What did Kinsey's Singles in America survey find in 2026?
A Match-funded survey of about 5,000 U.S. singles found looser views on some relationship milestones, more men than women using AI for dating, and 52.4% saying being single has made them happier than past relationships did. It records what people said, not why.
By The Savvy Rabbits Staff ·
✓Checked twice. Fact-checked against the original sources and approved by an editor. About our standards
The 2026 Singles in America survey, funded by the dating company Match and run with Kinsey Institute researchers, found singles loosening some old relationship rules while wanting marriage more than they did in 2010. Men were more likely than women to say they had used AI for dating, 47% to 30%, and 52.4% said being single had improved their happiness compared with past relationships. These are self-reported answers, so they show what singles say, not what causes what.
Who ran the survey, and who paid for it?
Match paid for it. Match's release says the study was funded by Match and conducted in association with researchers at the Kinsey Institute at Indiana University. The Kinsey Institute's release says the series has surveyed more than 80,000 people "thanks to funding from Match." Match is in the business of dating, and its release quotes Match Group's global chief marketing officer. That release also says all data were "independently collected" through a survey panel, which speaks to collection only. Neither release says whether the funding shaped the questions or the findings.
The 15th annual edition was conducted online in March and April 2026 among about 5,000 U.S. adults who were not married, living with a partner, in a domestic partnership or in a committed relationship. The sample was balanced for age and gender using Census figures. Kinsey's published codebook, which lists the questions and overall answers, states no total, but the answer counts on its complete questions add up to 4,952, the number StudyFinds reports. Neither release reports a margin of error or names the survey panel company.
Which traditional milestones are singles relaxing?
"The milestones that used to define a relationship in our society have become less essential," Dr. Amanda Gesselman, a study co-lead at Kinsey, said in the institute's release. The numbers offer some support:
30% would be open to a committed, long-term relationship with no intention to marry.
23.4% would be open to a committed, long-term relationship with no intention of living together in the same household, according to the codebook.
19.3% said there is no ideal or right age for marriage, also from the codebook.
49% have fallen for someone they were not attracted to at first, up from 30% in 2010.
"Open to" is a low bar. It does not mean these singles prefer those arrangements.
Does that mean singles have given up on marriage?
No. The share who want to marry someday rose from 33% in 2010 to 45% in 2026. In the codebook, 29.1% said no and 26.3% said they did not know. The share who do not want a relationship fell from a peak of 32% in 2021 to 24%.
Some expectations are also getting firmer. Having a checklist for a long-term partner rose from 25% in 2021 to 34%. More singles than in 2019 said they want to reach career, income, savings, debt or homeownership goals before a long-term relationship, though the release gives no percentages.
One traditional view grew outright. The share saying women should be the primary caregiver for children rose from 34% in 2013 to 51%. The codebook shows that total combines 34.2% who agree somewhat with 16.5% who agree strongly. Among Gen Z men, 70% hold that view, while 72% said a stay-at-home parent would be acceptable in their own relationship.
How big is the gender divide on AI?
Kinsey reports that 39% of singles have used AI in their dating lives, including 47% of men and 30% of women. The gap by age is wider, from 67% of Gen Z and 46% of Millennials to 24% of Gen X and 5% of Boomers. The most common uses were improving communication, finding better matches and generating message ideas.
In the release, 34% call altering profile photos with AI a dealbreaker, and 30% object to someone using AI for all their conversations. Only 30% believe AI could improve human connection, while the codebook shows 47.3% said no and 22.8% were unsure. On a separate question, 66% said AI could not replace human connection.
The documented divide is about use. The release gives no gender split for those attitudes and offers no reason for the gap.
Are more than half of singles really happier?
That figure comes from the codebook, not the press releases, and two write-ups, from GCN and StudyFinds, report it too. Respondents were asked how being single had changed their happiness "compared to how you felt in past relationships."
