Seven Facts About the Illegal Market for Sex in the United States

Sex work, the exchange of sexual labor for money, goods, or other resources, has likely been a facet of human society since we started sowing fields and living in large, stationary groups. 

Today, apart from a few rural counties in Nevada, sex work in the United States is illegal. But legal jeopardy has not prevented a thriving black market from forming.

Earlier this month, the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) hosted a special feature on the science of illegal markets, from wildlife and firearms to fishing and sex. Underground economic activities may generate as much as a trillion dollars in revenues worldwide each year, and sex hugely contributes to that tally.

Manisha Shah, a development economist and a Chancellor’s Professor at the University of California, Berkeley, provided en enlightening overview of what researchers have learned about the illegal sex market in the United States. Here are seven fascinating takeaways:

1. A significant market. Researchers estimate the size of the illegal market for sex in the U.S. to be $14 billion (and $180 billion worldwide). That's considerably more than the yearly box office haul at U.S. movie theaters ($8.6 billion). 

"Although sex work is often perceived as predominantly occurring in marginalized urban areas or among underprivileged cultural groups, sex work is pervasive at all echelons of society," Shah writes.

2. It's mostly behind closed doors. While popular media often showcases street-based sex work, estimates suggest that only between 10 and 30 percent of sex workers find clients there. The vast majority of the market is "indoors," taking place in massage parlors, brothels, or in private places after being arranged online. 

3. The most dangerous job on the street. "The mortality rate from homicide for street prostitutes is 204 per 100,000, making it the most dangerous profession for women," Shah reports.

4. You might know a sex worker. Though estimates are unreliable, it's likely that there are between one and two million female sex workers in the U.S. That's between 0.8 and 1.6 percent of women in America. Most of them operate predominantly online, utilizing websites where workers can extensively screen prospective clients.

5. Sex workers are well-paid. Despite the common perception that most sex workers are trafficked and make little money, in the U.S. on average, "sex workers earn a significant amount of money, especially when compared to non–sex workers with similar demographic characteristics," Shah reports. Researchers found that sex workers on the streets of Chicago typically earn close to $50 per hour. Indoor workers – representing between 70 and 90 percent of sex workers in the U.S. – earn roughly ten times that, between $400 and $550 per hour on average. Seeing about four clients each week at two hours per session earns these sex workers roughly $4,000 per week, or $200,000 a year.

"This compares to a median of $27 per hour or $1,060 per week for all women in the United States," Shah says.

6. The arrest rate for sex work has collapsed. Sex work remains illegal in virtually all areas of the U.S., and sex workers are subject to arrest. However, the arrest rate has fallen dramatically from 50 per 100,000 in 1985 to less than 5 per 100,000 in 2022, even though the market has almost certainly grown during that span. "[This] is likely explained both by a large-scale displacement of street prostitution by indoor prostitution... as well as shifting priorities by law enforcement," Shah explains.

7. The Internet has upended the market for the better. Selling in-person sex work online has made the market much safer for workers and more socially palatable as it gradually disappears from the street. "The addition of the Internet to sex work has provided sex workers with more autonomy when it comes to protecting their safety," Shah says. "Sex workers can advertise on classified websites, sex worker registries, personal websites, dating apps, and social media platforms."