50+ Dating Facts and Statistics

Relationships

AARP reported, in a September 2003 study of singles aged 55+, 49% said, "Having someone to talk to or do things with" is the most important reason for dating.

AARP's September 2003 survey cited these as the Top Three Complaints of Singles in their 50's:

Men

Dating partners with a lot of baggage - 42%.

Women who become extremely difficult to get along with after a few dates - 28%.

Women who want to get serious too fast - 18%.

Women

Dating partners with a lot of baggage - 35%.

Not having a clue where to meet men and meeting too few new men - 23%.

Overeager men who want to get serious too fast - 21%.

AARP reported in September 2003 dating can be daunting, regardless of a person's age. But for those 50+, being single can have its own challenges, including:

Many have set habits/routines, enjoy their freedom and are less likely to change.

Divorce and failed relationships can add baggage.

Children and elderly parents can complicate dating.

Wrinkles and extra pounds.

Other physical appearance changes diminish self-esteem and create intimacy issues.

Internet

Two-thirds of adults between the ages of 50-64 use the Internet (Burst! Media, 2006).

In their quest for love and companionship, computer users aged 55+, accounted for 16.7% of all traffic to on-line personal sites (Internet research firm, Nielsen/NetRatings, 2006).

The 50+ segment is the fastest growing group of subscribers for on-line dating (Lehman Brothers Equity Research, February 2007).

Women and men 50+ are using on-line dating and relationship websites because the stigma of an on-line personal ad is fading, and their adult children are leading them to on-line dating (AARP, December 2005).

Seventy-four percent of the 10 million Internet users have pursued their romantic interests on-line (Pew Internet and American Life Project March 2006).

Thirty-one percent of American adults - 63 million people - say they know someone who's used a dating website (Pew Internet and American Life Project March 2006).

Twenty-six percent of American adults - 53 million people - say they know someone who's gone on a date with a person they met on a dating website (Pew Internet and American Life Project March 2006).

Fifteen percent of American adults - 30 million people - say they know someone who's been in a long-term relationship or married to someone she or he met on-line (Pew Internet and American Life Project March 2006).

Singles spent $550 million in 2004 on on-line dating sites; $469.5 million in the U.S. Revenue is expected to grow to $1 billion by 2008 (Jupiter Research, 2004).

The average on-line romance seeker belongs to three sites and spends an average of $239 per year for on-line subscriptions (Jupiter Research, 2004).

Boomer Population

Baby Boomers represent 27.5% of the population; over 24 million Boomers are 50+; and by the year 2030, the Baby Boomers will be ages 66-84 and make up 20% of the total population (MetLife's Mature Market Institute, 2003).

A 50-year-old female can expect to live 82.5 years; a male 78.5 years (The National Center for Health Statistics, 2005).

Men aged 55+ were more likely than women to be in the labor force (US Census Bureau, April 2003).

Tenthousand Baby Boomers a day turn 50-years-old and that almost half of the 23.4 million retirees had $250,000 or more in liquid assets (The Center for Media Research, February 2006).

Within the 50+ demographic of 51.1 million people, 15.8% drink wine and 29% have visited a gambling casino in the past year (The Center for Media Research, February 2006).

Of the 72 million family households in the U.S., 34 million of them are Baby Boomer households (MetLife's Mature Market Institute, 2003).

In the 2000 Presidential Election, approximately 59% of Baby Boomers voted and older Boomers (born 1946 to 1955) were more likely to vote than younger Boomers (1956 to 1964) 69% to 56% (MetLife's Mature Market Institute, 2003).

50+ Dating Facts & Statistics