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Study

You Won’t Believe What 28% of Americans Avoid On First Dates

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.


Keeping your wits about you is always a good idea on a first date. For a lot of people, that means avoiding alcohol.

Some stay dry on those first few dates out of respect, others for tradition and some even for safety. Avoiding alcohol also can help prevent potentially embarrassing situations.

Whatever the reason, DatingAdvice.com wanted to know how many Americans do not like the idea of imbibing alcohol on a first date.

Overall, nearly one-third said they do not think it’s OK to have a drink or two when first meeting a potential romantic partner.

Among the most likely groups to say this was Asians, younger Americans and low-income earners.

At 42 percent, Asian-Americans had the highest response out of the 1,080 people surveyed. On the flip side, only 25 percent of Caucasians said they would not drink alcohol on the first romantic outing.

“One-third of Americans

would not drink on a first date.”

Perhaps because of legal purposes, slightly more than four in 10 Americans aged 18 to 24 said they do not agree with having libations for that first date versus only one in five of those aged 54 to 64.

Those earning less than $25,000 a year were more than five times as likely to answer no to the question, “Do you think it’s OK to drink alcohol on the first date?” compared to those making $125,000 or more a year.

In terms of the least likely groups to disapprove of drinking during this sort of activity, gay Americans and respondents living in the Northeast took the cake.

Just 20 percent of gay men and lesbian women said they would not have a cocktail when on a first date, while 28 percent of straight men and women said they would not.

Out of every region, those living in states like New York and Massachusetts were more likely to answer in the negative than those living in states like Louisiana and Tennessee – 23 percent and 32 percent, respectively.

The study surveyed 1,080 respondents over the course of three weeks, balancing responses by age, gender, income, race, sexuality and other factors in order to accurately represent the U.S. population. The study has a margin of error of +/- 2.8%.

The Breakdown: Americans Who Wouldn’t Drink On a First Date

By gender:

  • Male: 28%
  • Female: 29%

By sexuality:

  • Straight: 28%
  • Gay: 20%

By marital status:

  • Single, Never Married: 32%
  • Married: 27%
  • Divorced: 27%

By age:

  • 18 to 24: 41%
  • 25 to 34: 31%
  • 35 to 44: 31%
  • 45 to 54: 23%
  • 54 to 64: 22%
  • 65 and older: 25%

By race:

  • White: 25%
  • African-American: 36%
  • Hispanic: 34%
  • Asian: 42%

By income:

  • Under $25,000: 39%
  • $25,000 to $49,999: 32%
  • $50,000 to $74,999: 24%
  • $75,000 to $99,999: 26%
  • $100,000 to $124,999: 22%
  • $125,000 or higher: 14%

By region:

  • Northeast: 23%
  • Midwest: 27%
  • South: 32%
  • West: 29%

Visit DatingAdvice.com/Studies for more research on dating and relationship topics. 

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