New Data: Here’s How Many Sexual Partners Most Americans Have Had

Times keep changing, and one area where that’s most evident is in our personal lives. Our intimate relationships—past, present, and future—are relevant to wide-sweeping conversations such as the political tension related to reproductive autonomy and the dating challenges many younger adults report they’re facing in a post-pandemic, increasingly tech-driven world.

So, whether your history of past sexual partners makes you feel sheepish or self-assured, chances are good many Americans can relate. Speaking of…new data published today offers a hint into how our love lives are tracking. It might not be the most politically correct term, but it’s being referred to as your “body count”—that is, how many bodies your own body has intimately interacted with.

The OG intimate toy company, Adam & Eve, are reporting out the results of their annual sex survey. A representative for the brand informs us the web-based questionnaire was administered via Survey Monkey as an independent third party, with 1,033 participants sharing their sexual histories. Respondents were all age 18 and older and based in the United States, with 65% of survey participants reporting their relationship status as married. Forty-seven percent were female, and 52% were male.

The findings might give a new meaning to the term “personal data”: Results suggest nearly 10% of individuals polled said they’d never had sex, while 35% said they’d been with one partner. Forty-three percent reported between two to 10 partners, and 7% had been with 11 to 25 partners. Just over 4% said they’d had intercourse with 26 to 40, 2% said they had 41 to 75, 3% reported 76 to 100 partners, and 3% reported more than 100 partners.

The main takeaways, from Dr. Jenni Skyler, PhD, LMFT, C-PST, licensed marriage and family therapist, certified sex therapist, board-certified sex researcher and a spokesperson for Adam & Eve: “Most statistics show four to 10 as the average number of sexual partners for men and women; however, the ‘acceptable’ number varies from person to person.” Skyler adds: “Age, upbringing, religion and even geographical location play into what people determine as their ideal [number of sex partners] … Ultimately, there is no right or wrong answer.”

Adam & Eve’s director of marketing was quoted saying the brand “encourages adults to enjoy safe, healthy and fun sex lives within their own comfort zones.”

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