Sex Product Spending Across The U.S.

Advertisers will tell you that “sex sells” just about any product on the market, but when it comes to the sex product industry, what’s really making a splash in our shifting culture around sex. In recent years, mainstream pop culture has started to move toward a more “sex-positive” outlook, bringing various issues out of the shadows and getting people talking about what they really need in the bedroom.

For one thing, it’s more clear than ever how different groups need different things when it comes to overall sexual wellness and the act of sex itself. That includes anything along the spectrum from anal douching to women-owned and designed sex toys. And as the demand for certain products has come to the forefront, the market has responded with an avalanche of new sexual wellness products that are inclusive for all.

In fact, before the COVID-19 pandemic, the sexual wellness market was projected to reach $13.6 billion by 2027. And since the pandemic began, 17% of people have reported incorporating at least one new activity in their sex lives, which means people are experimenting with new products more than ever before.

At Bespoke Surgical, we pride ourselves on contributing to the effort to de-stigmatize the procedures and products needed for certain groups to have the best possible sex lives. “Americans are spending more related to sex than ever before,” commented Dr. Evan Goldstein, founder of Bespoke Surgical and Future Method. “As taboos fall away and open, honest discussions about sexuality and sexual pleasure become part of the mainstream, consumers are willing to spend their money on a variety of goods and services that enhance their pleasure, before, during and after the act itself – without the shame previously associated with these products.” Dr. Goldstein continued, “We’re seeing this at both our office and website; clients are no longer embarrassed to talk about – or spend money on – the items designed to enhance their sexual experiences.”

As a part of the sex product and wellness industry, we were interested to know how regular consumers interact with these products: namely, how much they spend on them, and how that differs by region across the country. So, we conducted a survey of 2,300 adult U.S. citizens, asking them how much they spend annually on sexual wellness products, including sex toys, fetish gear, contraceptives, and more. We’ve outlined our most significant findings below.

Note: while our survey contains data from all 50 states, state by state insights were reported only from the 40 most populous states. This is because we received the largest sample sizes from those states in our pool. 

The States That Spend The Most (and Least) On Sex Products

According to our results, the average U.S. citizen spends an average of $150 – $250 on sex products annually. Comparatively, the state that spends the most on sex products is Connecticut, where residents spend 36.7% above the national average (which amounts to about $205 – $340 annually). This amount includes all sexual products such as lubes, toys, and fetish gear, but does not include contraceptives.

Other states that spend more than the national average on sex products include California (28.1%), Nevada (23.8%), and Arkansas (15.2%). Clearly, all of the states on this list have bought into the sexual wellness product trend and we hope it’s paying off!

In any burgeoning industry, there are bound to be areas where it hasn’t yet taken hold. Some states are spending significantly less than the national average of $150 – $250 annually on sex products. Which states are spending the very least? According to our findings, residents of Missouri are some of the most infrequent sex product spenders, purchasing 26% less than the national average on sex products annually (which amounts to about $110 – $185 annually).

Other states that are spending less than the national average on sex products include Alabama (23.8%), Indiana (16.1%), and Idaho (15.4%).

Next, we broke down sex products into more granular categories such as sex toys and fetish gear, to get an idea of how much consumers are spending on these products as well.

The States That Spend The Most On Fetish Gear

Just as we are talking more candidly around sex, conversations and acceptance around certain fetishes have risen in popularity as well. There are plenty of popular fetishes regularly making their way into bedrooms these days, and we wanted to know just how much this is costing the average American.

As it turns out, the state that spends the most money on fetish gear is Connecticut. A whopping 78.9% of Connecticut residents reported purchasing fetish gear on an annual basis. Other states included California (62.5), New York (60.3%), Texas (58.15), and Nevada (55.1%), all of which have over 50% of their residents spending their money on some new fetish gear each year.

The States That Buy The Fewest Sex Toys

Given the recent boom of the sex toy industry, we were also interested to dive into the numbers and see where the sex toy industry has yet to take hold in the U.S. To our surprise, there were plenty of states where a significant number of residents claim to not purchase sex toys at all.

Coming in at number one on this list, 40.4% of residents of Pennsylvania claim to not purchase sex toys at all. Other states where a large percentage of the population doesn’t purchase sex toys include Ohio, Florida, Oregon, Indiana, and New Mexico, all of which have at least 30% of their population abstaining from these products. We’re not here to judge anyone for their decisions, but perhaps this information will be useful for those who market sex toys to Americans!

Fast Facts About Sex Product Spending in the U.S.

Finally, we rounded up some miscellaneous facts from our survey that take a more general angle instead of a state-by-state one. For example, if you found the spending data on fetish gear and sex toys interesting, perhaps you’d also want to know that 44.2% of Americans purchase some sort of fetish gear annually. Additionally, 30.9% of Americans spend less than $50 on sex toys annually.

We also asked our survey respondents about contraception and lube. As it turns out, 41.9% of Americans spend $0 on contraception annually “which means they either don’t use any, their contraception is covered by their healthcare plan, or they found a long term birth control that works for them. The good news is that there are plenty of options available for those looking to save money in the area of contraception. What isn’t such good news is that a huge portion of the population (22.3%) doesn’t buy lube! Again, we’re not here to shame anyone but just know, no matter your sexual orientation, lube can seriously enhance your sexual experience.

When it comes to the different demographics of people who took our survey, we found it interesting that gay, lesbian, and bi people spend 13.4% more on sex products annually than straight people do. However, single people of all sexual orientations spend 3.5% less on sex products than people in relationships. Would you have guessed that? We certainly wouldn’t have!

Wrap Up

Here’s a summary of our most interesting survey insights:

• The average U.S. citizen spends an average of $150 – $250 on sex products annually.
• The state that spends the most on sex products is Connecticut (36.7% above the national average, which amounts to about $205 – $340 annually).
• Missouri residents spend the least on sex products (26% less than the national average, which amounts to about $110 – $185 annually).
• 78.9% of Connecticut residents reported purchasing fetish gear on an annual basis, the most in the country.
• 40.4% of residents of Pennsylvania claim to not purchase sex toys at all, the highest percentage in the country.

At Bespoke Surgical, we are proud to be a part of such a cutting-edge, rapidly expanding industry. We look forward to continuing to observe these consumer trends as we move forward toward an increasingly sex-positive future. Check out our services if you are interested in any aspect of our philosophy of prevention, rejuvenation, and reconstruction around anal sex.