Thirteen percent of U.S. adults reported cheating on a spouse or partner in a recent year. Another survey found that 29% of adults have searched a partner's phone or texts at least once.
Key Takeaways
- 2.6 million Americans are married or cohabiting and reported cheating on their partner (estimated count from self-reported surveys) in 2002
- 14.3% of women and 16.1% of men reported having had an affair since age 18 in an analysis of the 2010–2011 National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG) data
- 27.4% of women and 36.0% of men reported having ever had sex with someone other than their spouse/partner among U.S. adults in a General Social Survey-based analysis
- 62% of respondents in a 2022 study reported that smartphone tracking was used by partners suspecting infidelity (study finding on digital surveillance behaviors)
- 3.6 times higher odds of infidelity were reported for individuals who had online dating profiles compared with those who did not (odds ratio reported in a peer-reviewed study)
- 2.2 times higher likelihood of infidelity was found among adults reporting low relationship satisfaction versus high satisfaction (reported effect size in a meta-analysis)
- The global digital forensics market was valued at $5.2 billion in 2023 and is projected to reach $10.8 billion by 2030 (market sizing for tools often used in infidelity-related investigations)
- The global parental control software market was valued at $1.5 billion in 2022 and forecast to exceed $5.0 billion by 2030 (software category overlapping with partner surveillance needs)
- The U.S. cyber security and digital privacy software/services market reached $172.3 billion in 2023 (relevant to investigative and monitoring tech ecosystem)
- In 2024, the average person spent 2 hours 20 minutes per day on social media globally (time exposure related to opportunistic contact)
- 54% of respondents in a 2021 survey said they believe cheating can be caused by unresolved emotional issues (attitudinal share)
- In 2020, 29% of adults said they have looked through a partner’s phone or texts at least once (behavioral surveillance statistic)
- In the U.S., median attorney fees in divorce cases were $250/hour with many cases costing $10,000+ depending on complexity (fee structure reported by major legal market resource)
- In 2022, 61% of U.S. adults reported that relationship stress worsened their mental health (survey-based impact indicator)
- A meta-analysis found small-to-moderate negative psychological effects of infidelity on individuals’ well-being (effect size reported as standardized mean difference)
Around 1 in 10 U.S. adults admitted cheating last year, and infidelity is strongly tied to relationship stress and fallout.
Related reading
01 · Category
Prevalence And Incidence6 stats
01
2.6 million Americans are married or cohabiting and reported cheating on their partner (estimated count from self-reported surveys) in 2002
02
14.3% of women and 16.1% of men reported having had an affair since age 18 in an analysis of the 2010–2011 National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG) data
03
27.4% of women and 36.0% of men reported having ever had sex with someone other than their spouse/partner among U.S. adults in a General Social Survey-based analysis
04
42% of individuals who divorced in the U.S. in 2015–2018 in a divorce reason study indicated infidelity/cheating was a factor
05
16% of American adults reported having cheated on a romantic partner in their lifetime in a nationally representative survey result reported in 2019
06
13% of U.S. adults said they had cheated on a spouse/partner in the past year (2018 survey estimate reported by a consumer analytics publisher)
Interpretation
Prevalence And Incidence Interpretation
The prevalence of cheating is substantial and persistent, with 14.3% of women and 16.1% of men reporting an affair since age 18 and 13% of U.S. adults saying they cheated on a spouse or partner in the past year, showing that it remains a common feature of relationships rather than a rare incident.
02 · Category
Risk Factors And Correlates8 stats
01
62% of respondents in a 2022 study reported that smartphone tracking was used by partners suspecting infidelity (study finding on digital surveillance behaviors)
02
3.6 times higher odds of infidelity were reported for individuals who had online dating profiles compared with those who did not (odds ratio reported in a peer-reviewed study)
03
2.2 times higher likelihood of infidelity was found among adults reporting low relationship satisfaction versus high satisfaction (reported effect size in a meta-analysis)
04
1.8 times higher odds of cheating were reported among respondents with frequent partner conflict versus those with infrequent conflict (reported in a longitudinal study)
05
Nearly 1 in 5 respondents reported alcohol use as a contributing factor to cheating in a survey of adults (2020 report)
06
28% of respondents who reported infidelity stated that emotional disconnection preceded the affair (2019 survey finding)
07
1.5x increased risk of infidelity was associated with long working hours in a U.S. cohort analysis (hazard/relative effect reported)
08
High digital privacy concern was associated with a 24% lower likelihood of suspecting partner cheating (survey correlation reported in a privacy research paper)
Interpretation
Risk Factors And Correlates Interpretation
Across these risk factors and correlates, infidelity is strongly linked to digital behaviors and relationship strain, with smartphone tracking reported by 62% of respondents, online dating profiles tied to 3.6 times higher odds, and adults reporting low relationship satisfaction showing 2.2 times higher likelihood.
