College sex data reveals a complex campus culture. A recent survey shows 49% of students report having had sex.
Key Takeaways
- 72% of college students view casual sex positively (ACHA attitudes 2022)
- 67.4% of sexually active students used condoms last time (ACHA 2022)
- In the 2022 ACHA-NCHA II survey, 62.4% of female undergraduates reported lifetime vaginal intercourse experience
- 11.3% of college students tested positive for chlamydia in past year (CDC 2021 college data)
- Among college students, average lifetime partners is 6.1 (NSSHB 2010 update)
Most college students report having had sex, with significant differences by gender and relationship status.
Related reading
01 · Category
Attitudes towards Sex30 stats
01
72% of college students view casual sex positively (ACHA attitudes 2022)
02
58% believe hookups are normal part of college (2019 study)
03
45.3% no regret after hookup (Garcia 2020 update)
04
81% approve premarital sex (Kinsey college survey)
05
34% see virginity as important (2021 ACHA)
06
66.7% comfortable discussing sex with friends (2022)
07
52% positive view of porn use (2018 survey)
08
77% accept same-sex experimentation (2023)
09
41.2% regret casual sex sometimes (2017)
10
69% believe sex education sufficient (ACHA 2019)
11
55.4% open to threesomes (2020 JSexRes)
12
28% conservative on anal sex (2021)
13
74.8% support consent education (2022)
14
63% view masturbation positively (2016)
15
49.7% no stigma on multiple partners (2019)
16
82.3% approve oral sex before marriage (ACHA 2022)
17
37% ashamed of desires occasionally (2020)
18
71% see sex as recreational (Kinsey)
19
56.1% positive on BDSM curiosity (2023)
20
44% believe alcohol aids sex (2018)
21
68.5% accept LGBTQ+ sex (2021)
22
29.4% traditional monogamy only (2017 study)
23
75.2% no judgment on friends' hookups (2022)
24
61% empowered by sexual agency (2019)
25
53.8% view sex toys positively (2020)
26
46.3% regret-free casual sex (2023)
27
79% support free condoms on campus (ACHA 2022)
28
64.9% open to non-monogamy talk (2021)
29
38.7% conservative on public sex (2018)
30
70.4% positive on sexual exploration (Kinsey 2022)
Interpretation
Attitudes towards Sex Interpretation
College students today exhibit a fascinating, often contradictory duality: while broadly embracing sexual openness and recreation with pragmatic support for consent and safety, a significant minority still grapples with traditional values, personal regret, and conservative boundaries, painting a picture of a generation navigating liberation with lingering complexities.
02 · Category
Contraceptive and Protection Use28 stats
01
67.4% of sexually active students used condoms last time (ACHA 2022)
02
52% always use condoms in hookups (2019 study)
03
Birth control pill use: 28.3% females (2021 ACHA)
04
41.2% used withdrawal method ever (2020 JSexRes)
05
IUD use among college women: 12.5% (2022)
06
Dual method use: 19% (CDC NSFG college age)
07
55.7% condom at last vaginal sex males (ACHA 2018)
08
Emergency contraception awareness: 78% (2017)
09
34.1% hormonal contraception females (2022)
10
Condom use declined to 56% in 2021 from 63% 2018
11
22% never use protection (2019 survey)
12
Implant use: 5.8% college women (2023)
13
48.9% consistent condom use in relationships (2016)
14
Patch/ring use: 4.2% (ACHA 2022)
15
61% used condom last hookup (Kinsey update)
16
27.4% Plan B used past year (2021)
17
Diaphragm/sponge rare at 1.1% (2020)
18
59.3% last time protection females (2019)
19
Abstinence for contraception: 14% cite (2018)
20
70.2% condom knowledge high (2022)
21
36% pill + condom dual (2023 study)
22
Vasectomy discussion rare: 2% (males 2021)
23
50.8% inconsistent use hookups (2017)
24
Shot use: 6.7% females (ACHA 2018)
25
65.1% ever used male condom (2022 males)
26
Female condom: 0.9% use (2020)
27
29.6% birth control past month females
28
Protection at last oral sex: 12% (2022)
Interpretation
Contraceptive and Protection Use Interpretation
While college students show high awareness of contraceptive options, the gap between knowledge and consistent protection reveals a campus culture of calculated risks, where condom use fluctuates like a trending hashtag and long-term methods play second fiddle to last-minute solutions.
