While headlines scream about hookup culture, the surprising truth revealed by decades of data is that American sex lives are far more diverse and often less frequent than we assume.
Key Takeaways
- According to the 2015-2017 National Survey of Family Growth, 85.6% of men aged 25-44 reported having vaginal intercourse in the past 12 months
- In the General Social Survey 2018, 54% of married Americans aged 18-29 reported having sex at least once a week
- A 2021 study by the Kinsey Institute found that 42% of single Americans had sex weekly or more during the pandemic
- CDC NSFG 2015-2017 reports average lifetime sexual partners for women aged 25-44 is 6.3
- General Social Survey 2018 data shows men aged 30-44 average 12 lifetime partners
- Kinsey Institute 2021 survey: 25% of Americans have 10+ lifetime partners
- NSFG 2015-2017: 64% of women aged 15-49 use contraception at last sex
- CDC 2020: 65% sexually active teens use condoms at last intercourse
- Guttmacher 2019: 76% US women 15-49 have used oral contraceptives lifetime
- CDC 2022: Chlamydia rates 496.6 cases per 100,000 population in 2021
- 2021 Gonorrhea incidence 170.1 per 100,000 among 15-24 year olds
- CDC 2022: Syphilis cases rose 74% from 2017-2021 to 176,000 total
- GSS 2018: 94% Americans approve premarital sex between adults
- Pew 2020: 62% say casual sex ok between consenting adults
- Gallup 2023: 71% support same-sex relations, up from 40% 2001
American sexual frequency, partners, and attitudes vary significantly across age groups and relationship statuses.
Attitudes, Orientation, and Satisfaction
- GSS 2018: 94% Americans approve premarital sex between adults
- Pew 2020: 62% say casual sex ok between consenting adults
- Gallup 2023: 71% support same-sex relations, up from 40% 2001
- Kinsey 2021: 15% Americans identify as LGBTQ+
- 2022 PRRI: 28% Gen Z identify non-heterosexual
- Archives 2019: 92% report sexual satisfaction in relationships
- GSS 2021: 55% say sex before marriage always wrong dropped to 20%
- YouGov 2023: 49% women say porn ok occasionally
- CDC NSFG 2015-2019: 1.3% adults transgender
- 2023 Williams Institute: 5.5% adults LGBTQ identified
- Journal Sex Research 2022: 78% orgasms during sex for men vs 26% women
- GSS: 80% approve extramarital sex never justified
- Pew 2019: 65% say homosexuality should be accepted
- Kinsey 2020: Bisexual identification 4.5% population
- 2021 Match: 33% singles prioritize sexual compatibility
- Archives 2021: 22% women never orgasm from penetration alone
- GSS 2022: Porn use morally acceptable to 37%
- Gallup 2022: 7.1% identify LGBT, highest ever
- 2018 HRC: 54% youth ID as LGBTQ
- Journal 2023: Relationship satisfaction correlates 0.45 with sex frequency
- Pew 2023: 60% say gender determined by sex at birth
- Kinsey scale self-report: 10% non-exclusively heterosexual
- 2022 Statista: 41% Americans view porn as addictive
- GSS: 75% happy with sex life in marriage
Attitudes, Orientation, and Satisfaction Interpretation
While American sexual attitudes have broadened dramatically to embrace premarital, casual, and same-sex relations with a growing LGBTQ+ population, the nation remains anchored in a pursuit of committed, satisfying relationships where traditional boundaries on infidelity and pornography persist, revealing a society comfortable with expanding the menu of sexual expression but still ordering for two.
