NYC Singles Statistics (2026): How Many Single People Live in New York?

How many single people live in NYC?

New York City has 2,852,555 never-married adults aged 18 and older in ACS 2020–2024. That is a marital-status count. To understand the dating pool, start by deciding which of the following definitions answers your question.

• Never married: adults who have never been legally married.
• Unmarried: never-married, divorced and widowed adults combined.
• Single: in our microdata analysis, unmarried adults who are not living with an unmarried partner.
• Separated: still married, so excluded from our unmarried and single counts.

The single definition gives 3,323,804 New Yorkers, or 49.5% of adults outside institutions. Never-married status overstates the dating pool: 12.3% of never-married New Yorkers live with a partner. Among never-married adults aged 25–44, that share rises to 17.9%.

The all-ages NYC gender ratio is 92.4 men per 100 women, with women making up 52.0% of residents. That headline includes children, married people and older residents. For someone dating, the age-specific and marital-status figures below answer a more useful question.

Read percentages against their stated populations. The published adult count includes institutional residents; the single estimate excludes them. Those denominators are shown together so the difference between 56.1% unmarried and 49.5% single is clear.

What is the gender ratio of single adults in NYC by age?

Among never-married New Yorkers, women outnumber men under 30 and after 45. Men outnumber women at ages 30–34 and 35–39, with 110 men per 100 women in each band. The citywide ratio of 97 hides that change.

NYC is more balanced than the United States at the same ages. Nationally, never-married men outnumber never-married women in every band below 65. At ages 35–39, the US ratio is 127 men per 100 women, compared with NYC’s 110.

The unmarried column adds divorced and widowed adults. At ages 40–44, NYC has 102 never-married men per 100 never-married women, but 92 unmarried men per 100 unmarried women. Including people with a previous marriage changes the balance.

At 65 and older, NYC has 65 never-married men per 100 never-married women. The broader unmarried ratio falls to 41, reflecting the inclusion of widowhood. A statement about “all singles” can therefore describe a very different group from the people you hope to meet.

Use the same definition on both sides of a comparison. The chart compares never-married adults in NYC and the US; it does not mix NYC unmarried adults with US never-married adults. Nor does either series measure whether someone wants a relationship.

How do single adults compare by borough?

Manhattan has the highest never-married share: 49.1% of adults. Brooklyn has the largest count, at 866,822 never-married adults. A high share and a large head count describe different things, so both belong in the comparison.

Queens has 108 never-married men per 100 never-married women overall. Staten Island has 109. The Bronx and Brooklyn each have 92, while Manhattan has 94. The NYC total sits between those borough patterns.

Manhattan’s younger never-married adults skew female: 80 men per 100 women at 18–24 and 88 at 25–29. Manhattan’s ratio reaches 107 at 30–34 and 112 at 35–39. Across ages 35–44 combined, Manhattan has 112 men per 100 women.

Removing adults who live with a partner gives a separate view. Single adults account for 56.1% of Bronx adults outside institutions and 55.2% in Manhattan. The corresponding shares are 48.1% in Brooklyn, 44.5% in Queens and 42.1% on Staten Island.

Among single adults aged 25–44, Queens has 112 men per 100 women and Staten Island has 113. Manhattan and Brooklyn each have 93; the Bronx has 90. Choose the row that fits your age range before drawing a conclusion about a borough’s dating balance.

Which NYC neighborhoods have the most single men and women?

Jackson Heights & East Elmhurst has 144 never-married men per 100 never-married women aged 25–39. The Upper East Side & Roosevelt Island has 69. These estimates describe Census Public Use Microdata Areas, or PUMAs, rather than individual blocks.

Only differences marked as significant are supported at 90% confidence. All 12 areas in this table meet that test; 29 of the full 55 areas are statistically even. A ratio close to 100 should not be read as proof that an area has more men or more women.

The largest never-married populations aged 25–39 are:

• Williamsburg & Greenpoint: 47,939.
• Midtown, East Midtown & Flatiron: 47,368.
• Bedford-Stuyvesant: 43,076.
• Astoria & Queensbridge: 38,276.
• Financial District & Greenwich Village: 37,981.
• Upper East Side & Roosevelt Island: 35,748.

Bushwick has the highest never-married share of adults, at 60.0%. Morningside Heights & Hamilton Heights follows at 57.2%, then Chelsea & Hell’s Kitchen at 57.1%. These shares cover adults 18+, while the neighborhood ratio table covers ages 25–39.

A large population can matter more to your search than an extreme ratio. Williamsburg & Greenpoint’s estimate of 107 men per 100 women is statistically even, yet its never-married population in this age range is the largest listed. Download all 55 areas below.

What do income and education show about single professionals?

Among single New Yorkers aged 25–44, there are 106 men per 100 women with personal income of $100,000 or more. At $250,000 or more, the ratio is 139. These PUMS figures exclude married adults and identifiable cohabiting partners.

The balance reverses in some income bands. Manhattan has 69 single men per 100 single women earning $50,000–$100,000. NYC has 92 men per 100 women in the $100,000–$150,000 band. Queens’ $250,000-plus women’s estimate has a small sample of 55 records.

Education produces a different pattern. NYC has 81 single men per 100 single women with a bachelor’s degree or higher. For graduate degrees, NYC has 63 men per 100 women, and Brooklyn has 58. An income requirement and a degree requirement do not identify the same pool.

The context table below includes all marital statuses. Earnings refer to people 16+ with earnings; education refers to people 25+. Those shares cannot be used as estimates of single professionals.

Keep personal income separate from household income when comparing the tables. A household can combine several people’s resources. The single-adult income analysis uses each person’s income, adjusted to 2024 dollars, and the education analysis uses that person’s completed degree.

What do these numbers mean if you are dating in NYC?

A matchmaker’s view — Vadim Litvak

I would start with the part of the city’s population you actually want to meet. The ratio changes with age, borough and education. “There are no single men” captures a feeling that some age and neighborhood patterns help explain, but it does not describe the whole city.

A citywide total is the starting point for a search. Add your age range, travel radius and education preferences, and the relevant group becomes smaller. Then comes the work that a Census table cannot do: understanding someone’s values, intentions and interest in you.

Decide which preferences protect the relationship you want and which simply describe the person you expected to meet. I would use these numbers to make that conversation specific. A nearby borough or a different degree requirement changes the search you are asking someone to conduct.

See how many New Yorkers meet your criteria. For the practical side, read what dating in NYC is actually like and where to meet single people in NYC.

What methodology and sources are used?

Our October 30, 2026 analysis uses ACS 2020–2024 5-year estimates: B12002 for marital status by age and sex, B01001 for all residents, B20001 for earnings and B15002 for education. Published tables were accessed through Census Reporter.

Neighborhood PUMAs group Community Districts. Ratio margins of error use the supplied men’s and women’s errors at 90% confidence. PUMS estimates use person weights across 266,938 NYC adult records (272,543 before excluding institutional group quarters). Partners of non-householders cannot be identified. Income is adjusted to 2024 dollars.

PUMS variables also power our calculator: see how many New Yorkers meet your criteria. Downloads retain definitions and sample flags.

• Download age and borough CSV
• Download all 55 neighborhood estimates CSV
• Download income and education CSV

Cite this page: Matchmaker New York, “NYC Singles Statistics”, analysis of U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2020–2024 5-year estimates, updated October 30, 2026, matchmakernewyork.com/blog/nyc-singles-statistics/.