American singles are moving back toward committed relationships, even as they redefine what those relationships should look like, according to new data from the 15th annual Singles in America survey.
The share of respondents who said they do not want a relationship climbed to a peak of 32 percent in 2021, but has since fallen to 24 percent in 2026, according to ScienMag's coverage of the study.
Over a longer arc, the change is even more pronounced: in 2010, 33 percent of singles said they would like to marry someday; by 2026 that figure had risen to 45 percent, according to the report.
Yet marriage is being reimagined rather than simply embraced: the ideal age for marrying has increased, as has the ideal length of dating before a wedding, according to the report. Roughly 30 percent of respondents said they would be open to a long-term committed relationship with no intention of marrying at all.
The 2026 edition was based on a demographically representative sample of approximately 5,000 single adults aged 18 and older, conducted by the Kinsey Institute at Indiana University with funding from Match, according to the report. The findings describe attitudes in a survey, not a guarantee about any individual's future.
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