One-third of partnered men wish they were having sex more often

Jamie BallardData Journalist
April 05, 2021, 3:00 PM GMT+0

Although many Americans have reported getting closer to their partner during the COVID-19 pandemic, new data from YouGov finds that many people wish they were having sex more often.

In a recent YouGov poll of more than 7,000 Americans who are in a sexually active relationship, 29% say they wish they were having more sex with their partner. More than one-third (38%) say they’re happy with the amount of sex they’re having, and 6% wish they were having sex less often.

Men (34%) in sexually active relationships are more likely than women (23%) to say they wish they were having sex with their partner more often. Among married couples, this gap widens slightly. Married men (39%) are 17-points more likely than married women (22%) to say they wish they were having sex with their partner more often.

Previous polling from YouGov in 2019 found that men (53%) were twice as likely as women (25%) to say they have an orgasm “every time” they had sex with a partner. About one-third (32% of men and 34% of women) said they reach orgasm “most of the time,” while 15% of women and 8% of men say it happens “about half the time.” About one in five women (17%) and 5% of men say they orgasm less than half the time when they’re having sex with a partner. Another 9% of women and 2% of men say it never happens for them.

See full results here.

Methodology: 10,982 US adults were asked “Which of the following comes closest to your view?” with response options: “I wish my partner and I had sex more often,” “I am happy with the amount of sex my partner and I have,” “I wish my partner and I had sex less often,” “don’t know,” “prefer not to say,” “N/A - I don't have a partner” and “N / A - My partner and I do not currently have sex.” The sample has been rebased to only include US adults who are in a sexually active relationship. The rebased sample is 7,219 US adults. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all US adults (aged 18+).

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