22%) and as educated (42% to 15%) as they are. White adult users are significantly more likely than Hispanic adult users (37% to 21%) to report that sharing similar political beliefs is very important in matching with someone online.
When it comes to political identification among those who have ever used an online dating site or app, Democrats (52%) are twice as likely as Republicans (26%) and Independents (23%) to say that sharing political beliefs is very important in matching with someone online.
Young adults (aged 18-29) who have ever used an online dating site or app are far more likely than those aged 30 or over (48% to 15%) to say that being around the same age is very important in matching with someone online.
Methodology
These findings are part of an SSRS Opinion Panel Omnibus poll conducted February 7–9, 2025, among a nationally representative sample of 2,016 adults aged 18 and older. The margin of error for total respondents is +/-2.7 percentage points at the 95% confidence level. The design effect is 1.49. View the questions used for this analysis, along with the responses >>. The data was analyzed by SSRS contributor, John M. Benson.
John M. Benson is a public opinion researcher, academic writer, and editor with over thirty years’ experience examining public attitudes about health policy and other domestic policy issues. He has directed numerous national and international polling projects leading to more than 100 publications in New England Journal of Medicine, Health Affairs, JAMA, Public Opinion Quarterly, Emerging Infectious Diseases, Public Health Reports, Milbank Quarterly, Social Science Research, and other domestic policy and polling journals. He is also co-author of American Public Opinion and Health Care (CQ Press).
The SSRS Opinion Panel Omnibus is conducted on the SSRS Opinion Panel. SSRS Opinion Panel members are recruited randomly based on a nationally representative ABS (Address Based Sample) design (including Hawaii and Alaska). ABS respondents are randomly sampled by Marketing Systems Group (MSG) through the U.S. Postal Service’s Computerized Delivery Sequence File (CDS), a regularly updated listing of all known addresses in the U.S. For the SSRS Opinion Panel, known business addresses are excluded from the sample frame.
The SSRS Opinion Panel is a multi-mode panel (web and phone). Most panelists take self-administered web surveys; however, the option to take surveys conducted by a live telephone interviewer is available to those who do not use the internet as well as those who use the internet but are reluctant to take surveys online. All sample drawn for this study were SSRS Opinion Panelists who are U.S. adults ages 18 or older. Sample was selected to ensure representation by age, gender, race and ethnicity, education, Census region, and party identification. Possible sources of non-sampling error include non-response bias, as well as question wording and ordering effects.
About SSRS
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