Online Dating Demographics

In addition to understanding the available features of any online dating site you are considering joining, it is also very important to understand the demographics of the members that are typical of that dating site. This is important because it can tell you whether there will be a sufficient number of members who you may be compatible with. For example, suppose you are over fifty-five years of age and are considering joining an online dating site. Let's suppose you have narrowed down your search to three online personals sites, based on their available features, subscription prices and favorable reviews. At this point, wouldn't you like to know the demographics of these online dating sites before making your final decision? Suppose you discovered that two of the three sites you have on your list are predominantly for the 'under 30' crowd, while the third site has a large population of singles in your age group. Don't you think this would be important information to have before you make your final decision about which online dating site to join?

So do we! That's why we took the time to research the major online dating sites in order to provide some demographics of their membership base. We researched the most popular and highly visited dating sites online, including Match.com, Yahoo! Personals, eHarmony, and Chemistry.com to provide some interesting statistics about the members of each of these aforementioned dating sites.

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For our research we wanted to answer specific questions about the ages, incomes, and interests of the members at each of the major online dating sites. We also wanted to examine the male/female ratio of each of these sites by comparing the percentage of male and female members. Our results will be illustrated in a simple questions and answer format and summarized in a convenient table at the end of each section or Q&A topic area within this article.

Q: So which online dating site has the largest percentage of female members?

A: Chemistry.com, although not the largest of the online personals sites we reviewed, had the largest percentage of female members at 71.8%. Naturally, this also gave Chemistry.com the greatest female to male ratio among its members at just over 2.5 female members to every male member.

Q: So which online dating site has the largest percentage of male members?

A: Yahoo! Personals has the greatest percentage of dating profiles from men, as evidenced by the summary table below.

Online Dating Site          %Female          %Male           Ratio (Female/Male)
1) Chemistry.com           71.8                   28.2               2.546
2) eHarmony                    68.6                   31.4               2.185
3) Match.com                   55.0                   45.0               1.222
4) Yahoo! Personals       48.6                   51.4               0.946
*Table 1. Online Dating Site Percent Female/Percent Male

Q: Which online dating site has the highest monthly subscription price?

A: eHarmony with a one-month subscription price of $49.95. eHarmony also, consequently, has the membership with the highest average annual income, as well. From our research, eHarmony seemed to be the site with the members most interested in long-term relationships, as well as the greatest number of professionals. Also note that Chemistry.com has a $49.95 monthly subscription price, but also has frequent deals to lower the cost for new members. That is why we have eHarmony listed in the top spot in this category.

Online Dating Site          1-Month Subscription Price (USD)
1) eHarmony                   $59.95 for one month (updated*)
2) Chemistry.com          $49.95 for one month (deals available)
3) Yahoo! Personals      $29.99 for one month
4) Match.com                  $34.99 for one-month (updated*)
*Table 2. Price for a One-Month Subscription - prices subject to change

Q: Which major online dating site has the largest percentage of members in the 'under 30' crowd?

A: Match.com, although ironically Match is also the online dating site that has seen its senior membership double over the past two years.

Q: What is the average age range of the membership of each of the major online dating sites?

A: See Table Below

Online Dating Site          Approximate Average Age Range (Yrs.)
1) eHarmony                   35 through 54 years of age
2) Chemistry.com          33 through 52 years of age
3) Yahoo! Personals      21 through 40 years of age
4) Match.com                  21 through 30 years of age
*Table 3. Average Age Range of Dating Site Members

Q: Which major online dating site has the largest percentage of senior members?

A: Yahoo! Personals has the largest percentage of online daters in the 'over 55' category with over 25% of their online dating profiles from members of this demographic group. However, if you were to examine just the niche dating sites, then SeniorFriendfinder.com, would be the site with the most dating profiles from men and women in the 'over 55' crowd.

Online Dating Site          Percentage of Membership Over 55 Years Old
1) Yahoo! Personals      25% of members are 'over 55'
2) eHarmony                   23% of members are 'over 55'
3) Chemistry.com          21% of members are 'over 55'
4) Match.com                  20% of members are 'over 55'
*Table 4. Percentage of Dating Site Members Considered Seniors

Q: What is the fastest growing demographic area among the entire online dating population?

A: Seniors, or adults over fifty-five years of age, comprise the fastest growing segment of the online dating population. There may be several reasons for this, including the fact that these individuals may not have the social circle with which to go out and socialize. Members of this demographic group, are most likely widowed or divorced and typically do not have as many single friends with whom to socialize and go out. As a result, seniors have been turning more and more to online dating sites to find love and companionship.

Online Dating Site      Percentage Increase Among Seniors
1) Match.com              100% Increase in Members Over 55 Years of Age
2) Yahoo! Personals  82%   Increase in Members Over 55 Years of Age
3) eHarmony                73% Increase in Members Over 55 Years of Age
4) Chemistry.com**
*Table 5. Dating Site with Fastest Growing Senior membership over past two years
**Two Year Data Not Available for Chemisty.com

Q: Which Online Dating Site Has the Membership with the Highest Average Annual Income?

A: eHarmony whose members had an average annual income range of over 50k per year. Unfortunately we do not have income data from all of the dating sites.

Q: Which Online Dating Site is Responsible for the Most Marriages?

A: eHarmony wins again, although this statistic is often quoted in advertisements from the online dating site itself. We do not have marriage data from other online dating sites.

Putting it All Together

So how can you use the online dating demographics information presented here to make a more informed selection when choosing which dating site(s) to join? The first step is to determine what YOUR priorities are. For example, are you looking to make a casual acquaintance or are you looking for a husband or wife? How much of a time commitment are you willing to invest in online dating? Some sites such as eHarmony and Chemistry.com require their prospective members to fill out detailed questionnaires called compatibility studies. If you are not interested in a long-term relationship, you may want a more casual, easy-to-join site such as Match.com or Yahoo! Personals.  Your age could be another determining factor on which dating site you join. For example if you are 'over 55' perhaps you might be most interested in a site like Yahoo! Personals and if you are still under thirty, perhaps Match.com would be a better fit. Finally, your budget could also influence which dating site you join, but we suggest not allowing budget or monthly subscription price to be the determining factor when choosing an online personals site.

Conclusion
Evaluating and comparing and contrasting the major online dating sites is no small task. We hope that by using the information presented above about the Demographics of Online Dating Sites and their members, you will be able to make a more informed decision about the online dating site (or sites) you ultimately join. Now that you are armed with detailed information about the visitors to the different online dating sites, you should be ready to join at least one of the dating sites presented here.  Below are some convenient links through which you can post your free online dating profile at any or all of the personals sites presented in this study.

I Want to Post My Free Dating Profile at Match.com Now

I Want to Post My Free Dating Profile at eHarmony.com Now

I Want to Post My Free Dating Profile at Chemistry.com Now

I Want to Post My Free Dating Profile at Yahoo! Personals Now

Good luck and happy dating. Please email us and tell us of your online dating success once you have posted your profile a each of the sites above.

Disclaimer

Demographic data presented above was gathered from two primary sources: Hitwise, an independent online intelligence service that has published similar online dating statistics, as well as our own independent research.  We have tried to present these results as accurately as possible, however the accuracy of the results presented herein is not guaranteed by WebPersonalsOnline.com.  The composition of each dating site's membership changes frequently, as does monthly subscription prices, so there are absolutely no guarantees made here about the accuracy of the online dating site demographic data presented above. For more current information, we suggest you visit each of the online dating sites analyzed within this study and draw your own conclusions.

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