Contraception and Pregnancy
- NSFG 2015-2017: 64% of women aged 15-49 use contraception at last sex
- CDC 2020: 65% sexually active teens use condoms at last intercourse
- Guttmacher 2019: 76% US women 15-49 have used oral contraceptives lifetime
- NSFG 2011-2015: Pill used by 17% women at last sex
- 2022 Planned Parenthood: IUD use doubled to 14% among 15-29 women since 2009
- CDC 2018: 93% women 15-44 aware of emergency contraception
- Guttmacher 2021: Condom use 45% among unmarried women last sex
- NSFG 2006-2010: 10.4 unintended pregnancies per 100 women 15-44 yearly
- 2019 KFF: 60% abortions to women using no contraception
- CDC 2023: Long-acting reversible contraceptives used by 17.8% women 15-49
- NSFG 2015-2019: Withdrawal used by 22% men at last sex
- Guttmacher 2017: 45% US pregnancies unintended
- 2021 ACOG: Sterilization 18.1% primary method for women 15-44
- CDC YRBS 2021: 57% sexually active HS girls used condom last sex
- NSFG: Dual method use 12% at last sex
- KFF 2022: 14 states cover contraception without copay
- Guttmacher 2020: 19% women 18-24 inconsistent contraception
- CDC 2019: Birth control implant use 6% among 15-29
- NSFG 2017: 51% men used condom last sex with female partner
- 2023 NARAL: 75% women report access barriers to contraception
- CDC: Teenage pregnancy rate 17.4 per 1,000 girls 15-19 in 2019
- Guttmacher 2023: Vasectomy rates 0.5% among fertile men annually
- NSFG: 8% women rely solely on male condom
- KFF 2021: 62% sexually active women 15-44 used highly effective method
Contraception and Pregnancy Interpretation
While Americans are increasingly aware and equipped with a diverse arsenal of contraceptive options—from IUDs to the pill—the gap between knowledge and consistent, accessible use means unintended pregnancy remains a stubbornly persistent statistic, revealing a system where intent and execution often don't align.
Lifetime Sexual Partners
- CDC NSFG 2015-2017 reports average lifetime sexual partners for women aged 25-44 is 6.3
- General Social Survey 2018 data shows men aged 30-44 average 12 lifetime partners
- Kinsey Institute 2021 survey: 25% of Americans have 10+ lifetime partners
- Archives of Sexual Behavior 2016: Median lifetime partners for US adults is 4.3 for women, 6.1 for men
- 2022 Statista poll: 31% millennials report 6-10 lifetime partners
- NSFG 2002-2015: Women 15-44 average 4.3 opposite-sex partners
- Journal of Sex Research 2020: Gen Z women average 5 partners by age 25
- GSS 2012-2018: 15% Americans report 20+ lifetime partners
- 2019 YouGov: Average American claims 7.2 lifetime partners
- CDC data 2011-2013: Men 25-44 median 6.6 lifetime partners
- Superdrug 2021 survey: US men average 12.9 partners lifetime
- Archives 2022: Serial monogamists average 8 partners by 40
- Match.com 2023: Singles average 9.5 partners lifetime
- NSFG 2015-2019: 22% women 25-49 have 10+ partners
- GSS trend 1989-2018: Average partners increased from 7 to 11 for men
- Kinsey 2010: 1% Americans report 50+ partners
- 2023 Hims: Men 35-44 average 14 partners
- Journal 2018: Women in casual sex average 15 partners by 30
- IFOP 2020: 28% Gen Z have 0-2 partners lifetime
- CDC YRBS 2021: 30% high school boys report 4+ partners lifetime
- Archives 2019: Median US lifetime partners 7 for heterosexual men
- Statista 2022: Baby boomers average 11 partners lifetime
- GSS 2022: 18% adults report 0-1 lifetime partners
- 2021 Bespoke: Women average 7.5 partners lifetime
- NSFG: Men 40-44 average 12.2 partners
Lifetime Sexual Partners Interpretation
This statistical patchwork quilt reveals a clear, if unsurprising, pattern: while the precise numbers differ wildly depending on who asks, how they ask, and who’s bragging, the consistent thread is that men reliably and often fantastically out-report women, creating a mathematical mystery of where all these extra partners are supposedly hiding.
