Age
How much does an age gap grow your dating pool?
A few years either side nearly doubles the pool for women in their mid-30s and 40s. And men a little younger than you are a bigger pool than men a little older.
Most women date a man about their own age or a little older. In the United States, Pew Research Center found that in 2022, 51% of opposite-sex married couples were within two years of each other in age, 40% had a husband three or more years older, and only 10% had a wife three or more years older. The average gap was 2.2 years.
So we asked the meter a simple question: how much does the range of ages you accept change the number of men you can choose from? And is it better to look a little older or a little younger?
Every count here is single or divorced, straight men with no criminal record. "With standards" also applies the meter's Realistic rules: lean to average build (13–22% body fat), at least 5'9" (175 cm), and at least 80,000 a year in local currency.
Older men are less often single
Take a woman of 35 and four-year bands of men on either side of her age. This is every available man in each band, with no standards applied.
| Country | 31–34 | 35–38 | 39–42 | 43–46 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | 242,000 | 183,000 | 143,000 | 132,000 |
| United States | 2,610,000 | 2,040,000 | 1,780,000 | 1,600,000 |
| Canada | 442,000 | 315,000 | 243,000 | 206,000 |
| New Zealand | 38,300 | 26,600 | 21,100 | 18,700 |
| United Kingdom | 518,000 | 397,000 | 332,000 | 307,000 |
Every step older, the pool shrinks, because more men are married or living with a partner at each age. In Australia there are about 69% more single men aged 31 to 34 than aged 39 to 42. See are all the good men taken? for the age-by-age picture.
With standards on, younger still wins
The same bands, counting only men who also pass the Realistic rules.
| Country | 31–34 | 35–38 | 39–42 | 43–46 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | 18,700 | 14,600 | 11,300 | 9,940 |
| United States | 168,000 | 134,000 | 113,000 | 93,200 |
| Canada | 26,500 | 22,000 | 18,200 | 14,800 |
| New Zealand | 2,880 | 2,120 | 1,630 | 1,370 |
| United Kingdom | 8,760 | 8,140 | 7,480 | 7,240 |
You might expect older men to catch up here, because they earn more. But more of them are also outside the lean-to-average range, and in Australia, the US and New Zealand the two effects cancel out: men slightly younger than her still outnumber men slightly older by about as much as before. Only the UK, and to a lesser degree Canada, close the gap, because £80,000 is a high salary in the UK and many men only reach it later. For a British woman of 30 the order even flips: about 8,690 men aged 30 to 33 pass the list, against 6,630 aged 26 to 29.
Widen the range, country by country
The starting point is a man her own age to three years older, with standards on. The other columns show how many times bigger the pool gets with a wider range. Ages run from 18 to 55, the range the meter covers.
Australia
| Her age | Her age to +3 | 3 younger to 3 older | Her age to +7 | 5 younger to 10 older |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25 | 23,200 | ×1.6 | ×1.9 | ×3.3 |
| 30 | 19,700 | ×1.9 | ×1.8 | ×3.7 |
| 35 | 14,600 | ×1.9 | ×1.8 | ×3.9 |
| 40 | 11,000 | ×1.9 | ×1.9 | ×4.0 |
| 45 | 9,040 | ×1.9 | ×1.9 | ×3.9 |
United States
| Her age | Her age to +3 | 3 younger to 3 older | Her age to +7 | 5 younger to 10 older |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25 | 184,000 | ×1.5 | ×2.0 | ×3.3 |
| 30 | 176,000 | ×1.8 | ×1.8 | ×3.6 |
| 35 | 134,000 | ×1.9 | ×1.8 | ×4.0 |
| 40 | 108,000 | ×1.9 | ×1.8 | ×3.9 |
| 45 | 83,100 | ×1.9 | ×1.9 | ×4.1 |
Canada
| Her age | Her age to +3 | 3 younger to 3 older | Her age to +7 | 5 younger to 10 older |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25 | 25,900 | ×1.4 | ×2.1 | ×3.4 |
| 30 | 27,900 | ×1.8 | ×1.8 | ×3.6 |
| 35 | 22,000 | ×1.9 | ×1.8 | ×3.9 |
| 40 | 17,400 | ×1.9 | ×1.8 | ×3.9 |
| 45 | 13,200 | ×1.9 | ×1.8 | ×3.9 |
New Zealand
| Her age | Her age to +3 | 3 younger to 3 older | Her age to +7 | 5 younger to 10 older |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25 | 2,810 | ×1.4 | ×2.1 | ×3.3 |
| 30 | 3,030 | ×1.8 | ×1.8 | ×3.4 |
| 35 | 2,120 | ×2.0 | ×1.8 | ×4.0 |
| 40 | 1,550 | ×1.9 | ×1.8 | ×4.0 |
| 45 | 1,260 | ×1.9 | ×1.9 | ×4.1 |
United Kingdom
| Her age | Her age to +3 | 3 younger to 3 older | Her age to +7 | 5 younger to 10 older |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25 | 5,860 | ×1.4 | ×2.4 | ×3.9 |
| 30 | 8,690 | ×1.6 | ×2.0 | ×3.5 |
| 35 | 8,140 | ×1.8 | ×1.9 | ×3.9 |
| 40 | 7,400 | ×1.8 | ×2.0 | ×3.9 |
| 45 | 6,820 | ×1.8 | ×1.9 | ×3.9 |
For women in their mid-30s and 40s, adding three younger years multiplies the pool by about 1.8 to 2.0, roughly as much as adding four more older years. At 25 the younger years add less, because few men aged 22 to 24 earn 80,000 yet.
The widest range, five years younger to ten years older, gives about 3.3 to 4.1 times as many men. Most of that is simply more birthdays: the range is four times as long. The useful part is the direction. From your mid-30s, each year you add below your own age brings in more men than a year added at the top.
What to try on the meter
- Move the bottom of your age range down two or three years before you move the top up. It usually adds more men.
- Watch the income rule if he's younger. If a younger man is fine but a lower salary isn't, the gain shrinks. Try both together. See which dealbreaker costs you the most men.
- Over 40, add divorced men if you haven't already. See should you date a divorced man?
The meter counts how many men exist at each age. It can't tell whether a younger man would date an older woman, or the other way round. Age windows include both end ages.
Run your own list on the meter
Estimates come from the same model as the meter: official population, census, health-survey and tax data for each country, combined age by age. Filters are treated as independent within each age, so treat the results as estimates, not a head count. The full method and every source, country by country, are on the methodology page. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.