We Surveyed 40,000 Couples; Here’s What We Learned About Engagement Rings

This research on engagement ring statistics was last updated in December 2022. We hope this data will enable couples to make a more informed decision before purchasing their engagement ring.

Summary of This Year’s Engagement Ring Statistics

Here are some of the statistics that we compiled based on our research. See below for sources and techniques of how we gathered our data. 

• The average engagement ring budget in the United States during 2022 is $9,500. This is higher than the 2019 average of $7,400.
• Only 20.9% of those who answered our questionnaires would set aside a “large budget” towards their engagement ring.
• The average couple in the USA spends three and a half months searching for their engagement ring.
• More than 70% of the people searching for an engagement ring have existing debt.
• Over 90% of those surveyed said they wanted a natural diamond as the center stone of their engagement ring.

Engagement Ring Budget Priority

Updated: Dec 2018

Of the 10,000’s couples we surveyed since 2018, 24.4% of them said that they have allocated a High Budget towards their engagement ring. 54.8% of those surveyed said that they have allocated a Medium Budget towards their engagement ring. Only 21.8% of the people asked said that they allocated a low budget towards their engagement ring.

Of course, this data only represents a relative figure that can only be understood based on each couple’s personal budget. This statistic, however, belays the importance that couples in 2018 are placing on their engagement rings.

Engagement Ring and Lifestyle

Updated: Dec 2020

Part of our questionnaire asks the couple to gauge their lifestyle. The options were modest, average, upper class, and luxury. This graph represents their answers and also gives insight into the self-projection of what people think that they are holding when in search of an engagement ring. The overwhelming majority of couples felt that their lifestyle was average.

Existing Debt and Engagement Ring Buyers

Updated: Dec 2018

Like some of the earlier graphs, this statistical chart gives comparative data instead of numerical data. The amount of debt isn’t a set amount but rather a relative amount as defined by the survey-takers expectations and their opinion.

Only 28.4% of the couples surveyed had no debt. The remaining 71.6% of people looking for an engagement ring already had existing debt.

• 27.7% of the people asked had “very little” debt
• 35% of the couple said that they had an “average amount” of debt
• 8.9% of the people searching for an engagement ring had “a lot” of debt

Google Searches of the Keyword “Engagement Rings”

Updated: Dec 2022

This data chart is interesting. It shows the popularity of the keyword “engagement rings” over the past 4 years. It starts in 2019 and runs until the end of 2022. The popularity of the keyword has dwindled over the year. There was a rise at the end of 2020, but the keyword has slowly been decreasing.

The decrease may be because Google searchers have gotten more precise in their search terminology and are instead searching for more specific keyphrases.

Here’s the search traffic for the keyword: vintage engagement rings.

How do we get our Data?

Estate Diamond Jewelry has been in business since 1981 and has a large network of buyers.

In 2016, we created an online engagement ring budget calculator (among many other online calculators) that has so far quizzed over 40,000 potential engagement ring buyers. The form helps couples discover an appropriate budget when shopping for their engagement ring. After discounting the outlying and erroneous data, we have managed to discover fantastic data that sheds a lot of light on the engagement ring.

In 2017, we created another form called the engagement ring finder. This form helps couples find their dream ring. They input what type of ring they are looking for, and we search for them. We always encourage our potential customers to buy vintage, but the results aren’t limited to the niche.

Some of our data is also collected from other jewelry stores and websites.

We used Google Trends to determine our search-based statistics.

Are you a jewelry fanatic? Feel free to follow us on Instagram.