Sex Toy Statistics 2026: 58 Numbers, Each Traced to Its Source
The short answer
About half of US women and more than four in ten US men have used a vibrator, national surveys found. The median sex toy at seven US online stores costs $50, and 40 of 56 sellers we checked won't take an opened toy back.
The Short Answer
A lot of the numbers quoted about sex toys trace back to nothing. The best known, that 75% of women can't orgasm from penetration alone, has no study behind it. A national survey that did ask found that 18.4% of US women say intercourse alone is enough for them to orgasm, and that's the kind of number this page is for.
We collected the 58 numbers we trust, from published studies and from the data pages we've built ourselves. Every row says who was asked or counted and links to where the number comes from, so you can check it before you repeat it. The numbers we couldn't trace are at the end.
Who Uses Sex Toys
Two US surveys from the same Indiana University research group asked about vibrators directly, one of women and one of men, both with national samples. A later survey of 2,021 adults asked about vibrators and dildos together. Surveys from Germany and Australia follow, and then two large online surveys of gay and bisexual men and of women who have sex with women. Those two weren't drawn to represent anyone but the people who answered, so read them as a picture of those groups.
| Statistic | Who was asked or counted | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 52.5% of US women aged 18 to 60 have used a vibrator | 2,056 women, a nationally representative online survey | Herbenick et al., Journal of Sexual Medicine, 2009 |
| 44.8% of US men aged 18 to 60 have used a vibrator in sex, alone or with a partner, and 14.2% did in the past year | 1,047 men, a population-based survey, April 2008 | Reece et al., Journal of Sexual Medicine, 2009 |
| 41.9% of US adults have used a vibrator or dildo, 50.2% of women and 32.9% of men | 2,021 US adults, a probability sample, December 2014 to January 2015 | Herbenick et al., PLoS ONE, 2017 |
| 22.9% of US adults used a vibrator or dildo in the past year | 2,021 US adults, a probability sample, December 2014 to January 2015 | Herbenick et al., PLoS ONE, 2017 |
| 17.2% of US adults have used an anal sex toy | 2,021 US adults, a probability sample, December 2014 to January 2015 | Herbenick et al., PLoS ONE, 2017 |
| 52% of heterosexual adults in Germany have used a sex toy in partnered sex, and 45% in solo sex | 1,723 adults, a national online sample | Döring and Poeschl, Journal of Sex Research, 2020 |
| About 21% of women and 15% of men in Australia have used a sex toy | 20,094 people aged 16 to 69, phone interviews in 2012 and 2013 | Richters et al., Sexual Health, 2014 |
| In 2001 and 2002, 14% of Australian women and 12% of men had used one in the past year | 19,307 people aged 16 to 59, phone interviews | Richters et al., Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, 2003 |
| 78.5% of gay and bisexual men surveyed have used a sex toy, most often a dildo (62.1%) or a non-vibrating cock ring (51.9%) | 25,294 US men recruited online, not a representative sample | Rosenberger et al., Archives of Sexual Behavior, 2012 |
| 74.1% of women who have sex with women surveyed have used a vibrator | 3,116 women in the US, UK, Canada and Australia, recruited online, not a representative sample | Schick et al., Sexually Transmitted Infections, 2012 |
Orgasm and Sexual Health
The orgasm numbers come from a 2018 survey of 1,055 US women aged 18 to 94, and they're the best answer we know to the 75% figure. Vibrator users in the 2009 surveys also scored higher on sexual function, which shows the two go together, not that the toy caused it. If you're new to all this, how to use a vibrator covers the numbness question too.
| Statistic | Who was asked or counted | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 18.4% of US women say intercourse alone is enough for orgasm | 1,055 women aged 18 to 94, a national probability sample, June 2015 | Herbenick et al., Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy, 2018 |
| 36.6% need clitoral stimulation to orgasm during intercourse, and another 36% say it makes orgasm feel better | 1,055 women aged 18 to 94, a national probability sample, June 2015 | Herbenick et al., Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy, 2018 |
| 71.5% of women had never had a genital symptom from vibrator use | 2,056 US women aged 18 to 60 | Herbenick et al., Journal of Sexual Medicine, 2009 |
| Women who used vibrators scored higher on most areas of sexual function | 2,056 US women aged 18 to 60 | Herbenick et al., Journal of Sexual Medicine, 2009 |
| Men who had used a vibrator recently scored higher on four of the five areas of erectile function | 1,047 US men aged 18 to 60 | Reece et al., Journal of Sexual Medicine, 2009 |
| 16.5% of women who have used a vibrator report genital numbness, mostly mild and short-lived | a 2018 review, citing the 2009 survey of US women | Rullo et al., Sexual and Relationship Therapy, 2018 |
What Sex Toys Cost
These come from our price index, which logged every toy's listed price on October 23, 2026, at 17 makers' own shops and seven US online stores. The seven stores are the ones whose whole catalog is public, not the biggest sellers, and two of them pay us a commission.
