Most people in these jobs have never been married
Ever felt like your job was holding you back from meeting that special someone? Data suggests you may be right.
Of more than 500 jobs tracked by the Census Bureau, Stacker identified the 50 with the highest share of single workers who had never married.
A large proportion of the listed occupations are in the service industry. Several factors may play into this: Many service workers are young and early in their careers and perhaps haven't considered marriage. Service industry employees also work long hours, evenings, and weekends and may find it more challenging to find a partner as a result. However, some blue-collar jobs also made the list.
Moreover, nearly 7 in 10 unemployed individuals have never been married. This statistic includes those who don't have a job and haven't worked in the past five years. Only a few professions had lower marriage rates than the chronically unemployed, so almost any job can bring you closer to marriage than none at all.
Regardless of their occupations, more people than ever are choosing to remain single longer. A record 25% of 40-year-olds had never been married, according to a Pew Research Center analysis, up five percentage points from 2010 and up from just 6% in 1980. People delay marriage for numerous, wide-ranging reasons, from feeling unprepared financially to not wanting to settle down. Overall, most American adults are in a committed relationship, but about 30% remain single.
This analysis uses data from the 2022 American Community Survey, sourced via the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series and Bureau of Labor Statistics. Jobs were ranked by the share of employees in each job who had never been married.
Keep reading to discover the jobs where you're most likely to be single.
#50. Athletes and sports competitors
- Share who have never been married: 50.7%
- Median annual salary: $94,270 ($47,960 above the national median for all jobs)
- Employment nationwide: 11,930 people
#49. Counter and rental clerks
- Share who have never been married: 50.7%
- Median annual salary: $35,830 ($10,480 below the national median for all jobs)
- Employment nationwide: 370,770 people
#48. Television, video, and film camera operators and editors
- Share who have never been married: 51.3%
- Median annual salary: $60,875 ($14,565 above the national median for all jobs)
- Employment nationwide: 55,050 people
#47. Office machine operators, except computer
- Share who have never been married: 51.4%
- Median annual salary: $36,710 ($9,600 below the national median for all jobs)
- Employment nationwide: 30,410 people
#46. Orderlies and psychiatric aides
- Share who have never been married: 52.2%
- Median annual salary: $35,840 ($10,470 below the national median for all jobs)
- Employment nationwide: 75,380 people
#45. Telemarketers
- Share who have never been married: 52.7%
- Median annual salary: $31,030 ($15,280 below the national median for all jobs)
- Employment nationwide: 96,520 people
#44. Veterinary technologists and technicians
- Share who have never been married: 53.2%
- Median annual salary: $38,240 ($8,070 below the national median for all jobs)
- Employment nationwide: 118,750 people
#43. Packers and packagers, hand
- Share who have never been married: 53.5%
- Median annual salary: $32,920 ($13,390 below the national median for all jobs)
- Employment nationwide: 653,870 people
#42. Pharmacy aides
- Share who have never been married: 53.6%
- Median annual salary: $35,160 ($11,150 below the national median for all jobs)
- Employment nationwide: 62,950 people
#41. Life, physical, and social science technicians (includes social science research assistants, forest and conservation technicians, and forensic science technicians)
- Share who have never been married: 53.9%
- Median annual salary: $42,815 ($3,495 below the national median for all jobs)
- Employment nationwide: 146,200 people
#40. Food cooking machine operators and tenders
- Share who have never been married: 53.9%
- Median annual salary: $36,700 ($9,610 below the national median for all jobs)
- Employment nationwide: 26,740 people
#39. Coaches and scouts
- Share who have never been married: 54.0%
- Median annual salary: $44,890 ($1,420 below the national median for all jobs)
- Employment nationwide: 218,970 people
#38. Sailors and marine oilers, and ship engineers
- Share who have never been married: 55.0%
- Median annual salary: $67,395 ($21,085 above the national median for all jobs)
- Employment nationwide: 37,150 people
#37. Disc jockeys, except radio
- Share who have never been married: 55.2%
- Median annual salary: Not reported; $21.34 per hour ($0.92 below the national median hourly wage for all jobs)
- Employment nationwide: 5,640 people
#36. Animal caretakers
- Share who have never been married: 55.6%
- Median annual salary: $40,830 ($5,480 below the national median for all jobs)
- Employment nationwide: 272,550 people
#35. Helpers, construction trades
- Share who have never been married: 55.6%
- Median annual salary: $37,321 ($8,989 below the national median for all jobs)
- Employment nationwide: 202,410 people
#34. Parking attendants
- Share who have never been married: 56.5%
- Median annual salary: $30,570 ($15,740 below the national median for all jobs)
- Employment nationwide: 105,290 people
#33. Solar photovoltaic installers
- Share who have never been married: 56.7%
- Median annual salary: $45,230 ($1,080 below the national median for all jobs)
- Employment nationwide: 27,760 people
#32. Psychiatric technicians
- Share who have never been married: 57.0%
- Median annual salary: $37,380 ($8,930 below the national median for all jobs)
- Employment nationwide: 100,950 people
#31. Cooks (includes fast-food, institution/cafeteria, private household, restaurant, short order, and other cooks)
- Share who have never been married: 57.2%
- Median annual salary: $32,763 ($13,547 below the national median for all jobs)
- Employment nationwide: 2.6 million people
#30. Hotel, motel, and resort desk clerks
- Share who have never been married: 57.4%
- Median annual salary: $28,910 ($17,400 below the national median for all jobs)
- Employment nationwide: 243,180 people
