An overview of Millennial and Gen Z dating statistics
75% of Gen Z are single. 44% of millennials are married. Millennials spend an average of two hours a day on dating apps. 74% of millennials and Gen Zers use dating apps.
What percentage of Gen Z have never been in a relationship?
A 2023 report from the Survey Center on American Life found that 44% of Gen Z men reported never having been in a relationship during their teenage years. While some may interpret this data as apocalyptic, it could be the result of changing priorities.
Gen Z has also seen their parents and grandparents suffer for finances and they want to break the generation poverty. Also they are very well aware that once they marry their money would be spent towards the desires and entertainment of their spouse rather than to help their own parents to pay off their dues and loans.
Power of US Passport | RelationSh!t Advice ft @ZarnaGarg
What percent of Gen Z will marry?
On present trends, 58 percent of Gen Z women and 56 percent of Gen Z men (born 1997 onwards) will ever marry, compared to 56-67 percent of millennials (born 1981-1996), 62-82 percent of Gen X (born 1965-1980), and 77-96 percent of boomers (born 1946-1964).
Yes, dating can be challenging for Gen Z. Barriers like mental health struggles, fear of vulnerability, financial instability, and social hardships in the digital age make forming and maintaining relationships difficult for many young people.
With nearly 30% of Gen Z adults identifying as LGBTQ+, LGBTQ+ Americans are one of the fastest growing voting blocs in the country, growing at a scale, scope, and speed that will fundamentally reshape the American electoral landscape.
Indeed, 73% of Gen-Z report feeling alone sometimes or always. Loneliness can be as damaging to health as smoking 15 cigarettes per day. And people who experience social isolation have a 32% higher risk of early death.
So, Is Gen Z Aging Faster? The good news for Gen Z is that most indications of aging faster are based on lifestyle choices that can be chanted to slow the process — and Gen Z has time to reverse some negative health trends. Hold off on the Botox, fillers and retinol use until you're older.
In its LGBTQ identity breakdown, the report found 72% of Gen Z adults identified as straight, 15% as bisexual, 5% as gay or lesbian and 8% as something else. Researchers also found that Gen Z adults were more ethnically and racially diverse than older generations and less likely to affiliate with established religions.
Most people expect to work to 65. That varies by generation, however: Gen Z expects to retire at age 60, Boomers at 72, Millennials at 64 and Gen X at 67. 32% of Millennials and 30% of Gen Z expect to live to 100 – higher than the 22% of Gen X and 21% of Boomers who expect to become a centenarian.
She added: "Gen Z sees work more transactionally as a result; they do not buy into the same narrative that work equals fulfillment and they are looking for multiple streams of revenue. They are also looking for a partner who brings them that stability."
Young people in Gen Z are dating less and are less likely to use dating apps and participate in hookup culture. It could be because of the dissatisfaction that comes from ambiguous relationships, said Allen Barton, assistant professor of family studies at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
27-30, 2023, via the Gallup Panel, collected responses from a nationally representative sample of 2,271 12- to 26-year-olds. The report finds that about three-quarters of Gen Z -- the children and young adults born between 1997 and 2012 -- say they are very happy (25%) or somewhat happy (48%).
She says Gen Z faces more challenges in some ways than previous generations. “There's a growth in inequality in the transition to adulthood. There's a lot of changes in culture and norms, insecurity more generally, in terms of climate change and the war and school shootings and rapid inflation.
The 2023 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Youth Risk Behavior found adolescent sexual behavior declined since 2013. A 2022 survey from the Kinsey Institute that found one in four Gen Z adults say they have never experienced partnered sex.
Boo – A term of endearment used to refer to a romantic partner. I can't wait to see my boo tonight. Boo'd up – Refers to being in a romantic relationship with someone.
What is Benching in Dating? The term “benching” refers to keeping someone as a potential partner, without engaging in a relationship with them. Its name comes from the practice of benching in team sports like soccer and basketball, where substitute players wait on the bench in case they're needed to play the game.
The results suggest that today's young adults (Gen Z, currently aged 18-25) are much more likely to intend to remain childless compared to earlier generations at the same age. This indicates that fertility rates might fall further in the UK.
Millennials have the lowest divorce rate so far. But fewer of them are even getting married in the first place. That helps explain why the U.S. divorce rate is falling. They tend to wait longer to get married and appear to choose partners with greater care.
A 2025 Rasmussen Reports poll revealed that 37% of singles under 30 say they're not even interested in dating, and nearly half of Gen Z is "intentionally single". They're not waiting for love to rescue them. They're waiting until it's real and resting, thriving and healing in the meantime.
The "gen Z stare" is the blank, expressionless stare some gen Zers will give in place of a greeting or small talk. It is commonly delivered by people working in customer service jobs. According to KnowYourMeme, the first known mention of the gen Z stare appeared on TikTok on July 29, 2024, in a post by @meghan.
As is the case with young people, Gen Z does not currently have to worry much about disease, and their health-conscious behavior now will likely lower their risk of many health issues as they grow older. For example, Gen Z has some of the lowest rates of binge alcohol use of any generation, especially among males.
Smoking is more prevalent among Millennials (** percent), followed by Generation X consumers (** percent). Meanwhile, the trend of cigarette smoking is less common among the youngest consumers in our survey, as some ** percent of Gen Z respondents fall into this category.
