How Often Do Couples Have Sex? Sexual Activity Statistics
By Bedbible Research Center / February 25, 2023
This is the most comprehensive meta-study of sexual activity amongst couples. This article presents and highlights the main findings of the analysis of the complete dataset. The datasets consists of 64,771 couples who have reported on how often they have sex.
Any of the findings presented in this study can be re-used or cited as long as a reference to this article is included. To receive the full data-set please reach out to: researchcenter@bedbible.com. It is available for almost all of the most common data processing and analytics software programs.
Key statistics
- The average American couple has sex 73 times per year (1.4 times per week, 5.8 times per month).
- Unmarried couples has sex more frequently than married couples (5.2 times per month for married couples, and 5.4 times per month for unmarried couples).
- Couples younger than 24 is the age group that has sex most often (9.1 times per month).
- 26% of couples report to have sex once a week on average.
- 16% of couples report to have sex 2-3 times a week on average.
- 5% of couples report that they have sex more than 3 times a week on average.
- 17% of couples report to have sex at on average once a month.
- 19% of couples report to have sex two to three times per month.
- 10% of couples report that they have not had sex in the past year.
- 7% of couples report to have had sex 1-2 times in the past year.
- 33% of men, and 36% of women who report to be sexually active at 70+ years old report to have sex two times per month.
Sex frequency, times per month (all couples), by age group
In the first statistical chart of sexual activity we included all intercourse recordings of couples (of all types). Then we averaged this number out on a full month.
Additionally we split the data up by age groups.
- On average couples have sex 1.4 times per week (5.8 times per month).
- Thew most sexually active couples are between 18 and 24, and they have sex 2.1 times per week on average.
- The least sexually active couples are 75+ who have sex on average every 3-4 months (0.3 times per month).
| Couples, by age groups | Sex frequency per month | Per week |
|---|---|---|
| 18-24 | 9.1 | 2.1 |
| 25-34 | 7.8 | 1.8 |
| 35-44 | 6.5 | 1.5 |
| 45-54 | 5.6 | 1.3 |
| 55-64 | 2.1 | 0.5 |
| 65-74 | 1.2 | 0.3 |
| 75+ | 0.3 | 0.1 |
| All | 5.8 | 1.4 |
What the data showed is that:
- Couples on average have sex 1.4 times per week.
- Couples aged 18-24 have sex on average 2.1 times per week.
- Couples aged 25-34 have sex on average 1.8 times per week.
- Couples aged 35-44 have sex on average 1.5 times per week.
- Couples aged 45-54 have sex on average 1.3 times per week.
- Couples aged 55-64 have sex on average 0.5 times per week.
- Couples aged 65-74 have sex on average 0.3 times per week.
- Couples aged 75+ have sex on average 0.1 times per week.
How often do Married couples have sex?
In this section we took at look at the difference between married and unmarried couples.
This allowed us to see, if there is a correlation between sex frequency and married status across different age groups.
What we found is that:
- Married couples on average have sex 5.9 times per month (1.4 times per week).
- Unmarried couples have sex on average 5.4 times per month.
- Married couples have sex on average 0.5 times more per month than unmarried couples.
- Unmarried couples over 40 years old have sex more frequently than married couples of similar age.
The last part of the statistics can be explained by the fact that after 40, unmarried couples are often also new couples where sex frequency is often higher than long-term couples.
| Couples, by age groups | Married, per month | Unmarried, per month | All |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18-24 | 10.9 | 7.1 | 9.1 |
| 25-34 | 8.6 | 6.2 | 7.8 |
| 35-44 | 5.8 | 7.2 | 6.5 |
| 45-54 | 5.1 | 6.8 | 5.6 |
| 55-64 | 1.7 | 3.1 | 2.1 |
| 65-74 | 1.1 | 2.3 | 1.2 |
| 75+ | 0.3 | 0.5 | 0.3 |
| All | 5.2 | 5.4 | 5.3 |
We have also added the same sex frequency chart for the weekly frequencies:
| Couples, by age groups | Married, per week | Unmarried, per week | All |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18-24 | 2.5 | 1.6 | 2.1 |
| 25-34 | 2.0 | 1.4 | 1.8 |
| 35-44 | 1.4 | 1.7 | 1.5 |
| 45-54 | 1.2 | 1.6 | 1.3 |
| 55-64 | 0.4 | 0.7 | 0.5 |
| 65-74 | 0.2 | 0.5 | 0.3 |
| 75+ | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 |
| All | 1.2 | 1.3 | 1.2 |
What this shows is that:
- Unmarried couples have sex on average 1.3 times per week, while married couples only have sex 1.2 times per week.
- For couples aged 18-24: Unmarried couples have sex on average 1.6 times per week, while married couples only have sex 2.5 times per week.
- For couples aged 25-34: Unmarried couples have sex on average 1.4 times per week, while married couples only have sex 2.0 times per week.
- For couples aged 35-44: Unmarried couples have sex on average 1.7 times per week, while married couples only have sex 1.4 times per week.
- For couples aged 45-54: Unmarried couples have sex on average 1.6 times per week, while married couples only have sex 1.2 times per week.
- For couples aged 55-54: Unmarried couples have sex on average 0.7 times per week, while married couples only have sex 0.4 times per week.
- For couples aged 65-74: Unmarried couples have sex on average 0.5 times per week, while married couples only have sex 0.2 times per week.
- For couples aged 75+: Unmarried couples have sex on average 0.1 times per week, while married couples only have sex 0.1 times per week.
What the data shows about couples weekly frequency
- 26% of couples report to have sex once a week on average.
- 16% of couples report to have sex 2-3 times a week on average.
- 5% of couples report that they have sex more than 3 times a week on average.
- 17% of couples report to have sex at on average once a month.
- 19% of couples report to have sex two to three times per month.
- 10% of couples report that they have not had sex in the past year.
- 7% of couples report to have had sex 1-2 times in the past year.
When asked other questions the responds reported by couples look very similar, but with slightly differing percentages:
- 33% of men, and 36% of women who report to be sexually active at 70+ years old report to have sex two times per month.
Sex frequency for couples per year
- The average American couple has sex 73 times per year.
- Couples younger than 34 years old has sex on average 103 times per year.
- Couples aged 18-24 years old has sex on average 109 times per year.
- Couples aged 25-34 years old has sex on average 94 times per year.
- Couples aged 35-44 years old has sex on average 78 times per year.
- Couples aged 45-54 years old has sex on average 68 times per year.
- Couples aged 55-64 years old has sex on average 26 times per year.
- Couples aged 65-74 years old has sex on average 16 times per year.
- Couples 75 years or older has sex on average 5-6 times per year.
Effects of couples sleeping together frequently
- Couples that sleep together at least once a week improves:
- Individual happiness.
- Relationship satisfaction.