| Statistic | Who was asked or counted | Source |
|---|---|---|
| $50 is the median listed price of a sex toy at seven US online stores | 11,638 toys, October 23, 2026 | The Toy Slut Price Index 2026 |
| $70 is the median at makers' own stores | 3,021 toys at 17 makers' stores, October 23, 2026 | The Toy Slut Price Index 2026 |
| 51% of toys at the seven stores cost under $50, and 3% cost $200 or more | 11,638 toys, October 23, 2026 | The Toy Slut Price Index 2026 |
| Cock rings are the cheapest kind of toy at a median of $28, and wearable and app-controlled vibrators the dearest at $94 | 11,638 toys, October 23, 2026 | The Toy Slut Price Index 2026 |
| A silicone realistic dildo has a median price of $67, and one in TPE, PVC or jelly $40 | 284 silicone and 253 TPE, PVC or jelly listings | The Toy Slut Price Index 2026 |
| That's $13 a year for silicone and $40 for TPE, if silicone lasts five years and TPE one | the two medians above, divided by those lifespans | The Toy Slut Price Index 2026 |
| 25% of listings name no material for the toy | all 14,659 toys (20% at the seven stores) | The Toy Slut Price Index 2026 |
Materials, Hygiene and Chemicals
Most safety research on sex toys is small. The HPV study tested two vibrators, and the chemical study four toys. They're still the numbers behind the advice to buy silicone, so here they are with their sample sizes. Our body-safe materials guide explains what to do with them, and platinum silicone covers what makers say about their own. For the toys you already own, two printable charts put cleaning and storage and which lube goes with which toy on one page each.
| Statistic | Who was asked or counted | Source |
|---|---|---|
| HPV was still on a TPE vibrator a day after cleaning in 2 of the 5 samples that tested positive right after cleaning, and on none from a silicone vibrator | 12 women who used both vibrators | Anderson et al., Sexually Transmitted Infections, 2014 |
| Phthalates known to disrupt hormones turned up in all four sex toys tested | 4 toys | Sipe et al., Microplastics and Nanoplastics, 2023 |
| Phthalates made up as much as 70% of a toy's weight | 16 toys screened by the Danish EPA | Danish Environmental Protection Agency, 2006 |
| 18 of 39 sex toy makers say platinum about some or all of their silicone, and 12 about everything they make | makers' own pages, October 31, 2026 | Platinum Silicone Sex Toys (The Toy Slut) |
| 4 of the 39 publish lab or compliance documents, and none of those documents shows how the silicone was cured | makers' own pages, October 31, 2026 | Platinum Silicone Sex Toys (The Toy Slut) |
| 13 of 17 toy makers advise against silicone lube on their toys, and 2 allow it | makers' care pages, October 26, 2026 | Silicone Lube on Silicone Toys (The Toy Slut) |
| About 4.3% of people worldwide are allergic to latex | a review of published prevalence data | Wu et al., Journal of Occupational Health, 2016 |
| Most lubes on sale are well above the osmolality the WHO recommends, under 1,200 mOsm/kg, a limit meant to spare the lining of the vagina and rectum | the WHO and UNFPA lubricant specification | UNFPA, Safe Lubricants for All, 2022 |
Injuries and ER Visits
Two of these come from the federal sample of US emergency rooms, the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System, which researchers use to estimate national totals. The third counts published case reports, so it shows what happened in the cases doctors wrote up, not how often it happens.
| Statistic | Who was asked or counted | Source |
|---|---|---|
| An estimated 8,415 Americans went to an ER with an injury from a sexual stimulation device from 1995 to 2006 | 198 cases in the national ER injury sample | Griffin and McGwin, Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy, 2009 |
| Massagers and vibrators were the most common object in ER visits for something stuck in the rectum, 22.7% of cases | 1,806 ER visits in the national injury sample, 2012 to 2021 | Sheets et al., Cureus, 2023 |
| Of 151 published cases of objects stuck in the lower urinary tract, 39.1% needed open surgery, and 38% were recorded as autoerotic | 122 case reports, 86% of the patients male | Farias et al., Journal of Sexual Medicine, 2026 |
Returns, Warranties and Sales
The return figures are from the policies 56 brands and stores had posted on October 31, 2026. The Black Friday figure sets last year's banners against the prices on the same stores' pages, as the Internet Archive saved them. Our return policy tables and our Black Friday guide have the details.
