Are humans monogamous by nature? Here’s what Americans think

A new YouGov survey on relationships and monogamy finds that only about one-third of Americans think most or all humans are monogamous by nature.

Only 7% believe all humans are monogamous by nature and 24% think most humans are monogamous by nature. 16% say about half of humans are monogamous by nature, 12% say most humans are not monogamous by nature, and 8% say all humans are not monogamous by nature.

Americans 65 and older are more likely than younger adults to believe all or most humans are monogamous by nature (39% vs. 29%). Republicans are more likely than Democrats to believe all or most people are monogamous by nature (44% vs. 27%).

An April 2025 YouGov poll found that 35% of Americans said they thought humans are monogamous by nature and 27% said they thought that humans are not monogamous by nature. The April 2025 poll asked, “Do you think human beings are monogamous by nature, or not?” with response options of “humans are monogamous by nature,” “humans are not monogamous by nature,” and “not sure.”

Americans are more likely to believe that most women are naturally monogamous than to believe most men are naturally monogamous (30% vs. 17%). 8% of Americans say most women are not naturally monogamous, while about twice as many (18%) say this about men. Women are more likely than men to say that most women are monogamous by nature (35% vs. 25%). Americans are about equally likely to say all men and all women are monogamous by nature, and to say they're all not monogamous by nature.

Men 65 and older are more likely than younger men to say that most or all men are not monogamous by nature (41% vs. 22%).

Republicans are far more likely than Democrats to say that all women are monogamous by nature (14% vs. 3%). Similarly, 14% of Republicans and 2% of Democrats say all men are monogamous by nature.

Most Americans (70%) have been in a romantic relationship with someone of a different gender; 10% have been in one with someone of the same gender. Around half (51%) have been in relationships with someone five or more years older or younger and 47% have been in a romantic relationship with someone much more or less educated. Smaller shares have had relationships with someone much more or less wealthy (44%), of a different race or ethnicity (39%), or of a different religion (39%, down from 46% in April 2025).

Of the 10 types of relationship partners asked about, Americans are least likely to have had romantic relationships with someone of the same gender (10%) or with someone who is affiliated with a different political party (24%).

Democrats are more likely than Republicans to have had relationships with someone of a different race or ethnicity (48% vs. 29%) as well as with someone of a different religion (46% vs. 35%). Democrats are also more likely to have dated someone of the same gender (15% vs. 7%). Democrats and Republicans are about equally likely to have dated across party lines (27% vs. 25%).

— Carl Bialik contributed to this article

Methodology: This article includes results from an online survey conducted on February 6 - 9, 2026 among 1,074 U.S. adult citizens. Respondents were selected from YouGov’s opt-in panel to be representative of adult U.S. citizens. The sample was weighted according to gender, age, race, education, 2024 presidential vote, 2020 election turnout and presidential vote, baseline party identification, and current voter registration status. 2024 presidential vote, at time of weighting, was estimated to be 48% Harris and 50% Trump. Demographic weighting targets come from the 2019 American Community Survey. Baseline party identification is the respondent’s most recent answer given around November 8, 2024, and is weighted to the estimated distribution at that time (31% Democratic, 33% Republican). The margin of error for the overall sample is approximately 4 percentage points.

Image: Getty (Organic Media)

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