According to the 2000 United States Census, there are unnumbered divorced/widowed/never-been-married Americans eligible for the dating game or ready to get back into the game.

So you are 25 to 29? You have 9 million unattached peers to choose from! You're 35 to 44? You've got 13 million singles just like you! You're 55 to 64? You have 2.3 million contemporaries of your same age. Singles make up 42 percent of the workforce, 40 percent of home buyers and 35 percent of voters.

Believe it or not, American culture remains very marriage-centric. Almost 75 percent of Americans get married by age 35, 95 percent by 65.

Recent data from the United States Census found that among households headed by a person who is 45 or older, 1.2 million contain two adults who are not related or married to each other. That represents a dramatic increase from 1995, when just 736,000 of such households contained two unmarried adults.

There are some dating obstacles that are unique to single women: They live longer—which is a medical blessing but a relationship curse. While the differences are relatively minor for those ages 55 through 64, when there are 92 men for every 100 women, they get more dramatic as men die and women thrive. In the 65 through 74 age group, there are 82 men for every 100 women. And after 75, the ratio drops to 53 men for every 100 women.

Way back in 1727, a lonely spinster named Helen Morrison became the first woman to place a "Lonely Hearts" ad in a newspaper, the Manchester Weekly Journal. The result: the mayor of Manchester committed her to a mental institution.

The online portion of the dating services industry makes up one third of the total revenues with $304 million in 2002. The target demographic for these services are the 83 million Americans that are between 19 and 45 and single. They have received a significant increase in the number of single women in their thirties and forties searching for a connection through a very impersonal medium. This trend has been on the rise since September 11th, an event which made people realize how important life is and how personal attention can ad to your life. That may be why almost 40% of frequent users are already married. 2-3% of Internet users visit these sites and 60-70% of those say they have made long-lasting friendships from their encounters.

Of the 97 million Americans who are 45 or older, almost 40 percent—36.2 million—are single and on the hunt, according to the United States Census Bureau.

Over seventeen (17) million people browsed online personal ads last year and 2 and a half million people have paid for online personals.

Speed dating puts together a group of men and women who spend an evening taking turns mixing and mingling (meeting everyone of the opposite sex.) The Each person spends only a minute with every potential match. Then, if two individuals hit it off within those sixty seconds, the two can exchange phone numbers or get contact information from event organizers. Speed dating offers people the chance to meet a number of new singles quickly and safely in a public environment. Most speed dating organizations charge between $20 and $40.

67 percent of Americans with access to the Internet believe that cyberspace isn't a good place to meet singles whereas 24 percent say it is.

Almost 33% of single American woman in their 40s through 60s who are dating are going out with younger men. With men, 66% said that they were dating younger women.

When asked about having sex on the first date, a mere 2% of single women approved, while 20% of men were all for it.

60% of women and 45% of men said they hadn't had sex in the past six months.

When asked whether the pursuit of a sexual relationship was the main reason for dating, 11% of men and only 2% of women said that sex was the primary motive.

In a recent poll, 8% of both male and female participants said they were dating in order to find someone to marry. 9% said they were seeking a partner to live with.

30% of singles reported major difficulty in finding dates. A significant number were trying mixers or experimenting with online dating services.

• 1 in 8 chance that a first date will call you for a second date after 24 hours have passed.
  
  
• $201 is the average amount that men spend on dates per month.
  
  
• 17% is the likelihood that a date set up by a friend is going to work out.
  
  
• 79 percent of men will take 15 minutes on a first date to make up their mind whether or not to see the person again.
  
  
• The average number of first dates for a single professional in the past year is 8.