Money Survey: 78% Still Think Men Should Pay for the First Date

When it comes to picking up the check, it appears traditional dating rules are still en vogue.

In a survey on love and finances conducted by Money and SurveyMonkey, 78% of respondents said they think men should pay on the first date. Out of the 4,447 participants, 20 percent disagreed, while 2 percent declined to answer.

Overall, women were slightly less united on the matter. While 85% of men agreed that their wallets should be on the line, only 72% of women said so. This trend held steady with every group except for divorcees, where women slightly edged out the men in answering “yes.”

The gender gap was widest among single people who have never been married: A full third of single women said men shouldn't be expected to foot the bill on the first outing. Also, a quarter of all millennials responded “no” when asked if they thought, in general, men should pay.

The survey does not account for regional disparities or the broad spectrum of relationships outside of the heterosexual. But for now, it appears men are still largely expected to pony up on the first date. So how much will this tradition cost them?

When asked how much was appropriate to spend on a first date, 41% of respondents answered $25 to $49. But many male respondents claimed to be bigger spenders: 43% of men said they expected to shell out between $50 and $99 on a first date.

The SurveyMonkey/Money online survey was conducted between Jan. 22 and Jan. 26 among a national sample of 4,447 adults ages 18 and up. Respondents for this survey were selected from the nearly 3 million people who take surveys on the SurveyMonkey platform each day. Data have been weighted for age, race, sex, education, and geography using the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey to reflect the demographic composition of the United States.