What does a first date actually cost?

Real receipts from real first dates, city by city, plus the eternal question: who paid? Until reader submissions come in, the numbers below come from published studies. Every figure links to its source.

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$92.91avg self-reported first-date spend (US survey)
$214avg "full night out" across 50 cities
$106median sit-down dinner for two, 22 cities
0reader submissions so far

Seed data Seed/example index, not reader data yet. Sources: JG Wentworth survey (2026-04-08), MoneyLion (2026-07-08), Mandoe Media (2026-04-20). The three use different baskets, so they are shown side by side, not averaged.

Who pays? Seed data

How people who are dating say they prefer to handle the bill (survey of 1,538 US adults, March 2026; 68% of respondents were women).

Prefer to pay in full38.8%
Prefer to split33.7%
Date usually pays27.4%

Source: JG Wentworth survey (2026-04-08). Our own reader poll opens at launch; results will appear here, labeled separately.

Latest submissions

No reader submissions yet. Yours could be the first one on the board.

Example format, not a real submission

[City] · [Venue type]

[Total] · [Who paid] · [Second date?] · [Month]

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Cheapest and priciest cities for a full night out Seed data

Cheapest 5

  1. Memphis $129
  2. Milwaukee $156
  3. Detroit $159
  4. Fort Worth $161
  5. El Paso $162

Most expensive 5

  1. New York $351
  2. Philadelphia $295
  3. Washington DC $294
  4. Denver $291
  5. Houston $282

"Full night out" = dinner for two with wine and tip, two movie tickets, round-trip taxi, a beer and a cocktail. Source: MoneyLion (2026-07-08), data as of 2026-06-24. All 50 cities

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