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Study

43% of Americans Have Gone on a Blind Date

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.

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This is an exclusive study conducted by DatingAdvice.com, which surveyed respondents over the course of three weeks to reflect an accurate representation of the U.S. population.


Blind dates are often thought of as awkward endeavors, yet research finds about four in 10 Americans have been on one.

In an exclusive study conducted by DatingAdvice.com, 43% of Americans said they’ve gone on a blind date.

Gay respondents were among the most likely groups to answer in the affirmative, as they were 16 percent more likely than their straight counterparts to go on such a date.

At 57%, married men also had some of the highest responses, no doubt some of them having met their spouse on a blind date.

Conversely, single men were among the least likely groups to have gone on a blind date, with just 29% indicating so.

“Gay respondents were 16% more likely to

go on a blind date than their straight counterparts.”

The results also show older respondents continually trumped the numbers of younger men and women. Fifty-eight percent of those aged 65 and up had been on a blind date – almost three times the rate of 18- to 24-year-olds.

Clinical psychologist and DatingAdvice.com expert Dr. Wendy Walsh said while most people assume more younger men and women have been on blind dates because they have a greater comfort level with the Internet and meeting strangers, the findings prove this to be a misconception.

“The over 50 crowd is the fastest growing population in online dating, and the younger generation doesn’t ‘date’ as often,” she said. “Traditional courtship rituals are being replaced with groups ‘hanging out’ and even ‘hooking up.'”

Walsh said income appears to be another factor, with low-wage earners having a one-third lower likelihood of going on a blind date than those with higher salaries.

“Because so many young men are experiencing financial inequities with their female peers (women in their 20s make more than their male peers in our top 39 urban centers), traditional dates may be out of their budgets,” she said.

The Breakdown: Americans Who’ve Gone on a Blind Date

By gender:

  • Male: 44%
  • Female: 42%

By sexuality:

  • Straight: 44%
  • Gay: 51%

By marital status:

  • Single, Never Married: 30%
  • Married: 50%
  • Divorced: 52%

By age:

  • 18 to 24: 20%
  • 25 to 34: 34%
  • 35 to 44: 41%
  • 45 to 54: 48%
  • 54 to 64: 52%
  • 65 and older: 58%

By race:

  • White: 46%
  • African-American: 42%
  • Hispanic: 30%
  • Asian: 37%

By income:

  • Under $25,000: 32%
  • $25,000 to $49,999: 41%
  • $50,000 to $74,999: 54%
  • $75,000 to $99,999: 48%
  • $100,000 to $124,999: 43%
  • $125,000 or higher: 48%

By region:

  • Northeast: 44%
  • Midwest: 42%
  • South: 45%
  • West: 40%

Visit DatingAdvice.com/Studies for more research on dating and relationship topics. Relationship expert Dr. Wendy Walsh is a frequent contributor on CNN and other major networks and is the author of the new book “The 30-Day Love Detox.” 

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