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Number Of Single Men In U.S. Reaches Record High
PNW ^ | 09/14/2026

Posted on 09/14/2026 9:25:41 PM PDT by SeekAndFind

More young men in America are remaining single than ever before, with the rate almost doubling over the last quarter century, according to concerning new data released earlier this week.

Statistics compiled by the Institute for Family Studies (IFS) revealed that there were 30.4 million single men aged 18 to 39 in 2025 in the U.S., amounting to almost 10 million more bachelors than there were in 2000 (20.7 million). IFS further estimated that there were 15 million more single men than husbands in this age group in 2025. In 2000, there was only a 2.6 million difference.

This rise in male singleness has translated to fewer married men. Over the last 25 years, the number of wedded men has plunged from 18.1 million to 15.4 million, a 15% drop.

Experts say the sinking numbers are extremely troubling for the future prospects of the country in a host of ways. Sociologists like IFS Fellow Brad Wilcox point out that single men are "more likely to be lonely, prone to deaths of despair and unhappy," adding that "it's never good for a society to have large numbers of unattached, dispirited and unhappy young men." Data shows that unhappiness is rising among single men, from 16% in 1980 to 23% in 2020. Comparatively, the rate of unhappiness among married men has stayed steady, hovering between 8-7% over the same time span.

A large part of this is likely due to the fact that the number of men attending college and remaining in the job force are dropping. Data from 2024 showed that one million fewer men were in college compared to 2011. As for employment, Gen Z men aged 16-24 are particularly exiting the labor market, with data from July showing a 13% drop compared to numbers from 2000. This has led to many young men being less likely to attract a spouse through stable employment, owning a car, and other signs of financial steadiness.

High rates of male unemployment are closely tied to the decline in recent years of high-paying blue-collar jobs in the manufacturing sector, which are traditionally dominated by men. Over the last four years, job openings in manufacturing have nosedived, causing many men to settle for low-paying gig jobs or exit the workforce altogether.

Donna Turner, an educational psychologist in Indiana, told The Washington Times that economic instability is "playing a major role" in why so many men are remaining single. "When wages are unstable, and housing feels out of reach, many men feel they cannot qualify as husbands. Women are understandably reluctant to tie their futures to economic precarity."

Economists say that a significant factor in seeing a revival in marriage and birth rates will depend on working-class men recovering financial stability. This can be encouraged through more public investment in skilled trades, experts say. "Not every young man needs to go for a four-year college degree," Siri Terjesen, an associate business dean at Florida Atlantic University, emphasized. "America can make investments in apprenticeship and skilled trades programs that will lead to good economic outcomes."

Another crucial factor in rejuvenating marriage among young men will also likely hinge on their increasing religiosity in recent years. In April, Gallup reported a sharp rise in men aged 18-29 who reported that religion was "very important" to them, climbing from 28% in 2022 to 42% in 2025. Data shows that religious men marry at higher rates than non-religious men.

Still, experts like David Closson, who serves as director of the Center for Biblical Worldview at Family Research Council, say that a turnaround in the prospects for men will depend on deep cultural renewal centered on biblical principles.

"At the deepest level, the rise in single men reflects a culture that has rejected God's design for marriage, sex, and family," he told The Washington Stand. "Scripture presents marriage as a good gift from God and calls men to mature into sacrificial responsibility, becoming the kind of husbands who love, provide for, and lead their families faithfully. Our culture has increasingly detached sex from covenant, delayed adulthood, and taught men to prioritize autonomy over obligation, all of which work against marriage."

Closson added that churches will serve a central role in renewing a culture of marriage and discipling single men. "The most important thing churches can do is recover a robust biblical vision of manhood and marriage and intentionally disciple young men toward holiness, courage, work, self-denial, and readiness for family life. Churches should not idolize marriage, but they should once again speak clearly about it as a normative and deeply good calling for most Christians."


TOPICS: Society
KEYWORDS: bachelors; demographics; marriage
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1 posted on 09/14/2026 9:25:41 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
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To: SeekAndFind

That’s hard to believe considering that young women today are so warm, charming, and solicitous of their male companions’ well-being.


2 posted on 09/14/2026 9:29:48 PM PDT by BenLurkin (The above is not a statement of fact. It is opinion or satire. Or both.)
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To: SeekAndFind

Look at the average American woman in 2026 and the reasons why are crystal clear .


