Online Dating Stats - Statistics Cited in 2011
Online Dating Magazine estimates that there are more than 280,000 marriages a year as a direct result of people meeting on an online dating service (Online Dating Magazine - January 2011).

The top 2 giants in the online dating industry are Match.com an eHarmony.com. Match.com ranks #1 with the most subscribers (paid and unpaid) and overall reach. Match.com further solidified its position by taking the place of Yahoo Personals on Yahoo. All Yahoo results are now served by Match.com. (Online Dating Magazine - January 2011)

Online Dating Stats - Statistics Cited in 2010
5% of Internet users have paid to use an online dating service. (Pew Internet Cash for Content Study - December 2010)

17% of couples that were married in the last three years met on an online dating service. (Chadwick Martin Bailey Study - April 2010)

1 out of every 5 singles in the United States have dated someone they met online (Chadwick Martin Bailey Study - April 2010)

Online Dating is the third most popular way for singles to meet, behind school/work and friend/family member. ( Chadwick Martin Bailey and Match.com Study - April 2010)

For a first date, singles prefer dinner to any other activity. Less than 1% thought that a movie was a good first date idea (Match.com Survery - January 2010)

Online Dating Stats - Statistics Cited in 2008
Online dating and personals will increase from $900M in 2007 to $1.9B in 2012 (JupiterResearch - February 2008)

26% of gay adult men visit online dating services versus 9% of hetersexual men (Harris Interactive - April 21, 2008. Study unnamed. See press release here).

More than 50 percent of single women fell that a man should pick the venue for a first date and do the driving, but only eight percent felt a man should bring a gift on a first date. (Engage.com State of the Date Report - February 2008)

49% percent of women say they never pay for a date. (Engage.com State of the Date Report - February 2008)

28% of singles who date online say a married person contacted them on an online dating service or social network for dating purposes. (Engage.com State of the Date Report - February 2008)

10%  of singles admit dating someone who was married, or who was in a committed relationship, in 2007. (Engage.com State of the Date Report - February 2008)

Online Dating Stats - Statistics Cited in 2007
Online Dating Magazine estimates that more than 20 million people visit at least one online dating service a month. (Online Dating Magazine - 2007)

The number of internet users that visited at least one online dating site in 2006 was 10%, which is down from 16% in 2005. (Jupiter Research - February 2007)

49 percent of people believe that online dating is a great way to meet others while 48 percent believe it is a "waste of time". (Synovate 2007 - click here)

More than 50% of online daters in America indicated that they’ve had at least one disaster date with someone they met online, but 64 percent said that they'd had more good dates than bad ones. (Synovate 2007 - click here)

Online Dating Magazine estimates that there are more than 120,000 marriages a year as a direct result of people meeting on an online dating service (Online Dating Magazine - 2007)

Online Dating Stats - Statistics Cited in 2006
There are nearly 90 million singles in the United States. (Source: Census Bureau)

31% of adults in America say they know someone who has used an online dating service. (Source: Pew Internet & American Life Project Report: Online Dating, March 2006)

3% of the internet users who are married or in long-term committed relationships say they met their partners online. That also represents about 3 million people. (Source: Pew Internet & American Life Project Report: Online Dating, March 2006)

9 million Internet users have used the Internet to break up with someone. (Source: Pew Internet & American Life Project Report: Online Dating, March 2006)

A January 2006 JupiterResearch consumer survey found that 5% of Internet users paid for online dating subscriptions in the last year, down slightly from 6% in 2005. (Source: JupiterResearch 2006)

Thirty seven percent of visitors who sign up on an online dating service, but don't convert to a paid membership, attribute the high subscription price as the reason they don't sign up. (Source: JupiterResearch 2006)

A survey of one online dating site's participants found that 86% felt others misrepresented their physical appearance. (Gibbs, J. L., Ellison, N. B., & Heino, R. D., 2006)

Online Dating Stats - Statistics Cited in 2005
As of February 2005, 33% fewer consumers are browsing online personals today than one year ago, causing the industry growth to slow considerably (Source: JupiterResearch)

Personals/Dating held its position as the leading paid content category in 2004, with U.S. consumer spending at $469.5 million, up 4.4% over 2003 at $449.5 million. (Source: Online Publishers Association)

Consumer spending on Personals/Dating, at an all-time high, resumed its growth in the last half of 2004 after posting notable declines in the first half of the year. (Source: Online Publishers Association)

In examining subscription sales in 2004 to personals and dating services, 65.3% were monthly subscriptions, 19.1% annual subscriptions, and 15.6% other forms of subscription. (Source: Online Publishers Association)

The online dating industry grew by 73% in 2002 and 77% in 2003. But in 2004, as the number of users actually started to decline, the market grew by only 19%. (Source: JupiterResearch)

With fewer users browsing online personals, dating sites have focused on increasing conversions of viewers into paying subscribers in order to keep growing. Industry-wide conversion rates have increased approximately 25% in the last year (as of February 2005). (Source: JupiterResearch)

Serious daters, those users hoping to find long-term relationships or marriage, convert to paid online dating services 20% more often, are twice as likely to purchase long-term subscriptions, and pay up to twice as much per month as casual daters. (Source: JupiterResearch)

Matchmaking represents a $1 billion business. (Source: Marketdata Enterprises - Matchmakers & Dating Services: A Consumer Guide - July 2005)

The Better Business Bureau reports that in most complaints received about dating services, the consumer is at fault because they did not thoroughly read the contract. (Source: Marketdata Enterprises - Matchmakers & Dating Services: A Consumer Guide - July 2005)

Members of minority groups, unattractive or overweight people, those with rigid religious beliefs, single parents with more than two children living with them, and chain smokers will have limited success with matchmaking services. (Source: Marketdata Enterprises - Matchmakers & Dating Services: A Consumer Guide - July 2005)

Although many dating services will claim their match rate is superior, single people have an equal chance of finding their match no matter what kind of dating service they use or price they pay. (Source: Marketdata Enterprises - Matchmakers & Dating Services: A Consumer Guide - July 2005)

Off-line matchmaking chains like Together or Great Expectations usually charge $3,000 to $4,000 for their services. (Source: Marketdata Enterprises - Matchmakers & Dating Services: A Consumer Guide - July 2005)

Independent off-line matchmakers charge anywhere from $500 to $100,000 for their services. (Source: Marketdata Enterprises - Matchmakers & Dating Services: A Consumer Guide July 2005)

On average, those paying for online dating services spend a total of $293 per year. (Source: JupiterResearch)