May 11, 2026
SEOUL – More Seoulites in their 40s and 50s are living unmarried and alone, with a new city report showing their happiness increasingly depends on income, and their ties to local communities remain weaker than those of their married peers.
A total of 560,000 Seoul residents aged 40 to 59 were unmarried as of 2024, accounting for 20.5 percent of the city’s 2.74 million people in that age group, according to a report released Thursday by the Seoul Metropolitan Government.
That share has risen steadily in recent years, from 18.3 percent in 2022 to 19.4 percent in 2023. Men were more likely to be unmarried, at 24.1 percent, compared to 16.9 percent for women.
Most unmarried Seoulites in their 40s and 50s also lived alone. The proportion reached 80.5 percent in 2024, up sharply from 61.3 percent in 2015.
Many were in white-collar or professional jobs, with the share rising to 66.9 percent from 53.9 percent over the same period.
“This trend shows the tendency of people with job stability and a financial base to prefer living alone,” city officials said.
The report found that income was a major factor in life satisfaction among middle-aged single-person households.
Those earning 8 million won ($5,500) or more a month gave their life satisfaction a score of 7.7 out of 10. The score fell to 7.1 for those earning 6 million won to under 8 million won, 6.9 for those earning 4 million won to under 6 million won, 6.7 for those earning 2 million won to under 4 million won and 5.5 for those earning less than 2 million won.
The average monthly income for a single-person household in 2024 was 2.85 million won, according to the Ministry of Data and Statistics.
The happiness index also rose with income. Those earning 8 million won or more scored 7.8, compared to 5.0 for those earning less than 2 million won.
The highest-income group also reported a better work-life balance, scoring 6.0, compared to 4.7 for the lowest-income group.
But middle-aged single-person households were less likely to feel connected to their communities. Asked whether they felt a sense of belonging to their local community, they gave an average score of 3.4, lower than the 4.3 reported by married couples in the same age group.
Men in their 40s living alone scored the lowest among all groups, at 3.0.
Single middle-aged Seoulites were also less likely to take part in group activities, with 76.2 percent doing so, as compared to 83.3 percent of married people in the same age group.
The Seoul Metropolitan Government said it would use the findings to develop policies for the growing number of middle-aged people living alone, including measures to address loneliness and social isolation.
