The Freakonomics economists had a look at some of the facts and stats behind online dating:

• Looks matter, no surprises there. According to the OkCupid blog, “A hot woman receives roughly four times the messages an average-looking woman gets and 25 times as many as an ugly one.”
• Men have a ‘superstar effect’. The hottest 5% of men receive twice as many messages as those just below them (the second-hottest 5%)
• All other things being equal, a man making $250,000 a year is contacted two and a half times as often as a man who earns $50,000.
• Looks matter much more than weight; two people of comparable looks receive the same number of messages regardless of body size.
• A study form the university of Chicago found that in the real world, relationships where the man earns less than the woman tend to be less stable and happy
• The more details you fill in, the better. If you have children, to some people this is a game changer. So best to be up front about it now.

For more details, including what happened when a young lady started putting racist information on her dating profile and why New York is good for straight men, check out their podcast (audio) or (text)

Source: Freakonomics