Skip to content

Home > Dating Advice > Younger Women Dating Older Men: A Look Into the Data

Younger Women Dating Older Men: A Look Into the Data

This couple walking in the woods together knows about younger women dating older men, because the man is five years older than his girlfriend.

We all hear about younger women dating older men, but when it comes down to the data how often does it really happen and what does that age gap really look like? The online dating site and app Zoosk was curious about how big a factor age is when it comes to who we’re attracted to, so they looked into data from its over 40 million members to see if they could find some answers.

When it comes to male/female dating dynamics, younger women do prefer dating older men. But a look into the exact numbers provided some interesting takeaways:

56% of women prefer dating older men. 
And of that 56%, the majority (56%) like men who are 1 to 4 years older than them. 30% like men who are 5 to 9 years older than them, and 14% like men who are more than 10 years older than them. That’s a pretty wide range of ages.

31% of women prefer dating younger men.
And all of the women who showed interest in younger men preferred to date men who are only 1 to 4 years younger. That means even though women are interested in dating men up to 10 years older than them, they’re only interested in dating men who are slightly younger.

14% of women prefer dating men their same age.
Give or take a few months, there are also a lot of women who prefer men their own age. (Though it’s more likely for them to find someone who’s simply close to their age. )

Women aren’t the only ones conforming to social norms.
Men also tend to follow them. Zoosk looked at who men were most attracted to while online dating and found that the numbers of men who like younger women almost mirrored that of women who like  older men.

Women in their 20s match with people the farthest out of their age range. 
When it comes to matching (aka the people women like also like them back) women in their 20s matched with men the farthest out of their age range. And overall, the younger a woman is, the older the men she’s likely to match with are.

Ages of Men That Women Match With While Online Dating

    So what can we learn from all this information? (Other than a few interesting tidbits to share at parties.) Well, there are a lot of reasons why women typically like dating older women, and maybe you’re one of those women.  That’s great. And maybe you’re not. That’s great too. Being aware of who you’re attracted to and why can help you find the person who’s right for you.

    However, if you notice that you’re attracted to a certain age-group and it hasn’t been working out for you, think about that older or younger person you may not have considered before. It may be time to mix it up a bit and see if something, and someone, new will work out for you.

    More from The Date Mix
    Older Women Dating Younger Men: What Data Reveals
    Zoosk Dating Data Older Women Dating Younger Men: What Data Reveals
    Older Men Dating Younger Women: What Online Dating Data Tells Us
    Zoosk Dating Data Older Men Dating Younger Women: What Online Dating Data Tells Us
    4 Reasons Older Women Are Dating Younger Men
    Over 50 Dating 4 Reasons Older Women Are Dating Younger Men
    6 Reasons Men Love Dating Older Women
    Dating in Your 40s 6 Reasons Men Love Dating Older Women