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Study

14% of American Men Have Paid for Sex

C. Price

Written by: C. Price

C. Price

C. Price is part of DatingAdvice.com's content team. She writes advice articles, how-to guides, and studies — all relating to dating, relationships, love, sex, and more.

Edited by: Lillian Castro

Lillian Castro

Lillian Guevara-Castro brings more than 30 years of journalism experience to ensure DatingAdvice articles have been edited for overall clarity, accuracy, and reader engagement. She has worked at The Atlanta Journal and Constitution, The Gwinnett Daily News, and The Gainesville Sun covering lifestyle topics.

Reviewed by: Amber Brooks

Amber Brooks

Amber Brooks is the Editor-in-Chief at DatingAdvice.com. When she was growing up, her family teased her for being "boy crazy," but she preferred to think of herself as a budding dating and relationship expert. As an English major at the University of Florida, Amber honed her communication skills to write clearly, knowledgeably, and passionately about a variety of subjects. Now with over 1,800 lifestyle articles to her name, Amber brings her tireless wit and relatable experiences to DatingAdvice.com. She has been quoted as a dating expert by The Washington Times, Cosmopolitan, The New York Post, Bustle, Salon, Well+Good, and AskMen.

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How common is it for the average American man to pay for sex?

A study coming out of the University of Portland found 14% of American men have paid for sex and 1% of those men had done so in the previous year.

What’s more, the study found nothing statistically abnormal about the 14% of men who reported hiring a prostitute at some point in their lives.

However, the study did find common trends among the 1% of men who appeared to seek out prostitutes regularly.

“Fourteen percent of American men have paid for

sex and 1 percent had done so in the previous year.”

These regular “Johns” were more likely than the average American man to be married, white, sexually liberal, hold an advanced degree and earn more than $120,000 a year.

Neither group of men appeared to have any distinguishing psychological characteristics.

Instead, study coauthor Dr. Christine Milrod explained why the study may have found certain patterns within regular Johns.

“Privileged men are generally not marginalized or threatened due to their sexual behavior,” she said. “In contrast, customers associated with street prostitution are likely to have fewer financial and social resources and it could be argued that these men are explicitly targeted by law enforcement in marginalized areas or transitional neighborhoods.”

Source: Sagepub.com.