For a generation stereotyped as allergic to commitment, Gen Z looks surprisingly serious about the long game. Match Group reported that 72% of Gen Z respondents in its 2026 Singles in America study want to get married — the highest share among the generations it compared, according to Movieguide and the company's own announcement.
"For a generation told to keep things casual and see where they go, saying you want marriage can almost feel countercultural," Lauren DeFord, director of brand marketing at Match Group, said in the company's announcement about its Upward dating app. The study, conducted with researchers at Indiana University's Kinsey Institute, surveyed approximately 5,000 U.S. adults online between March and April 2026, defining Gen Z as ages 18 to 29. Participants were not married, living with a partner, in a domestic partnership, or in a committed relationship.
Across the full sample, 44.6% said they want to marry in the future, 29.1% said no, and 26.3% did not know, according to the study's 344-page public codebook. The codebook lists 1,543 Gen Z participants, though the 72% figure and generational ranking come from Match's own analysis of the data.
Experts urge some caution in interpreting the numbers: hoping to marry someday is not the same as getting married, and the survey speaks for singles at a particular stage of life rather than every young American. Still, the finding adds to a growing body of evidence that today's youngest adults are rethinking the casual-dating script. Combined with the study's broader finding that singles now prioritize peace and emotional safety over passion by more than two to one, the picture emerging is of a generation dating with calm intention — and still believing in marriage.