Two in five American women looking for love online want a partner who owns a home, according to a major new study of dating in 2026, while fewer than one in five American men say the same. The gap is one of the sharpest findings in The State of Online Dating 2026, released on Tuesday by dating-review platform DatingScout.com.
The study found that 40.4 percent of American women want a partner who owns a home, against 18.9 percent of American men. It is based on responses from 53,902 people in 18 countries, gathered through the platform’s ongoing reader survey since January 2025, with respondents able to choose several qualities they want in a partner.
Homeownership Meets the Dating Market
The finding lands at a moment when buying a first home has become harder than ever. First-time buyers are hitting a record age, and house prices and mortgage costs have pushed ownership out of reach for many younger adults. In that context, a partner who already owns a home is not just a lifestyle preference but a financial one, and the study suggests women are weighing that far more heavily than men.
The result also fits a wider shift in what singles say they want. The Kinsey Institute’s long-running Singles in America survey found that interest in marriage has risen from 33 percent in 2010 to 45 percent today, with about 30 percent of singles open to a lifelong partnership without a legal wedding. As reported yesterday, singles want marriage again, but their expectations have changed, and the new DatingScout figures add a financial dimension to that story.
What the Numbers Do Not Say
It is worth reading the study with care. The survey was run by a dating-review site among its own readers, not a random sample of the whole population, and wanting a homeowner partner is not the same as refusing to date a renter. The headline figures describe preferences, not deal-breakers, and the study’s country-by-country breakdown shows attitudes vary widely around the world.
Even so, the gender gap is striking, and it echoes other recent findings. Singledom appears to have peaked, with more Americans finding a partner, and dating apps report a move toward intentional dating and long-term commitment. If homeownership has joined kindness, humour and shared values on the modern checklist, it may say less about romance than about the economy singles are dating in.