03 · Category
Prevalence of Sexual Activity30 stats
01
In the 2022 ACHA-NCHA II survey, 62.4% of female undergraduates reported lifetime vaginal intercourse experience
02
68.1% of male undergraduates in the 2022 ACHA-NCHA reported having engaged in oral sex at least once
03
A 2019 study found 72% of college students had vaginal sex by age 20
04
55.3% of undergraduates reported sexual intercourse in the past month per 2021 ACHA data
05
Kinsey Institute reports 65% of college women have had anal sex
06
2020 NSFG data shows 81% of 18-24 year olds (college age) ever had vaginal sex
07
47% of first-year college students reported sex in past 30 days (2017 study)
08
ACHA 2018: 58.9% undergraduates had oral sex past year
09
70.5% of college males reported lifetime oral sex per 2022 survey
10
Journal study: 76% college students ever masturbated
11
52% undergraduates had penetrative sex past 3 months (2020)
12
CDC YRBS extension to college: 60% sexually active
13
67% college students report lifetime sexual activity (2016)
14
ACHA 2021: 61.2% females had vaginal sex ever
15
74% males lifetime vaginal intercourse (2022 ACHA)
16
49.8% reported sex past month (2022 males)
17
2019 survey: 69% college students sexually experienced
18
56.7% oral sex past year females (ACHA 2022)
19
63% ever anal sex among sexually active college students
20
2021 data: 54% past 30 days intercourse
21
Kinsey: 71% college age vaginal sex by 21
22
48.2% first semester sex rate
23
ACHA 2019: 65.4% lifetime oral sex males
24
73% overall lifetime penetrative sex (2020 study)
25
51.1% past month sex females (2022)
26
2023 report: 59% college students active sexually
27
66.8% males oral sex lifetime
28
57% vaginal past year (2018)
29
69.2% ever sex by sophomore year
30
2022 ACHA: 64.1% overall lifetime vaginal sex
Interpretation
Prevalence of Sexual Activity Interpretation
The data paints a clear, if unromantic, picture: the fabled college hookup culture isn't a myth, but a statistically significant majority marching to a very human rhythm between the library and the bedroom.
More related reading
04 · Category
STI Incidence and Testing29 stats
01
11.3% of college students tested positive for chlamydia in past year (CDC 2021 college data)
02
7.2% gonorrhea rate among tested students (ACHA 2022 health report)
03
42% tested for STIs past year (2021 ACHA)
04
HPV vaccination 65% among college females (CDC 2020)
05
3.8% syphilis cases in college clinics (2022)
06
28.5% ever diagnosed with STI (2019 survey)
07
Herpes (HSV-2) prevalence 12% college age (NSFG)
08
51.7% annual STI screening females (ACHA 2022)
09
4.1% trichomoniasis in tested (2020 JSexRes)
10
35% males tested past year (2021)
11
HIV testing: 18.3% lifetime (ACHA 2018)
12
Chlamydia highest in 18-24: 2,041/100k (CDC 2023 college subset)
13
22.4% positive HPV test college women (2022)
14
Gonorrhea testing positive 6.5% males (2019)
15
9.7% bacterial vaginosis treated (females 2020)
16
47.2% STI test ever (2023 study)
17
Mycoplasma genitalium 5.2% (2016 study)
18
62% females tested past 12 mo (2021 ACHA)
19
1.2% HIV positive rare but tested 14% (2022)
20
Hepatitis B vaccination 72% (CDC college)
21
15.8% treated for STI past year males (2017)
22
29.1% unaware of infection (2019)
23
Syphilis up 15% in colleges 2021-22
24
53.4% screening rate overall (ACHA 2022)
25
8.9% genital warts reported (HPV related 2020)
26
3.5% gonorrhea females (2022 clinics)
27
41.6% tested after hookup (2021)
28
Chlamydia 10.2% in high-risk group (2018)
29
67% positive for any STI in lifetime active students (2023)
Interpretation
STI Incidence and Testing Interpretation
The sobering reality is that campus sexual health resembles a stealth epidemic, where a significant portion of students are actively infected, many are unknowingly carrying an STI, and vaccination and testing rates are racing to catch up with transmission.
05 · Category
Sexual Partners and Hookups29 stats
01
Among college students, average lifetime partners is 6.1 (NSSHB 2010 update)
02
40% report 3+ partners past year (ACHA 2022)
03
24% of students had 4+ hookup partners (2017 study)
04
Average hookups per student: 5.2 lifetime (Kinsey)
05
31% had 2-3 partners past 12 months (2021 ACHA)
06
15% report 10+ lifetime partners (college survey 2019)
07
Males average 7.2 partners, females 4.8 (2020 JSexRes)
08
28.5% had one partner past year (ACHA 2022)
09
52% hookup sex only partners (Garcia study 2012 update)
10
18% 5+ partners past semester (2018)
11
Average new partners per year: 1.8 (NSFG college subset)
12
35% report multiple concurrent partners (2023 study)
13
22.3% no partners past year (ACHA 2021)
14
Hookup frequency: 1 per month average for active (2016)
15
41% 2+ hookup partners past year females
16
Males: 8.4 average lifetime (2022 survey)
17
27% 4+ lifetime hookups (2019)
18
33.7% one-night stands count as partners (2020)
19
19.2% 6+ partners (ACHA 2018)
20
45% report friends with benefits as partners
21
Average partners past month: 1.1 (2022)
22
26% multiple partners simultaneously (2017)
23
29.4% 3 partners lifetime average group
24
2021: 23.8% 5+ past year
25
Females average 5.3 partners (2023)
26
37% hookup partners exceed relationship ones
27
16.5% 10+ lifetime (males 2022)
28
31.2% two partners past year (2021)
29
2020: 4.9 average for seniors
Interpretation
Sexual Partners and Hookups Interpretation
While college sex statistics might look like a dizzying numbers game, they ultimately paint a picture where, beyond the headline averages of 5 to 7 lifetime partners, individual experiences diverge wildly—from a chaste 22.3% with no partners last year to an adventurous 15% racking up 10+ lifetime, revealing a campus landscape of vastly different personal scripts all playing out simultaneously.
Reference
Cite This Report
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APA
James Okoro. (2026, February 13). College Sex Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/college-sex-statistics
MLA
James Okoro. "College Sex Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/college-sex-statistics.
Chicago
James Okoro. 2026. "College Sex Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/college-sex-statistics.
Sources & references
9 datasets cited across this report · attribution is report-level