03 · Category
Market And Tools6 stats
01
The global digital forensics market was valued at $5.2 billion in 2023 and is projected to reach $10.8 billion by 2030 (market sizing for tools often used in infidelity-related investigations)
02
The global parental control software market was valued at $1.5 billion in 2022 and forecast to exceed $5.0 billion by 2030 (software category overlapping with partner surveillance needs)
03
The U.S. cyber security and digital privacy software/services market reached $172.3 billion in 2023 (relevant to investigative and monitoring tech ecosystem)
04
In 2024, 64% of organizations used endpoint detection and response (EDR), supporting the broader market for monitoring/forensics technologies
05
In 2024, WhatsApp had 2.0+ billion monthly active users (platform scale for messages and affair coordination)
06
In 2023, the worldwide eDiscovery market was valued at $5.3 billion (used to handle digital evidence in disputes including infidelity cases)
Interpretation
Market And Tools Interpretation
As the market for Market And Tools expands, digital forensics is projected to grow from $5.2 billion in 2023 to $10.8 billion by 2030 and the parental control software market is expected to rise from $1.5 billion in 2022 to over $5.0 billion by 2030, signaling rapidly increasing demand for monitoring and investigative tools that can support cheating spouse-related needs.
More related reading
04 · Category
Attitudes, Behaviors, In Digital Media3 stats
01
In 2024, the average person spent 2 hours 20 minutes per day on social media globally (time exposure related to opportunistic contact)
02
54% of respondents in a 2021 survey said they believe cheating can be caused by unresolved emotional issues (attitudinal share)
03
In 2020, 29% of adults said they have looked through a partner’s phone or texts at least once (behavioral surveillance statistic)
Interpretation
Attitudes, Behaviors, In Digital Media Interpretation
As people spend about 2 hours 20 minutes a day on social media and 29% have looked through a partner’s phone or texts at least once, the data suggests that attitudes and digital monitoring around cheating are tightly linked even as 54% attribute cheating to unresolved emotional issues.
05 · Category
Legal, Financial, And Health Impacts9 stats
01
In the U.S., median attorney fees in divorce cases were $250/hour with many cases costing $10,000+ depending on complexity (fee structure reported by major legal market resource)
02
In 2022, 61% of U.S. adults reported that relationship stress worsened their mental health (survey-based impact indicator)
03
A meta-analysis found small-to-moderate negative psychological effects of infidelity on individuals’ well-being (effect size reported as standardized mean difference)
04
In a peer-reviewed review, infidelity is associated with elevated risk of depression symptoms with effect sizes in the small-to-moderate range (reviewed evidence quantified)
05
Infidelity is linked with increased likelihood of marital instability; the odds ratio for marital dissolution reported in one meta-analysis was 1.79 (infidelity predictor)
06
The U.S. CDC reported 1 in 4 adults experienced mental health issues in a 2022 survey (contextual mental health burden that rises under relationship trauma)
07
In a large U.S. survey, 48% of respondents who experienced divorce reported negative financial impact in the year after separation (survey statistic published by a think tank)
08
In a cohort study, exposure to relationship breakdown increased risk of cardiovascular disease; hazard ratio reported was 1.2 for those with severe relational stress
09
A U.S. longitudinal study reported a 50% increase in risk of adverse health outcomes following marital separation (reported relative change in outcomes)
Interpretation
Legal, Financial, And Health Impacts Interpretation
With divorce legal costs often running at least $250 per hour and many cases exceeding $10,000, and with 61% of U.S. adults reporting relationship stress worsens mental health along with meta-analytic evidence of small to moderate psychological harm from infidelity, cheating can create a combined legal, financial, and health burden that hits both wallets and well-being at scale.
report visual · Comparison
Reported cheating and affair prevalence (by sex)
Survey estimates show substantial differences in reported affair/cheating across groups.
27.4% of women and 36.0% of men reported having ever had sex with someone other than their spouse/partner among U.S. adu27.4%
14.3% of women and 16.1% of men reported having had an affair since age 18 in an analysis of the 2010–2011 National Surv
14.3%
2.6 million Americans are married or cohabiting and reported cheating on their partner (estimated count from self-report
2.6
source-verifiedcdc.gov · ncbi.nlm.nih.gov · journals.sagepub.com2010
Reference
Cite This Report
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APA
Min-ji Park. (2026, February 13). Cheating Spouse Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/cheating-spouse-statistics
MLA
Min-ji Park. "Cheating Spouse Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/cheating-spouse-statistics.
Chicago
Min-ji Park. 2026. "Cheating Spouse Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/cheating-spouse-statistics.
Sources & references
32 datasets cited across this report · attribution is report-level
+7 additional datasets cited (not shown individually)