How Many College Students Are on OnlyFans? What Surveys Show

About 4% of students at a large US public university had livestreamed or sold sexual images or videos online, for example on OnlyFans, since starting college, according to a study published in Frontiers in Public Health in 2026.

That’s far below the claim, widely shared online, that 10% or more of young American women create OnlyFans content. If it were true, they’d make up most of OnlyFans’ active creators.

In this article, we’ll break down what US and UK surveys show about college students and OnlyFans, who takes part, why they do it and how many say they’d consider it.

Key College Students And OnlyFans Statistics

• 4% of juniors and seniors at a large US public university have done internet-based sex work, such as camming or OnlyFans, since enrolling (Spring 2024).
• 4% of US undergraduates have done some kind of sex work to help pay for school, including 8% of LGBTQ students (College Pulse, 2021).
• About 1% of students at the University of Wisconsin–Madison reported meeting buyers through subscription sites such as OnlyFans (2025 study).
• If 10% of US women aged 18 to 24 were creators, they’d number about 1.53 million, or 61% of OnlyFans’ roughly 2.5 million active creator accounts.
• 31% of US students in a College Pulse poll said they’d pose nude on OnlyFans for a six-figure income, and another 31% said they might (2021).
• 66% of female UK undergraduates say they’d consider joining OnlyFans if they were short of money (OnlyGuider poll).

How Many College Students Are On OnlyFans?

No national count exists, but campus studies point to a small minority. At Virginia Commonwealth University, 4% of juniors and seniors said they had livestreamed or sold sexual images or videos online since enrolling, according to a 2026 study. Another 6% had taken part in sugar dating.

A 2021 College Pulse survey of undergraduates from its national online panel found a similar share for a broader measure: 4% had done some type of sex work to help pay for school.

Broader definitions give higher figures. At the University of Wisconsin–Madison, 13.7% of students reported providing sexual services, acts or materials for money or goods, according to a 2025 study. That includes in-person acts and selling items such as underwear.

Only 10 of those students said they met buyers through subscription sites such as OnlyFans, about 1% of all students surveyed (our calculation).

Here’s a breakdown of the main US studies:

Sources: Lefeavers et al., Frontiers in Public Health (2026); College Pulse (2021); Gerassi et al., Journal of Interpersonal Violence (2025)

Why The “1 In 10” Claim Doesn’t Add Up

Claims that 10% to 14% of young American women create OnlyFans content circulate widely online, but they don’t fit the platform’s own size.

There were 15.3 million women aged 18 to 24 in the US in July 2024, according to the US Census Bureau. 10% of them would be about 1.53 million creators, and 14% would be about 2.15 million (our calculations).

OnlyFans has roughly 2.5 million active creator accounts worldwide. That means young American women alone would make up 61% to 86% of every active creator on the platform, leaving little room for creators of any other age, gender or country. We explain where the 2.5 million figure comes from in how many OnlyFans creators there are.

Who Are The Students Selling Content?

Women make up most student creators, but LGBTQ, trans and non-binary students are overrepresented. In the College Pulse survey, 8% of LGBTQ students had done sex work to pay for school, against 2% of straight students.

At UW–Madison, trans and non-binary students made up 10.0% of those who had sold sexual services or materials, almost three times their 3.4% share of all students surveyed.

At VCU, 15 of the 16 students who had done internet-based sex work and reported their sex were female, and 5 of 17 identified as trans or non-binary. The authors also report higher participation among LGBQ students and students of color.

Why Do Students Do It?

Money is only part of the answer. At UW–Madison, 41.7% of students who had sold sexual services or materials said they felt personally empowered, and 29.2% wanted spending money.

Fewer cited essential costs: 19.2% living expenses, 17.5% avoiding or paying off debt and 13.3% tuition or school expenses. But 30.8% said they had felt pressured or unable to say no.

Here’s a breakdown of the reasons students gave:

Source: Gerassi et al., Journal of Interpersonal Violence (2025); University of Wisconsin–Madison students; students could give several reasons

Students with a sex-work history also reported more sexual violence. At VCU, 50.0% had experienced sexual assault in college, against 17.5% of other students. The study can’t show which came first, and the authors link the gap to students’ circumstances rather than to sex work itself.

