Yes, a lot of Americans feel too broke to date. The average all-in cost of a date reached $189 in early 2026, and 47% of singles now say dating isn’t worth the money, according to BMO’s 2026 Real Financial Progress Index. Half of singles say they have gone on fewer dates or picked cheaper activities because of rising prices.
But the price tag is only half the story. Money stress is also shaping who people ask out, how couples connect and how confident singles feel about love at all.
How much has the cost of dating gone up?
The BMO survey of 2,501 adults found the average date now costs $189 once grooming and transportation are included, up 12.5% from $168 in 2025. Daters spend about $2,323 a year, even though they went on about 12 dates in the past year, down from roughly 14 in 2025.
The generations feel it differently. Millennials spend about $252 per date, while Gen Z spends around $205. The typical Gen Z adult went on only about nine dates in the past year.
The timing makes it worse. The University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index fell to 47.6 in preliminary April 2026 readings, the lowest in its 74-year history.
Is the cost of dating keeping singles from looking for love?
For many, yes. A March 2026 JG Wentworth survey of 1,538 U.S. adults found that 86% have delayed dating or getting back into the dating world because of money worries. About 40% of that group said money concerns would make them hesitant to ask out someone they liked.
Dating app Happn reports that 41% of users are skipping dates because of cost or choosing free activities instead.
Is the real problem money or confidence?
Here is the part most coverage misses. The bill hurts, but the shame may hurt more. Nearly half of active daters, 48%, told JG Wentworth that money worries have knocked their confidence when pursuing a relationship. The Institute for Family Studies’ 2026 State of Our Unions report found only 31% of unmarried adults ages 22 to 35 are actively dating, and 49% of those who aren’t named confidence as the barrier.
When money feels tight, it stops being about dollars and starts feeling like a measure of whether you’re ready, worthy or “together” enough. That pressure can lead people to hide their situation. A DealSeek survey found some singles misrepresent their finances or even ghost dates over money issues.
How is financial stress affecting intimacy in relationships?
Couples aren’t spared. Research compiled by The Conversation in 2025 found many young couples are moving in together sooner to split rent, and 38% of partnered people in the United Kingdom admit to keeping a secret account. Moving in for the math can speed up a relationship before trust is built.
A University of Florida study published Sept. 3 offers some hope. Researchers followed 84 unmarried couples for a week and found that money stress spilled into their relationships, but partners who offered emotional support, not just practical fixes, reduced that spillover. Intimacy, it turns out, often starts with feeling understood about money before feeling close in any other way.
What does romance look like when the cost of dating is this high?
It looks smaller, slower and more honest. Researchers describe a split, K-shaped dating economy, where some singles cut spending to zero while others keep spending freely, and 35% of singles now prefer coffee dates over dinner and drinks. Low cost ideas and being upfront about money are now seen as attractive, while flashing wealth is a turnoff.
That shift could be a quiet blessing. A walk, a home-cooked meal or a house party shows who someone is without the pressure of a $189 receipt.
Love was never supposed to have a cover charge. Right now, a lot of people are learning that the hard way, and some are finding that the cheapest dates are the most real.
