Jobs where you’re most likely to be single at 40

Canva 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 at 40, 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 at 40. You may also like: 50 most physical jobs in America #30. Cooks Canva – Percent never married: 56.96% – Percent single: 70.45% #29. Food servers, nonrestaurant Canva – Percent never married: 57.27% – Percent single: 70.38% #28. Bartenders Canva – Percent never married: 57.5% – Percent single: 73.1% #27. Tour And travel guides Canva – Percent never married: 58.19% – Percent single: 66.59% #26. Transportation service attendants Olena Yakobchuk // Shutterstock – Percent never married: 58.91% – Percent single: 69.92% You may also like: Jobs with the lowest divorce rates #25. Cleaners of vehicles and equipment Canva – Percent never married: 59.14% – Percent single: 71.05% #24. Parking attendants Yevhen H // Shutterstock – Percent never married: 59.37% – Percent single: 70.06% #23. Stockers and order fillers Jacob Lund // Shutterstock – Percent never married: 60.3% – Percent single: 71.93% #22. Veterinary assistants and laboratory animal caretakers Canva – Percent never married: 60.84% – Percent single: 67.19% #21. Ushers, lobby attendants, and ticket takers Tyler Olson // Shutterstock – Percent never married: 61.38% – Percent single: 73.53% You may also like: Former jobs of every Supreme Court justice #20. Telemarketers Canva – Percent never married: 61.45% – Percent single: 74.78% #19. Helpers, construction trades ephyr_p // Shutterstock – Percent never married: 62.48% – Percent single: 70.51% #18. Food preparation workers DenisProduction.com // Shutterstock – Percent never married: 62.52% – Percent single: 75.17% #17. Military-enlisted tactical operations and air/weapons specialists and crew Members Bumble Dee // Shutterstock – Percent never married: 62.8% – Percent single: 67.08% #16. Food preparation and serving-related workers, all other Canva – Percent never married: 63.76% – Percent single: 70.03% You may also like: The unemployment rate the year you turned 16 #15. Cashiers Canva – Percent never married: 65.88% – Percent single: 78.08% #14. Recreation workers Canva – Percent never married: 66.2% – Percent single: 75.92% #13. Dining room and cafeteria attendants and bartender helpers Canva – Percent never married: 66.83% – Percent single: 77.07% #12. Solar photovoltaic installers Canva – Percent never married: 67.% – Percent single: 76.26% #11. Tutors Canva – Percent never married: 67.04% – Percent single: 72.93% You may also like: Richest women in America #10. Unemployed, with no work experience in at the last 5 years or more Mangostar // Shutterstock – 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 #9. Waiters And waitresses Canva – Percent never married: 69.95% – Percent single: 79.64% #8. Dancers And choreographers Evgeniy Kalinovskiy // Shutterstock – Percent never married: 70.63% – Percent single: 78.34% #7. Dishwashers Canva – Percent never married: 70.95% – Percent single: 81.66% #6. Other entertainment attendants and related workers Oleksandr Nagaiets // Shutterstock – Percent never married: 71.16% – Percent single: 79.38% You may also like: 5 ways to take the stress out of traveling for work #5. Umpires, referees, and other sports officials Canva – Percent never married: 71.62% – Percent single: 77.28% #4. Residential advisors FXQuadro // Shutterstock – Percent never married: 80.53% – Percent single: 87.76% #3. Fast food and counter workers Canva – Percent never married: 82.68% – Percent single: 87.63% #2. Hosts And hostesses, restaurant, lounge, and coffee shop Canva – Percent never married: 83.88% – Percent single: 89.06% Protective service workers Bigflick // Shutterstock – Percent never married: 90.1% – Percent single: 92.13%