#29. Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand
- Share who have never been married: 57.5%
- Median annual salary: $36,110 ($10,200 below the national median for all jobs)
- Employment nationwide: 2.9 million people
#28. Helpers--installation, maintenance, and repair workers
- Share who have never been married: 57.7%
- Median annual salary: $35,100 ($11,210 below the national median for all jobs)
- Employment nationwide: 93,650 people
#27. Cleaners of vehicles and equipment
- Share who have never been married: 57.8%
- Median annual salary: $41,283 ($5,027 below the national median for all jobs)
- Employment nationwide: 398,080 people
#26. Medical transcriptionists
- Share who have never been married: 58.0%
- Median annual salary: $34,730 ($11,580 below the national median for all jobs)
- Employment nationwide: 48,680 people
#25. Bartenders
- Share who have never been married: 58.7%
- Median annual salary: $29,380 ($16,930 below the national median for all jobs)
- Employment nationwide: 613,070 people
#24. Tour and travel guides
- Share who have never been married: 58.7%
- Median annual salary: $34,440 ($11,870 below the national median for all jobs)
- Employment nationwide: 41,180 people
#23. Emergency medical technicians
- Share who have never been married: 59.0%
- Median annual salary: $36,680 ($9,630 below the national median for all jobs)
- Employment nationwide: 167,720 people
#22. Miscellaneous vehicle and mobile equipment mechanics, installers, and repairers (includes bicycle and recreational vehicle repairers and tire repairers/changers)
- Share who have never been married: 59.2%
- Median annual salary: $38,507 ($7,803 below the national median for all jobs)
- Employment nationwide: 130,930 people
#21. Transportation service attendants
- Share who have never been married: 59.3%
- Median annual salary: $33,950 ($12,360 below the national median for all jobs)
- Employment nationwide: 119,320 people
#20. Veterinary assistants and laboratory animal caretakers
- Share who have never been married: 59.7%
- Median annual salary: $34,740 ($11,570 below the national median for all jobs)
- Employment nationwide: 111,880 people
#19. Helpers-production workers
- Share who have never been married: 60.1%
- Median annual salary: $34,670 ($11,640 below the national median for all jobs)
- Employment nationwide: 190,680 people
#18. Stockers and order fillers
- Share who have never been married: 60.6%
- Median annual salary: $34,220 ($12,090 below the national median for all jobs)
- Employment nationwide: 2.8 million people
#17. Food servers, nonrestaurant
- Share who have never been married: 61.6%
- Median annual salary: $30,300 ($16,010 below the national median for all jobs)
- Employment nationwide: 248,870 people
#16. Food preparation workers
- Share who have never been married: 63.0%
- Median annual salary: $29,790 ($16,520 below the national median for all jobs)
- Employment nationwide: 904,330 people
#15. Cashiers
- Share who have never been married: 66.0%
- Median annual salary: $29,125 ($17,185 below the national median for all jobs)
- Employment nationwide: 3.3 million people
#14. Tutors
- Share who have never been married: 66.4%
- Median annual salary: $36,680 ($9,630 below the national median for all jobs)
- Employment nationwide: 174,980 people
#13. Dining room and cafeteria attendants and bartender helpers
- Share who have never been married: 67.3%
- Median annual salary: $29,470 ($16,840 below the national median for all jobs)
- Employment nationwide: 459,940 people
#12. Ushers, lobby attendants, and ticket takers
- Share who have never been married: 68.3%
- Median annual salary: $27,650 ($18,660 below the national median for all jobs)
- Employment nationwide: 98,350 people
#11. Food preparation and serving related workers, all other
- Share who have never been married: 70.0%
- Median annual salary: $30,840 ($15,470 below the national median for all jobs)
- Employment nationwide: 81,930 people
#10. Dancers and choreographers
- Share who have never been married: 71.2%
- Median annual salary: $50,990 ($4,680 above the national median for all jobs)
- Employment nationwide: 14,330 people
#9. Waiters and waitresses
- Share who have never been married: 71.3%
- Median annual salary: $29,120 ($17,190 below the national median for all jobs)
- Employment nationwide: 2.1 million people
#8. Dishwashers
- Share who have never been married: 71.3%
- Median annual salary: $29,080 ($17,230 below the national median for all jobs)
- Employment nationwide: 431,840 people
#7. Other entertainment attendants and related workers (includes amusement and recreation attendants; motion picture projectionists; costume attendants; locker room, coatroom, and dressing room attendants)
- Share who have never been married: 71.4%
- Median annual salary: $33,416 ($12,894 below the national median for all jobs)
- Employment nationwide: 349,270 people
#6. Recreation workers
- Share who have never been married: 73.6%
- Median annual salary: $31,680 ($14,630 below the national median for all jobs)
- Employment nationwide: 270,380 people
#5. Umpires, referees, and other sports officials
- Share who have never been married: 75.5%
- Median annual salary: $36,010 ($10,300 below the national median for all jobs)
- Employment nationwide: 12,720 people
#4. Residential advisors
- Share who have never been married: 76.3%
- Median annual salary: $35,720 ($10,590 below the national median for all jobs)
- Employment nationwide: 86,770 people
#3. Fast-food and counter workers
- Share who have never been married: 82.9%
- Median annual salary: $27,930 ($18,380 below the national median for all jobs)
- Employment nationwide: 3.3 million people
#2. Hosts and hostesses, restaurant, lounge, and coffee shop
- Share who have never been married: 84.4%
- Median annual salary: $36,395 ($9,915 below the national median for all jobs)
- Employment nationwide: 406,490 people
#1. Lifeguards, ski patrol, and other recreational and non-recreational protective service workers
- Share who have never been married: 90.2%
- Median annual salary: $31,865 ($14,445 below the national median for all jobs)
- Employment nationwide: 201,770 people
Story editing by Nicole Caldwell. Copy editing by Paris Close.