| Statistic | Who was asked or counted | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 14 of 56 brands and stores take back an opened toy in some form, and 6 of them can refund money | return pages read October 31, 2026 | Can You Return a Sex Toy? (The Toy Slut) |
| At 40 of the 56, an opened toy can't go back unless it's faulty | return pages read October 31, 2026 | Can You Return a Sex Toy? (The Toy Slut) |
| 7 brands call a discount on your next toy a guarantee or coverage | warranty pages read October 31, 2026 | Can You Return a Sex Toy? (The Toy Slut) |
| Lifetime warranties at Tantus, Aneros and Sportsheets on some products are the longest, then 15 years at Satisfyer | warranty pages read October 31, 2026 | Can You Return a Sex Toy? (The Toy Slut) |
| On Black Friday 2025, store banners said up to 65% to 80% off, but the toys we follow were 15% to 30% cheaper | the stores' own US pages, saved by the Internet Archive | Black Friday Sex Toy Deals 2026 (The Toy Slut) |
Apps and Privacy
These are what app makers declare to Apple and Google, read on October 26, 2026. We didn't test what the apps send. Our app privacy guide has all 11 apps, label by label.
| Statistic | Who was asked or counted | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 3 of 11 sex toy apps told Apple's App Store they collect no data, and 2 of those list personal data on Google Play | App Store and Google Play labels, October 26, 2026 | Sex Toy App Privacy 2026 (The Toy Slut) |
| 2 of the 11 say on Google Play that you can't ask them to delete your data | Google Play labels, October 26, 2026 | Sex Toy App Privacy 2026 (The Toy Slut) |
| We-Vibe's maker agreed in 2017 to pay $3.75 million over claims that its app secretly tracked use | a US class action, settled without admitting wrongdoing | NPR, 2017 |
The Law
Owning or using a sex toy isn't a crime for an adult in any state law we found. Selling one is a different matter in two states. Our state law page has every statute and ruling, and we're not lawyers.
| Statistic | Who was asked or counted | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 2 states, Alabama and Mississippi, still make selling a sex toy a crime, and courts have upheld both laws | state codes and court rulings, October 31, 2026 | Are Sex Toys Illegal in the US? (The Toy Slut) |
| No state law we found bans an adult from owning or using one | state codes and court rulings, October 31, 2026 | Are Sex Toys Illegal in the US? (The Toy Slut) |
| 10 states ban possessing child-like sex dolls, every one of those laws since 2019 | state codes, October 31, 2026 | Are Sex Toys Illegal in the US? (The Toy Slut) |
| A vibrator sold to treat sexual dysfunction is a Class II medical device in the US | federal regulation, 21 CFR 884.5960 | Electronic Code of Federal Regulations |
Kink and Fantasy
The 2015 Sexual Exploration in America Study asked a probability sample of 2,021 US adults about specific acts. Fantasy surveys reach more people but usually recruit online, so they say more about the people who answered than about everyone. Our kink list explains 100 kinks with their risks.
| Statistic | Who was asked or counted | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 31.9% of US adults have spanked or been spanked during sex | 2,021 US adults, a probability sample, December 2014 to January 2015 | Herbenick et al., PLoS ONE, 2017 |
| 23.7% have role played, and 21.1% have tied up a partner or been tied up | 2,021 US adults, a probability sample, December 2014 to January 2015 | Herbenick et al., PLoS ONE, 2017 |
| 93% of women and 81% of men had fantasized about being sexually dominated | 4,175 Americans, recruited mostly through social media, not a representative sample | Justin Lehmiller, Sex and Psychology, 2019 |
| Only 2 of 55 sexual fantasies were statistically rare | 1,516 adults in Quebec, an online survey | Joyal et al., Journal of Sexual Medicine, 2015 |
| Nearly half of adults were interested in at least one paraphilic category, and about a third had tried one | 1,040 adults in Quebec | Joyal and Carpentier, Journal of Sex Research, 2017 |
Size
The penis averages come from studies in which a health professional did the measuring. Our realistic dildo ranking sets its picks next to those averages, and the dildo ranking draws popular dildos to scale.
| Statistic | Who was asked or counted | Source |
|---|---|---|
| The average erect penis is 5.2 inches long and 4.6 inches around | measured by health professionals, length in 692 men and girth in 381 | Veale et al., BJU International, 2015 |
| Women picked 6.4 inches long and 5 around for a one-time partner, and 6.3 and 4.8 for a long-term one | 75 women choosing among 33 3D models | Prause et al., PLoS ONE, 2015 |
| Most vibrators and dildos sold online are 4 to 6 inches long and 4 to 5 inches around | products on eight websites | Herbenick et al., Journal of Sexual Medicine, 2015 |
| About 10,000 nerve fibers serve the glans of the clitoris | nerve samples from 5 patients | Uloko et al., Journal of Sexual Medicine, 2023 |
Cock Rings
The FDA's 30-minute limit is the one the ISSM, WebMD and several ring makers' manuals repeat. The other two rows come from our cock ring size guide, which read the pages of 11 ring makers on November 1, 2026. Fewer than half of them say how long to wear a ring, and three makers' sizing rules turn the same measurement into three different metal rings.
