Vet assistant in purple scrubs smiling at a dachshund in a red cast.

Jobs where you're most likely to be single

Written by:
November 30, 2022
santypan // Shutterstock

Jobs where you're most likely to be single

Ever felt like your job was holding you back from meeting that special someone? You may be right.

To determine jobs where you're most likely to be single, Stacker analyzed data from the 2021 American Community Survey, powered by the Census Bureau. The percentage of never-married respondents was calculated by dividing the number of respondents who had never been married by the total respondents for a given occupation; this metric ranks the list.

Similarly, the percentage of single respondents was calculated by dividing the sum of the respondents who reported they were never married, widowed, divorced, or separated into the total respondents for a given occupation. Inevitably, there is overlap between those who said they were never married and those who are considered "single."

Perhaps not surprisingly, many of these occupations are in the service industry, likely because employees in the service industry work long hours, evenings, and weekends and may not have time outside of work to find a partner. However, some blue-collar jobs also made the list.

The reality is that more people than ever are choosing to remain single longer, regardless of occupation. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that the marriage rate fell from 8.2 marriages per 1,000 people in 2000 to 5.1 marriages per 1,000 people in 2020. People delay marriage for numerous, wide-ranging reasons, from feeling unprepared financially to not wanting to settle down.

Meanwhile, the number of unpartnered people continues to grow. The Pew Research Center found in 2019 that nearly 1 in 3 adults between 40-54 were unpartnered, compared to 1990 (almost 1 in 4).

Keep reading to discover the jobs where you're most likely to be single.

Editor's note: A previous version of this story referred to the analysis as focusing on marital status at 40, but this data covers all ages—we have adjusted the headline and methodology accordingly.

Two cooks in commercial kitchen
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Canva

#30. Cooks

- Percent never married: 56.96%
- Percent single: 70.45%

Person carrying drinks to table
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Canva

#29. Food servers, nonrestaurant

- Percent never married: 57.27%
- Percent single: 70.38%

Bartender mixing drink
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Canva

#28. Bartenders

- Percent never married: 57.5%
- Percent single: 73.1%

Tour guide leading hike
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Canva

#27. Tour and travel guides

- Percent never married: 58.19%
- Percent single: 66.59%

Air transportation attendant
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Olena Yakobchuk // Shutterstock

#26. Transportation service attendants

- Percent never married: 58.91%
- Percent single: 69.92%

Person washing vechile
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Canva

#25. Cleaners of vehicles and equipment

- Percent never married: 59.14%
- Percent single: 71.05%

Parking attendant in lot
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Yevhen H // Shutterstock

#24. Parking attendants

- Percent never married: 59.37%
- Percent single: 70.06%

Person working in shipping room
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Jacob Lund // Shutterstock

#23. Stockers and order fillers

- Percent never married: 60.3%
- Percent single: 71.93%

Two people holding dog in veterinary office
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Canva

#22. Veterinary assistants and laboratory animal caretakers

- Percent never married: 60.84%
- Percent single: 67.19%

Person buying movie tickets
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Tyler Olson // Shutterstock

#21. Ushers, lobby attendants, and ticket takers

- Percent never married: 61.38%
- Percent single: 73.53%

Telemarketer speaking with client
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Canva

#20. Telemarketers

- Percent never married: 61.45%
- Percent single: 74.78%

Construction worker carrying ladder
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ephyr_p // Shutterstock

#19. Helpers, construction trades

- Percent never married: 62.48%
- Percent single: 70.51%

Person chopping vegetables
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DenisProduction.com // Shutterstock

#18. Food preparation workers

- Percent never married: 62.52%
- Percent single: 75.17%

Soliders stand and salue
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Bumble Dee // Shutterstock

#17. Military-enlisted tactical operations and air/weapons specialists and crew Members

- Percent never married: 62.8%
- Percent single: 67.08%

Person preparing hamburgers
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Canva

#16. Food preparation and serving-related workers, all other

- Percent never married: 63.76%
- Percent single: 70.03%

Cashier working grocery checkout
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Canva

#15. Cashiers

- Percent never married: 65.88%
- Percent single: 78.08%

Recreation coach speaking with kids team
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#14. Recreation workers

- Percent never married: 66.2%
- Percent single: 75.92%

Woman cleaning tables
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Canva

#13. Dining room and cafeteria attendants and bartender helpers

- Percent never married: 66.83%
- Percent single: 77.07%

Man installing photovoltaic panels
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Canva

#12. Solar photovoltaic installers

- Percent never married: 67.%
- Percent single: 76.26%

Tutor assisting student
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#11. Tutors

- Percent never married: 67.04%
- Percent single: 72.93%

Person filling out job application form
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Mangostar // Shutterstock

#10. Unemployed, with no work experience in at the last 5 years or more

- Percent never married: 68.88%
- Percent single: 79.78%

Note: This refers to those unemployed with no work experience in the last five years or earlier or those who never worked

Close up waitress taking order
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Canva

#9. Waiters and waitresses

- Percent never married: 69.95%
- Percent single: 79.64%

Dancers rehearsing at bar
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Evgeniy Kalinovskiy // Shutterstock

#8. Dancers And choreographers

- Percent never married: 70.63%
- Percent single: 78.34%

Dishwasher cleaning in commercial kitchen
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Canva

#7. Dishwashers

- Percent never married: 70.95%
- Percent single: 81.66%

Man adjusting stage light
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Oleksandr Nagaiets // Shutterstock

#6. Other entertainment attendants and related workers

- Percent never married: 71.16%
- Percent single: 79.38%

Umpire on sports field
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Canva

#5. Umpires, referees, and other sports officials

- Percent never married: 71.62%
- Percent single: 77.28%

Students gathered in dorm kitchen
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FXQuadro // Shutterstock

#4. Residential advisors

- Percent never married: 80.53%
- Percent single: 87.76%

Man working in food truck
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Canva

#3. Fast food and counter workers

- Percent never married: 82.68%
- Percent single: 87.63%

Baristas in coffee shop
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Canva

#2. Hosts and hostesses, restaurant, lounge, and coffee shop

- Percent never married: 83.88%
- Percent single: 89.06%

Prison attendant
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Bigflick // Shutterstock

#1. Protective service workers

- Percent never married: 90.1%
- Percent single: 92.13%

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