The money is often modest too. OnlyFans paid out about $1,225 per creator account on average in FY2025 (our calculation), as our average OnlyFans income statistics show.

How Many Students Would Consider It?

Far more students say they’d consider it than actually do it. In a 2021 College Pulse poll about OnlyFans, 31% of students said they’d pose nude on the platform for a six-figure paycheck, and another 31% said they might.

In the UK, 66% of female undergraduates say they’d consider joining OnlyFans if they were short of money, according to our own OnlyGuider poll, as reported by the Evening Standard. 39% of students said they’d rather earn £500 a month selling explicit photos than work in a shop or bar.

The same poll found that 42% of female and 34% of male students would rather have 10,000 OnlyFans subscribers than a guaranteed graduate job.

Actual participation stays low. In Save the Student’s National Student Money Survey 2025, 2% of UK students said they earn money from sex work, and 3% said they’d turn to it in a cash crisis.

Here’s how attitudes compare with actual participation:

Sources: OnlyGuider via Evening Standard; College Pulse; Save the Student

Content shared online can be hard to take back. Students weighing the risks can read our guide to removing leaked OnlyFans content.

How We Compiled These Statistics

We reviewed 37 data points from 8 sources. US figures come from three studies: Lefeavers et al. in Frontiers in Public Health (2026), based on 455 juniors and seniors at Virginia Commonwealth University surveyed in Spring 2024; Gerassi et al. in the Journal of Interpersonal Violence (2025), based on 875 students at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, with undergraduates surveyed in Spring 2023; and a College Pulse survey of about 600 US undergraduates published in June 2021. A separate College Pulse poll about OnlyFans, reported in the same post, didn’t publish its sample size. The two papers don’t name their universities; we identify them from the authors’ affiliations.

Each study measures something different. The VCU study counts livestreaming or selling sexual images or videos online since enrolling. The UW–Madison study counts any sexual services, acts or materials provided for compensation, including in person. College Pulse asked about any sex work to help pay for school.

The campus studies cover one university each and aren’t nationally representative. College Pulse surveys students from its online student panel.

UK figures come from OnlyGuider’s own poll of 1,000 UK undergraduates aged 18 and over, as reported by the Evening Standard, and from Save the Student’s National Student Money Survey 2025, an online survey distributed through its own channels and student services.

Population figures come from the US Census Bureau’s estimates for July 1, 2024. The count of active creator accounts is an OnlyFans figure reported by Tubefilter in August 2026. Payout per creator account is our calculation from Fenix International’s FY2025 annual report ($6.2 billion paid to creators across 5.06 million creator accounts). The share of all students meeting buyers through subscription sites, the implied number of creators and their share of active accounts are our own calculations.

Key Takeaways

Only a small minority of US college students sell sexual content online: 4% of juniors and seniors at one large public university, and about 1% who met buyers through subscription sites at another. That’s far below the viral claim that 10% or more of young American women create OnlyFans content, which would make them most of the platform’s active creators.

Many more students say they’d consider it: 31% of US students in a College Pulse poll would pose nude on OnlyFans for a six-figure income, and 66% of female UK students would consider joining if money were tight. Students who do it cite empowerment and spending money more often than tuition.

FAQ

What percentage of college students have OnlyFans?

There’s no national count, but studies suggest a small minority. At Virginia Commonwealth University, 4% of juniors and seniors had livestreamed or sold sexual images or videos online since enrolling (Spring 2024). At UW–Madison, about 1% of students reported meeting buyers through subscription sites such as OnlyFans (2025 study).

Is it true that 1 in 10 young women are on OnlyFans?

No. 10% of US women aged 18 to 24 would be about 1.53 million creators, or 61% of OnlyFans’ roughly 2.5 million active creator accounts worldwide. One campus survey put the share of students selling sexual content online at 4%, and another found about 1% met buyers through subscription sites.

Why do college students start OnlyFans?

Reasons vary. Among UW–Madison students who had sold sexual services or materials, 41.7% said they felt empowered and 29.2% wanted spending money, while 13.3% cited tuition or school expenses. 30.8% said they had felt pressured.