Sex toy statistics: how many women use vibrators, and what the research says (2026)

Key findings.

• 52.5% of US women aged 18 to 60 had ever used a vibrator in the 2009 Indiana University national study of 2,056 women.
• 50.2% of US women and 32.9% of US men had ever used a vibrator or dildo in a 2015 national probability survey of 2,021 adults.
• 20.0% of women in that survey had used a vibrator or dildo in the past month, and 31.4% in the past year.
• Lifetime use among women peaks at 63.8% for ages 30 to 39 and is still 46.2% at ages 60 to 69.
• 44.8% of US men aged 18 to 60 had ever used a vibrator in the 2009 men's study of 1,047 men.
• 71.5% of women in the 2009 study had never had a genital symptom associated with vibrator use.
• 79.9% of 800 sexually active women surveyed in 2021 had used a sex toy; of those, 31.8% shared toys with partners and only 14% regularly used condoms when sharing.
• HPV was found on 44% to 56% of vibrator shaft swabs immediately after cleaning, in a study of 12 women.
• 65.5% of US women have ever used lubricant, and 20% used it in the past 30 days, per the 2012 national survey.
• 38.7% of US women aged 60 and older who had partnered sex used sex toys during it at least rarely.
• In a 2026 randomized trial, 35.0% of women using a vibrator on a schedule reached a normal sexual function score, versus 12.2% with a handout alone.

How many women use vibrators.

The best US numbers come from two nationally representative surveys from Indiana University, run six years apart with different methods.

Study	Survey year	Who	Sample	Ever used	Past year	Past month
Herbenick et al. 2009	Not stated in abstract	US women aged 18 to 60	2,056	52.5% (vibrator)	Not in abstract	Not in abstract
Reece et al. 2009	2008	US men aged 18 to 60	1,047	44.8% (vibrator)	14.2% (past month excluded)	10.0%
Herbenick et al. 2017	2015	US women	1,046	50.2% (vibrator or dildo)	31.4%	20.0%
Herbenick et al. 2017	2015	US men	975	32.9% (vibrator or dildo)	13.7%	5.5%
Herbenick et al. 2017	2015	All US adults	2,021	41.9%	22.9%	13.1%

The 2009 studies invited a nationally representative internet panel; 54.1% of the 3,800 women invited took part. The 2015 study, called the Sexual Exploration in America Study, used the GfK KnowledgePanel, a probability sample. The 2009 question asked about vibrators; the 2015 question asked about a vibrator or dildo, so the two are close but not identical measures. The 2009 men's study reports use in three bands, past month (10.0%), past year (14.2%) and more than a year ago (20.5%), which add up, within rounding, to its 44.8% lifetime figure.

Studies of specific groups find higher figures. In a 2011 web survey of 2,192 women in the US and UK who had sex only with women in the previous year, over three quarters had ever used a vibrator and over a quarter had used one in the previous month. Outside the US, a German national online survey of 1,723 heterosexual adults found 52% had used sex toys in partnered sex and 45% in solo sex.

Vibrator use by age.

From the 2015 national probability survey, women who had ever used a vibrator or dildo, by age group:

Age	Ever used	Past year	Past month
18 to 24	31.8%	24.1%	18.5%
25 to 29	56.8%	41.6%	28.7%
30 to 39	63.8%	43.1%	29.6%
40 to 49	58.0%	38.3%	20.4%
50 to 59	58.0%	35.1%	21.5%
60 to 69	46.2%	20.4%	12.9%
70 and older	20.3%	10.9%	6.5%

Lifetime use rises through the twenties, peaks in the thirties and stays above half through the fifties. The same survey found 16.1% of women and 18.3% of men had ever used an anal sex toy.

Sex toys and sexual health.

The 2009 women's study was designed partly to answer a clinical question: are vibrators good or bad for women's sexual health? Its answers, from the abstract:

• Vibrator users were significantly more likely to have had a gynecologic exam in the past year and to have done a genital self exam in the past month (both P under 0.001).
• Vibrator use was significantly related to desire, arousal, lubrication, orgasm, pain and overall function on the Female Sexual Function Index, with recent users scoring higher on most domains.
• 71.5% had never had genital symptoms associated with vibrator use.
• There was no association with physical or mental wellbeing on the CDC Healthy Days measures.

The men's study found a parallel pattern: men who had used vibrators were more likely to do testicular self exams, and recent users scored higher on four of five erectile function domains.

Newer clinical research has started to test vibrators as treatment. In a randomized trial at a US urogynecology center, published in Obstetrics and Gynecology in 2026, 81 women with sexual dysfunction and a pelvic floor disorder (mean age 57.9) either used an FDA cleared vibrator three times a week for 8 weeks with an education handout or got the handout alone. Sexual function scores were 22.2 in the vibrator group versus 16.3 (P = .002), and 35.0% versus 12.2% reached a normal score. In a 2024 survey of 165 urogynecology patients, 64% of those under 65 and 30% of those 65 and older had used a vibrator, and 76% thought physicians should discuss vibrators with patients who want to improve sexual function.

Safety and cleaning.

The risks the research identifies are infection from shared or poorly cleaned toys, chemicals in some soft plastics, and, rarely, injury.

Infection. One study tested whether cleaning removes a virus. Twelve women used two vibrators, one thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) and one silicone, and swabbed them before cleaning, right after cleaning with a commercial toy cleaner, and 24 hours later. Nine of the 12 had vaginal HPV.