| Statistic | Who was asked or counted | Source |
|---|---|---|
| The FDA wants rings sold to help with an erection labeled for 30 minutes of use at most, with at least an hour between uses | the FDA's 2004 guidance for constriction rings, Class II devices under 21 CFR 876.5020 | US Food and Drug Administration, 2004 |
| 5 of 11 cock ring makers we checked give a wear time, from about 20 to 30 minutes, and 2 market rings for “extended wear” | makers' product pages, manuals and FAQs, November 1, 2026 | Cock Ring Sizes (The Toy Slut) |
| One soft measurement of 200 mm (7.9 in) around becomes a 48, 51 to 57 or 64 mm metal ring, depending on whose sizing rule you follow | three makers' sizing guides, November 1, 2026 | Cock Ring Sizes (The Toy Slut) |
Numbers That Don't Hold Up
Some sex toy numbers get copied from site to site with no source at the end of the chain. These are the ones we looked for and couldn't trace.
| What gets quoted | What we found |
|---|---|
| 75% of women can't orgasm from penetration alone | No study. Kinsey Institute research fellow Justin Lehmiller says he can't point to a scientific source for it. In a 2018 survey of US women, 18.4% said intercourse alone was enough for orgasm. |
| The clitoris has 8,000 nerve endings | Never measured, according to a 2023 study. Its own count was about 10,000 nerve fibers in the nerves that serve the glans. |
| The sex toy market is worth so many billion dollars | Market research firms publish totals that differ from firm to firm, and their methods sit in paid reports. We can't check them, so we don't repeat them. |
| ER visits for sex toy injuries doubled in ten years | We found no study in PubMed that shows it. The study we did find estimated 8,415 ER visits from 1995 to 2006. |
Checked on November 1, 2026.
How We Checked These
We read every outside number on this page in its source on November 1, 2026: the abstract on PubMed, and the full text where the paper is open. Each row says who was asked or counted, because a survey of 75 women and a national sample of 2,021 adults don't carry the same weight. A few of the studies recruited online and don't represent a population, and their rows say so. Our own numbers come from the data pages linked in each row, each with its own method.
Every number here is also in a CSV file, with its sample and its source on the same row. Quote it, chart it or put it in a slide deck under CC BY 4.0, as long as The Toy Slut gets the credit and a link. A citation that works:
The Toy Slut, Sex Toy Statistics 2026, https://thetoyslut.com/guides/sex-toy-statisticsFrequently Asked Questions
What percentage of women use sex toys?
About half. In a nationally representative survey of 2,056 US women aged 18 to 60, 52.5% had used a vibrator (Herbenick et al., 2009). In a later national survey, 50.2% of women had used a vibrator or dildo.
What percentage of men use sex toys?
In a national survey of 1,047 US men aged 18 to 60, 44.8% had used a vibrator in sex, alone or with a partner (Reece et al., 2009). In the 2015 Sexual Exploration in America Study, 32.9% of men had used a vibrator or dildo.
How much does the average sex toy cost?
The median toy at seven US online stores cost $50 on October 23, 2026, and the median at makers' own stores $70. Just over half of the toys at those stores cost under $50, according to our price index.
How many sex toy sellers take back an opened toy?
Few. Of the 56 brands and stores in our return study, 14 take an opened toy back in some form, and 6 of those can refund money. At 40 of them, an opened toy goes back only if it's faulty. Our return policy tables name every one.
Where in the US is it illegal to sell sex toys?
Alabama and Mississippi still treat selling one as a crime, and Georgia's ban on sales has never been struck down. We found no state law against an adult owning or using one. Our state law page has every statute and ruling.
Is it true that 75% of women can't orgasm from penetration?
There's no study behind that number. In a 2018 survey of 1,055 US women, 18.4% said intercourse alone was enough for orgasm, 36.6% needed clitoral stimulation and another 36% said it made orgasm better (Herbenick et al., 2018).
How common is kink?
About a third of US adults (31.9%) had spanked a partner or been spanked during sex, close to a quarter (23.7%) had tried role play, and about one in five (21.1%) had tied up a partner or been tied up, in a probability sample of 2,021 adults (Herbenick et al., 2017).
How big is the sex toy market?
We can't give you a number we trust. Market research firms publish totals that differ from firm to firm, and their methods are in paid reports, so we don't repeat them.
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