Sex Census: San Francisco Residents #1 in Sexual Partners

A new sex survey shows that San Francisco's residents take the cake, and the dancer hiding inside of it, when it comes to the average number of sex partners per capita, the San Francisco Chronicle reported on July 5.

According to the Trojan U.S. Sex Census, the average San Francisco resident has had sex with 30 other people over the course of their sexually active years. That statistic seems to be in accordance with other local socio-sexual behaviors and attitudes, given that San Franciscans proved more willing to fess up to masturbation (a nearly universal behavior to which 86% of the city's respondents copped on the survey) and less apt to be sticklers for abstinence outside of marriage (a shade under one-quarter of respondents from the city said sex should only take place after matrimony).

The sex survey also uncovered the fact that San Franciscans are an urban people, sexually as well as otherwise, with only 5% of respondents saying that they have had sex in "rural areas." It might all come down to education: Just over half (52%) said that they had learned about the birds and the bees in school.

On the other end of the sexual spectrum, the Chronicle reported, was Chicago, where the average number of sexual partners in a respondent's career was less than half that of the average San Franciscan: only 11.

Nationally, the Trojan U.S. Sex Census reported, Americans as a whole are experiencing "very high levels of sexual satisfaction," with 76% of respondents nationally saying they are having sex more than twice per week and that they are happy with their sex lives. (Don't get them wrong: More than half of respondents (63%) said they'd still have more sex if they could.)

Though San Franciscans might now boast of enjoying greater sexual variety than residents of other American cities, Los Angelinos and Houstonians do more with less, ranking among the cities where people have the most sex overall. By region, it's residents of cities in the Northeast that are actually getting more action, the survey showed.

"Indeed people in the Northeast report having more sex than any other U.S. region, averaging 130 times per year (2.5 times per week), compared to the Midwest (125 times per year / 2.4 times per week), West (120 times per year / 2.3 times per week) and South (114 times per year / 2.1 times per week)," the survey reported.

Practice evidently makes perfect, because Northeasterners are also the top practitioners of safer sex, the survey showed.

The sex census broadened researchers' understanding of what people want, and what they are doing about it.

"The Sex Census adds to our understanding of sexual behavior across different parts of the country, having probed deep into the sexual landscape, reinforcing that Americans demonstrate a high comfort level in exploring with and learning from their partners," summarized the Center for Sexual Health Promotion at Indiana University's Michael Reece.

The survey quizzed 200 respondents per city, and sampled 10 cities, for a total of 2,000 respondents, the Chronicle noted.

San Francisco city spokesperson Eileen Shields was upbeat about the survey results.

"It appears San Franciscans like to masturbate," Shields said. "We don't like sex in the woods. But once we get down to business, we know what we're doing.

"What a city, huh?" added Shields. "Call the Visitors Bureau."