One in Five Seoul Residents in Their 40s and 50s Is Unmarried... Higher Income Brings Greater Happiness

Unmarried Rate Among Middle-Aged Men Reaches 24%, Women 17%

Middle-Aged Population (Aged 40-59) Totals 2.74 Million, Accounting for 31%

Happiness Score for Those Earning Less Than 2 Million Won per Month: 5.5 Points

One out of every five people in their 40s and 50s living in Seoul is unmarried, recent data reveals. The unmarried rate is higher among men than women, and among single middle-aged individuals, 80.5% live alone—an increase of about 19 percentage points compared to roughly a decade ago.

Changes in the Generational Composition of Middle-aged Single-person Households. Seoul Metropolitan Government

On May 7, Seoul City released the report "Life of Middle-Aged Singles in Seoul," which analyzed data from the Seoul Survey and the Ministry of Data and Statistics. According to this report, as of 2024, the middle-aged population (aged 40 to 59) in Seoul stands at approximately 2,740,299, accounting for about 31% of the total population of 8,968,153 (based on Korean citizens). Among them, around 560,000 are unmarried, representing 20.5%. The unmarried rate has been rising, from 18.3% in 2022, to 19.4% in 2023, and continuing upward.

In particular, the proportion of unmarried individuals among middle-aged men is 24.1%, which is higher than the 16.9% seen among women.

The proportion of single-person households among the middle-aged unmarried population surged from 61.3% in 2015 to 80.5% in 2025 over the past ten years. Meanwhile, the share of those living with parents or in multi-generational households decreased from 33.5% to 17.7% during the same period.

When analyzing single-person, unmarried middle-aged individuals by occupation, the share of managers, professionals, and white-collar workers grew from 53.9% in 2015 to 66.9% in 2025. For multi-generational households, the proportion of managers, professionals, and white-collar workers also increased from 64.4% to 71.4% over the same period, though the growth was less pronounced than for single-person households. The city noted, "There is a clear trend of independent living among those with job security and a stable economic foundation."

The lives of single, middle-aged individuals living alone varied sharply according to income level. Among managers and professionals, the rate of active leisure activities was the highest compared to other occupational groups, at 36.1% on weekdays and 47.1% on weekends. Managers and professionals also reported the highest rates of engaging in sports activities three to four times per week.

Overall life satisfaction, work-life balance, and happiness scores all showed a clear upward trend as monthly income increased, while feelings of loneliness decreased. For single-person unmarried households, overall life satisfaction (on a 10-point scale) was 5.5 points for monthly incomes below 2 million won, 6.7 points for incomes between 2 million and 4 million won, 6.9 points for 4 million to 6 million won, 7.1 points for 6 million to 8 million won, and 7.7 points for incomes above 8 million won.

Work-life balance also improved as income rose, with a score of 4.7 points for those earning less than 2 million won per month, and 6.0 points for those earning over 8 million won. The happiness index similarly increased with income, from 5.0 points for those earning less than 2 million won to 7.8 points for those earning over 8 million won. However, the "sense of community" among single-person, unmarried, middle-aged households was 3.4 out of 10, lower than that of married couples (4.3 points), indicating that their social networks are relatively weaker. Among single-person, unmarried men in their 40s, the score was the lowest at 3.0 points. The participation rate in group activities was also lower for single-person unmarried households (76.2%) compared to married households with children (83.3%).

Kang Okhyun, Director General of the Digital City Bureau of Seoul, stated, "Middle-aged singles are no longer an exception but are becoming a new standard for households in Seoul. Based on these analysis results, we will expand customized policies tailored to the everyday realities of non-married populations and household structures."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.