Sexual Activity Frequency
- According to the 2015-2017 National Survey of Family Growth, 85.6% of men aged 25-44 reported having vaginal intercourse in the past 12 months
- In the General Social Survey 2018, 54% of married Americans aged 18-29 reported having sex at least once a week
- A 2021 study by the Kinsey Institute found that 42% of single Americans had sex weekly or more during the pandemic
- CDC data from 2011-2015 shows 30.1% of women aged 40-44 had sex 0 times in the past year
- Archives of Sexual Behavior 2020 reported average Americans have sex 54 times per year, down from 112 in 1990s
- 2023 Tenuto survey indicated 1 in 5 Americans aged 18-24 have sex less than once a month
- GSS 2022 data shows 23% of adults 30-39 have sex 4+ times weekly
- A 2019 YouGov poll found 15% of Americans aged 18-34 are celibate
- NSFG 2015-2019: 72% of men 15-24 had oral sex in past year
- Journal of Sex Research 2021: Average sex frequency for cohabiting couples is 7.8 times/month
- 28% of married Americans under 30 have sex twice weekly per 2018 GSS
- Kinsey 2020: 31% of adults reported sex 1-2 times/week pre-COVID
- CDC NHANES 2013-2016: 41% of adults 20-59 masturbate 4+ times/month
- 2022 Match.com Singles in America: 40% singles had sex weekly
- Archives 2017: Sexless marriages affect 16% of couples aged 50-59
- 67% of women 18-44 had sex past month per NSFG 2017
- GSS 2010-2021 trend: Sex frequency declined 20% since 2008
- 2021 Bespoke Surgical study: Average American has sex 138 times/year
- 19% of Gen Z report no sex past year per 2023 CDC YRBS
- Journal 2022: 25-34 year olds average 80 sexual encounters/year
- IFOP 2019 US poll: 12% adults sexless for 2+ years
- NSFG 2006-2010: 89% men 25-44 sexually active past year
- 2020 Superdrug survey: 1 in 10 millennials sexless
- GSS: 33% adults 40-49 sex 1-3 times/month
- Kinsey 2017: Heterosexuals average 1.5 orgasms/session
- 2023 Hims study: 14% men 18-44 no sex past year
- CDC 2021: 55% high school students had sex past 3 months
- Archives 2023: Post-COVID sex frequency dropped 15% for under 35s
- 76% women 15-49 sexually experienced by age 20 per NSFG
- GSS 2021: 48% married 18-29 sex weekly+
Sexual Activity Frequency Interpretation
America is a bewildering carnival of conflicting sex stats, proving only that while some people are counting, others are recounting, and many are just wondering what happened to 1990.
Sexual Health and STIs
- CDC 2022: Chlamydia rates 496.6 cases per 100,000 population in 2021
- 2021 Gonorrhea incidence 170.1 per 100,000 among 15-24 year olds
- CDC 2022: Syphilis cases rose 74% from 2017-2021 to 176,000 total
- HPV prevalence 42.5% among US adults 18-59 per NHANES 2013-2016
- 2023 CDC: 1.6 million chlamydia cases, highest among women 25-34 at 3,813/100k
- Herpes simplex virus-2 seroprevalence 11.9% adults 14-49 in 2015-2016
- CDC 2021: Congenital syphilis up 30% to 3,755 cases
- NSFG 2015-2019: 13.4% women 15-49 ever diagnosed chlamydia
- 2022 HIV diagnoses 36,547, 69% men who have sex with men
- CDC YRBS 2021: 9.5% HS students ever had HIV test
- Gonorrhea rates 598/100k black females 15-24 vs 147 white
- 1 in 6 Americans aged 14-49 has genital herpes
- CDC 2020: PrEP use among 25% of MSM at risk
- NSFG: 4.9% men 15-49 ever chlamydia diagnosis
- 2023 Syphilis MSM rate 28.2% of cases
- HPV vaccine coverage 60.2% girls 13-17 fully vaccinated 2022
- CDC: 79M Americans infected HPV currently
- Chlamydia testing 61% sexually active women 15-24 annually
- 2021 PID hospitalizations 88,000 related to STIs
- HIV prevalence 1.2M, 14% undiagnosed
- CDC 2022: Trichomoniasis 2M cases yearly
- NSFG: 1.7% women gonorrhea ever diagnosed
- MSM HIV incidence 25x higher than general population
- 2023 CDC: Primary syphilis MSM 52.4/100k
- HPV causes 36,000 cancers yearly US
- Black women chlamydia rate 4x white women
- CDC: 20M new STI infections yearly
- 2022 Gonorrhea 700,000 cases estimated
Sexual Health and STIs Interpretation
America's relationship status is "it's complicated," as evidenced by an alarming surge in STIs that highlights deep-seated disparities, widespread complacency, and a critical need for better education and access.
Sources & References
- Reference 1CDCcdc.govVisit source
- Reference 2GSSgss.norc.orgVisit source
- Reference 3KINSEYINSTITUTEkinseyinstitute.orgVisit source
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- Reference 14GUTTMACHERguttmacher.orgVisit source
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- Reference 20NEWSnews.gallup.comVisit source
- Reference 21PRRIprri.orgVisit source
- Reference 22WILLIAMSINSTITUTEwilliamsinstitute.law.ucla.eduVisit source
- Reference 23HRChrc.orgVisit source