3 posted on 09/14/2026 9:30:24 PM PDT by sushiman
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To: SeekAndFind
From the article: ...experts like David Closson, who serves as director of the Center for Biblical Worldview at Family Research Council... "Scripture presents marriage... and calls men to mature into sacrificial responsibility, becoming the kind of husbands who ... Our culture has increasingly detached sex from covenant, delayed adulthood, and taught men to prioritize autonomy over obligation..."

Closson added that churches will serve a central role in renewing a culture of marriage and discipling single men. "The most important thing churches can do is recover a robust biblical vision of manhood and marriage and intentionally disciple young men toward..."

Yeahhhhh, blame men. That's the "expert" opinion.

4 posted on 09/14/2026 9:36:01 PM PDT by T.B. Yoits
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To: T.B. Yoits
From the article: Donna Turner, an educational psychologist in Indiana... economic instability is "playing a major role" in why so many men are remaining single. "When wages are unstable, and housing feels out of reach, many men feel they cannot qualify as husbands.

Just wow. You can see what Donna Turner gets paid to say. Another woman defining men.

Blame the men, sister. You go girl. Ignore their choices of ran-through man-hating women with children from multiple fathers.

Tom Brady had a house and no concern about "economic instability" and ended up divorced. Let's ask Jeff Bezos about "economic instability".

Maybe review with Johnny Depp what marriage to Amber Heard was like. That'll help men with the "feeling they can qualify as husbands".

5 posted on 09/14/2026 9:41:09 PM PDT by T.B. Yoits
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To: SeekAndFind

When a man can end up being sued out of existence for just looking at one of these lib American beotches sideways, who’d want ot risk it? Staying single is much more secure, especially financially, and maybe making Payatta, the Phillipines, etc. a better place for finding a loving women.
IMHO: the bottom line is the modern American women, especially the newly-branded AWFLs, are just too high-risk and really not worth the troube and drama they bring to the table...


6 posted on 09/14/2026 9:43:01 PM PDT by lgjhn23 ("On the 8th day, Satan created the progressive liberal to destroy all the good that God created...")
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To: T.B. Yoits
From the article: Sociologists like IFS Fellow Brad Wilcox point out that single men are "more likely to be lonely, prone to deaths of despair and unhappy"...

Yeah, it's the tired lie of the "male loneliness epidemic", while ignoring the thousands of women seething and spluttering online about how men walked away.

7 posted on 09/14/2026 9:43:10 PM PDT by T.B. Yoits
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To: T.B. Yoits
We've been in a misandrist matriarchy for decades.

------

Women alone choose whether a child lives or dies:

A woman can kill an unborn child and the father has no legal right to stop her from killing his offspring.

A woman can kill an unborn child to remove her parental responsibility but the father can't remove his financial responsibility by any means. A woman can terminate the life of the child she doesn't want to continue carrying without the father having any say.

The abortion rate today is similar to the infant mortality rate of the past. Women have aborted an eighth of the world population.

------

Believe All Women:

A woman can lie about paternity of a child without fear of being charged for paternity fraud and the state can even force the cucked father to continue paying for a child PROVEN to not be his. If a hospital switched children by accident, it's a million dollar payout. If a woman switches fathers, she faces no repercussions at all.

A woman can falsely accuse a man of rape and when caught lying will face no charges.

If a woman revokes consent after the fact, she has the power to get a man fired from his job, kicked out of school, or thrown in jail.

------

Men's Obligations:

If a man can't pay child support, he's thrown in prison. If a woman can't pay child support the government forces taxpayers to give her money, housing, and even transportation.

The state forces men to pay child support with zero confirmation that the money is being spent on the child.

Men's obligations to women are enforced by the law, but there is no obligation for a woman to a man that is enforced by the law.

A doctor is required to get a wife's approval before a husband gets a vasectomy but can prescribe birth control or abort a child without the husband knowing.

------

The Vilification of Masculinity:

Our misandrist society is more willing to accept gay men than it will accept straight men who don't meet women's definition of masculinity. On a related note, there is no such thing as "Toxic Masculinity". There is only masculinity. And note the absence of the term "Toxic Femininity" from publications.

Men can only show aggression when it's in the service of government. Women can show aggression freely and are encouraged to do so.

Men's "empowerment" is about duty and sacrifice while Female "empowerment" is all about liberation and choice.

------

Men are Viewed as Second-Class Citizens and as Problems:

Men have to die at work or at war.