Vibrator material	HPV positive before cleaning	Right after cleaning	24 hours after cleaning
Thermoplastic elastomer	89% (8 of 9)	56% (5 of 9)	40% (2 of 5)
Silicone	67% (6 of 9)	44% (4 of 9)	None

It is a small study, but it is the direct evidence behind the standard advice: do not share toys without a fresh condom, and favor nonporous materials. A 2019 clinical guide for obstetrician gynecologists in Obstetrics and Gynecology says nonporous materials are the safest and easiest to clean and disinfect, and porous materials should be avoided.

Real world habits. In a 2021 survey of 800 sexually active women aged 18 to 35, 79.9% had used a sex toy. Of those, 31.8% shared toys with partners, only 14% regularly used condoms when sharing, and 81.8% washed their toys, mostly with soap and water.

Materials. The Danish Environmental Protection Agency screened 16 sex toys in 2006. Products sold as "jelly" turned out to be plasticized PVC with plasticizer content as high as 70%, using phthalates (DEHP, DNOP, DINP). One hard plastic vibrator contained 200 ppm cadmium against a limit of 75 ppm. The agency found most products carried no health risk under normal use, defined as 15 minutes once a week, and only 7 of the 16 carried no risk under its worst case of 1 hour a day.

Injury. Emergency visits are rare. Using the US national injury surveillance system, Griffin and McGwin counted 198 cases from 1995 to 2006, a national estimate of 8,415 emergency visits for sexual device injuries to the genital or anorectal area. A 2023 analysis of the same system found 1,806 emergency visits for rectal foreign bodies from 2012 to 2021, of which 22.7% involved massage devices or vibrators.

Practical cleaning and material advice is in how to use a vibrator, and our picks favor body safe silicone in best vibrators and best sex toys for women.

Lubricant use alongside toys.

Lube and toys go together in practice and in the research. In the 2012 National Survey of Sexual Health and Behavior, 65.5% of US women had ever used lubricant and 20% had used it in the past 30 days, most often during intercourse (58.3%) and partnered sexual play (49.6%).

The Danish EPA study measured something most people never think about: how lube changes what leaches out of a toy. In its migration test on a PVC product, DEHP migration was 40 µg per square decimeter with water based lubricant and 5,480 with oil based lubricant. The agency concluded that water based lube reduces the risk from phthalates like DEHP. That is one more reason to pair toys with a water based lube, and to choose one with a low osmolality, explained in lube osmolality explained. Which bases suit which materials, including why silicone lube can damage silicone toys, is covered in lube safe for toys.

Menopause and later life.

Sex toy use does not stop at midlife. In a national, demographically representative survey of 3,001 US women aged 60 and older, fielded in October 2023 by researchers at the Kinsey Institute and published in Menopause in 2026, 38.7% of women who had partnered sex used sex toys at least rarely during it, and the authors found frequent toy users were more likely to report usually having an orgasm. The 2015 national survey found lifetime use of 46.2% among women aged 60 to 69 and 20.3% at 70 and older.

The Menopause Society's patient handout on genitourinary syndrome of menopause says that "sexual stimulation with a partner, alone, or with a device (such as a vibrator) may improve vaginal health," because regular stimulation promotes vaginal blood flow and secretions. For the dryness side of menopause, see lube for menopause dryness.

Accessibility and clinical use.

The 2019 clinical reference guide in Obstetrics and Gynecology lists the groups who can benefit from sexual devices: people with low libido, difficulty reaching orgasm, conditions that make penetration hard, a partner with erectile dysfunction, motor or sensory disabilities, pregnancy and the postpartum period, pelvic floor disorders, menopause, cancer treatment, and chronic illness. US regulation recognizes the medical use too. The FDA classifies a "genital vibrator for therapeutic use," labeled for sexual dysfunction or as an adjunct to pelvic floor exercises, as a Class II device under 21 CFR 884.5960. Most vibrators sold for pleasure are not marketed under that rule. We found no peer reviewed prevalence figure for sex toy use among people with disabilities, so we do not report one.

Methodology.

What we pulled. Peer reviewed studies indexed in PubMed, the Danish EPA report, The Menopause Society patient handout and the US Code of Federal Regulations, opened on October 17, 2026. We prioritized nationally representative or probability samples, then large convenience samples, then small clinical studies, and we label which is which.

What counts. Figures are reported exactly as the source states them. Where we could read only the abstract of a paper, we used only figures in the abstract. "Ever used" means lifetime use. The 2009 studies asked about vibrators; the 2015 study asked about vibrators or dildos.

What we left out. Market size. The figures in circulation come from paid market research firms rather than public data, and the two we checked disagreed by billions of US dollars for the same year, so we do not publish one. We also left out vibrator figures that appear only second hand in other papers or press releases, such as past year use from the 2009 women's study, and any figure we could not trace to the original source.

Limitations. Survey data are self reported. The most cited national figures are from 2008 and 2015, and toy use has likely changed since. Convenience samples, like the 2021 survey of 800 women and the women who have sex with women survey, recruit people more likely to use toys. The HPV study had 12 participants.

Using this data.

These statistics are free to cite with a link to this page, wetbetty.com/sex-toy-statistics. Please name the original study shown next to each number. Our open lube data, including osmolality and pH for popular lubricants, is at /api/lube-index.json, and the full lube index lists every source. Nothing on this page is medical advice; for pain, bleeding or symptoms that do not settle, see a clinician.