Much better now: 29.0%
A little better now: 23.4%
About the same: 20.9%
A little or much worse now: 16.1%
No recorded answer: 10.5%
So 52.4% is the two "better" answers combined, and more than one in four chose "much better." Confidence and stress followed the same pattern, with 50.6% and 54.5% reporting improvement. In the codebook, 45.7% would date right away if the perfect partner showed up tomorrow, 25.3% would still stay single and 29.0% were unsure. And 48.0% went on no in-person dates in the past year.
What can't this survey prove?
It cannot show that being single makes people happier. Everyone in it is single now, so people who found a partner and stayed with one are not counted. Someone who left a bad relationship may feel better for reasons that say little about relationships in general.
The answers are also self-reported, and comparing the present with a past relationship relies on memory. StudyFinds makes the same point about self-report and advises weighing the Match funding. Year-to-year changes show that answers moved, not why they moved. Without a reported margin of error, small gaps are hard to judge. Nothing here tests whether AI improves dating, either.
What is the useful takeaway?
The survey is a broad, dated picture of what singles say, paid for by a company with a stake in the subject. It suggests that wanting a partner and being content alone can sit side by side. It cannot say which is right for any one person.
This article is educational and is not therapy or professional advice. If you are in an unsafe or abusive relationship, contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-7233.
Sources
Kinsey Institute via EurekAlert, "15th annual Singles in America Survey reveals how relationships, marriage, money and family are changing": https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1143932
Kinsey Institute at Indiana University, "15th annual Singles in America study released": https://news.iu.edu/kinseyinstitute/live/news/52787-15th-annual-singles-in-america-study-released
Kinsey Institute at Indiana University, "Singles in America 2026 codebook": https://news.iu.edu/kinseyinstitute/live/files/107-singles-in-america-2026-codebook
Match via PR Newswire, "Match Unveils 15th Annual Singles in America Study": https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/match-unveils-15th-annual-singles-in-america-study-302874421.html
GCN, "Kinsey Institute survey finds singles redefining relationship milestones in 2026": https://gcn.com/kinsey-institute-singles-relationship-milestones/22255
GCN, "More than half of US singles say they are happier alone than in past relationships, Kinsey Institute study finds": https://gcn.com/?p=21910
StudyFinds, "The Surprising Reason 1 In 4 Singles Would Reject Their Perfect Match To Stay Solo": https://studyfinds.com/1-in-4-singles-would-reject-perfect-match/
Our columnists weigh in
Rosanna and Destiny are AI-created personas. These takes are opinion, not professional advice.
R
RosannaAI persona
The friend who tells you the truth
You don't owe anyone a relationship because a survey says people want them. You don't owe anyone a victory lap for being alone either. Here's what I'd tell you. Feeling better than you felt in a past relationship is a comparison with that relationship. It says nothing about the next one. So don't let 52.4% talk you out of wanting someone. Don't let 45% make you feel late. And if AI has been writing your messages, fine. Just know that 30% of singles object to someone using it for every conversation. Sooner or later, somebody meets the person behind those messages. Make sure that person can hold up the conversation.
D
DestinyAI persona
The one who already knew
Watch the one with the checklist. A third of singles carry one now, and they call it clarity. Then look at the other number, the 49% who fell for someone they weren't first attracted to. Heat rarely reads the list. There is a type who says she is happy alone and means it, the quiet house, her own gold. There is another who says it a little too sharply. A percentage cannot tell them apart. Ask the one who would stay single even if the perfect partner showed up tomorrow, and notice how long the quiet lasts before she answers.
The Savvy Rabbits Staff
Our editors' take
We would read the 47% and the 30% as a difference in behavior and stop there. The article gives no reason for the gap, and nothing in this survey shows that AI makes dating better or worse for either group. We would also keep the funding in view without throwing out the work. A published codebook helps, since that is where the 52.4% can be checked. It splits into 29.0% "much better" and 23.4% "a little better." Those are different answers. Adding them together is accurate, and it tells a reader less than the question it came from.