Women are not subject to the draft, yet can vote.

Women can hold political office and send men to die in war without any obligation to go themselves or send other women.

Men's cancer research and treatments are funded to a mere fraction compared to women's cancer research and treatment.

Men are not given additional consideration for college admissions, jobs, opportunities, and scholarships.

Men's shelters are so rare as to be non-existant.

Men are treated as though the problems they face are their own fault but with women it's considered a "systemic" problem, not a personal failure.

8 posted on 09/14/2026 9:48:05 PM PDT by T.B. Yoits
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To: SeekAndFind

The “central role” is from the Agious Pneuma.

And from II Peter Chapter 3, when the birth rate halts, there are few needing to “come to the knowledge of truth. đź“–

That will bring the Return!


9 posted on 09/14/2026 9:52:28 PM PDT by Varsity Flight ( "War by 🙏 the prophesied set before you." ) I Timothy 1:18. Nazarite warriors. 10.5.6.5 These Days)
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To: T.B. Yoits

Rather good post I might say


10 posted on 09/14/2026 10:01:06 PM PDT by doorgunner69
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To: SeekAndFind

There are three things men and women share. Like theories leading to conversation. Physical attraction leading to sexual encounters. And long range goals leading to joining or separation. (Short term or long)

Since the 1960’s those three points have melded. Women have grown in stature, education, and willingness to contribute to society in more dramtic fashion. And hormones have been the same since after the garden of eden. Men give love to get sex and women give sex to get love. But the women have become more future oriented and are more choosie these days so the marriage process has slowed and the intermittent time together doesn’t foster a need for a permanent committment.

Heing and sheing.

wy69


11 posted on 09/14/2026 10:14:55 PM PDT by whitney69
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To: T.B. Yoits

You have written an outstanding post! Thanks for taking the time.


12 posted on 09/14/2026 10:19:44 PM PDT by jonrick46 (The DemonKKKrat Marxists ride Unicorns on their fantasy farms.)
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To: BenLurkin

LOL!!!


13 posted on 09/14/2026 10:24:16 PM PDT by Enterprise (The homeless don't want housing. They want fentanyl and meth. - Spencer Pratt.)
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To: sushiman

A fat gross unpleasant woman can get attention from men anywhere in the world thanks to dating apps. Local Joe and Chris can’t compete.

But I am fine with it. Women have led the destruction of western civilization and men don’t need to pay the bill anymore. Sure I wish it were different and correctable. But it ain’t. Prepare accordingly and in 50 years the gals can enjoy the beatings from their Muslim husband.


14 posted on 09/14/2026 10:35:54 PM PDT by Organic Panic ( )
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To: SeekAndFind

Another statistic that has shown a similar rise over a comparable time period is the number of women on SSRI antidepressants.


15 posted on 09/14/2026 10:38:07 PM PDT by SpaceBar
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To: SeekAndFind

The traditional solution to this problem is a big war. Looks like we’re on that path.


16 posted on 09/14/2026 10:38:41 PM PDT by Bob Wills is still the king
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To: BenLurkin

“That’s hard to believe considering that young women today are so warm, charming, and solicitous of their male companions’ well-being.”
____________________________________________________________

No sane woman wants to pair up with a poor man.


17 posted on 09/14/2026 10:40:34 PM PDT by Bob Wills is still the king
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To: Bob Wills is still the king

“...No sane woman wants to pair up with a poor man...”
-
My wife of 50 years did.


18 posted on 09/14/2026 10:42:47 PM PDT by Repeal The 17th ( I am obsessed with not being obsessed with anything.)
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To: SeekAndFind

“a revival ... will depend on working-class men recovering financial stability”

Hasn’t the college-educated unemployment rate been higher than that for non-college educated recently? Weren’t 98% of the job gains in the latest report month gained by women?

Regarding “solicitous of their male companions’ well-being”,

https://www.google.com/books/edition/Self_Made_Man/u5-MEAAAQBAJ?hl=en


19 posted on 09/14/2026 10:50:04 PM PDT by JeemBeau
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To: Bob Wills is still the king
Bob Wills is still the king of newbie imbeciles.

Fixed your screen name for ya.

Enjoy it. You've earned it.

20 posted on 09/14/2026 11:06:43 PM PDT by 4Runner ("I gotta join a union to get paid for loafin'?" " Sure ya do!" --Abbott & Costello)
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