Montana Ranks Near Top for Openness to Age-Gap Dating

When I told my family I was going to marry a man eight years younger than me, I could practically hear the gasps through the phone. Before meeting my husband, I'd been in a ten-year relationship with someone who was 16 years older than me, and now here I was, headed in the complete opposite direction.

Nearly 15 years ago, when I got married, an age difference still raised eyebrows. People had opinions. Families had questions. But something has shifted since then, and Montana may have been ahead of the curve all along.

A survey of nearly 99,000 Americans found that Montana ranks among the most willing states in the entire country when it comes to dating someone outside your age bracket. And if you have lived here any length of time, you probably are not surprised.

Montana Ranks in the Top 15 for Age-Gap Dating, New Survey Finds

Matchmaking service Tawkify surveyed 98,798 people across all 50 states over two years, asking whether they would consider dating someone older or younger and by how many years. When the results came in, Montana ranked 15th out of 50 states for men willing to date older partners and 8th for women willing to date older partners. For dating younger partners, Montana men ranked 5th in the nation, and Montana women ranked 10th.

Why a Smaller Dating Pool Might Make Montana Singles More Open

Part of it probably comes down to math. Montana has one of the smaller dating pools in the country. Drive an hour in any direction from Billings, Bozeman, or Missoula, and you'll pass more deer than people. When the pool is smaller, people naturally become more open. You stop letting a number on a birthday cake eliminate someone who actually makes you laugh, challenges your thinking, or shows up when it matters.

The data from less populated states like Wyoming and Alaska, which also ranked near the top of these lists, support that theory. Smaller communities seem to produce people who lead with compatibility rather than demographics.

96.3% of Montana Women Are Open to Dating an Older Partner

The stat that deserves a second look is this one: 96.3% of Montana women said they are open to dating an older partner. That is higher than the national average of 95%, putting Montana women in 8th place nationally for openness to older partners.

Montana Men Rank 5th in the Nation for Dating Younger Partners

Montana men ranked 5th in the country for openness to dating younger partners, willing to date someone up to 16.31 years younger on average, with 97.5% saying they would consider it. That places Montana just behind Hawaii, Nevada, Idaho, and Maine on the national list.