Teachers rank as the world's most-searched profession for attraction. They generate about 1.02 million searches annually, while nurses lead among U.S. searches.
Uniforms still have plenty of appeal. Cowboys, police officers, and firefighters all land among the five most attractive professions.
Take the results with a grain of salt. The Hidden study analyzed search behavior rather than directly asking people which professions they find attractive.
A new August 2026 study, from adult creator platform Hidden, analyzed online search behavior surrounding 45 professions and found teachers are the world's most searched-for profession when it comes to attraction, while nurses take the top spot among Americans specifically searching for attractive professions.
Researchers analyzed more than 700 search terms, separating searches indicating attraction from those that primarily looked for costumes. They also compared the results with employment numbers and five years of Google Trends data.
It's certainly not a scientific measure of attractiveness. But it offers an entertaining glimpse into the professions people find most attractive.
Teachers are still hot
Teachers took the No. 1 spot worldwide, generating about 1.02 million searches annually related to attraction. In the U.S., teachers generated approximately 216,600 attraction-related searches annually.
So, what is it about teachers? While the study doesn't answer that question specifically, it’s safe to assume that qualities like intelligence, confidence, and communication skills helped boost their searches.
“Hot for Teacher,” released on Van Halen’s 1984 album, apparently described a sentiment with considerably more staying power than parachute pants.
But Americans are really into nurses
While teachers may have won globally, it’s nurses that generated the most attraction-related searches in the United States.
Hidden counted approximately 233,000 annual U.S. searches related to attraction toward nurses, compared with 216,600 for teachers.
Nurses also piled up considerable costume interest. According to the study, Americans made about 90,000 annual searches specifically for sexy nurse costumes.
Cowboys aren't riding off into the sunset
Perhaps the most interesting entry is cowboys coming in at number three.
Hidden found approximately 88,000 annual U.S. attraction searches related to cowboys. But costume interest was even greater, with approximately 175,200 annual U.S. searches for cowboy outfits.
But it’s worth noting that searching for a cowboy costume isn't necessarily the same as finding cowboys attractive, which is why researchers separated general costume searches from attraction-related searches.
Still, America's fascination with boots, hats, and a big ol’ belt buckle clearly isn't disappearing anytime soon.
Uniforms remain tough to beat
Police officers ranked fourth and firefighters fifth. Police officers generated roughly 105,400 U.S. attraction searches annually, while firefighters generated approximately 53,000.
Costumes were another story. About 152,400 Americans search for police officer costumes annually, including roughly 62,400 searches specifically for sexier versions.
The overall top 10 consisted of teachers, nurses, cowboys, police officers, firefighters, doctors, secretaries, flight attendants, chefs, and scientists.
Yes, scientists made the list. Apparently, the lab coat has been severely underestimated.
Secretaries have one surprising distinction
Secretaries ranked seventh overall but dominated one category.
Specifically, of the searches related to secretary costumes, 65.1% were for sexy versions, the highest percentage among the top 10 professions.
Teachers came in at 42.2% and nurses at 41.9%. Meanwhile, only 4.5% of cowboy costume searches specifically sought sexy versions. Apparently simply putting on the cowboy hat does most of the heavy lifting.
What does this actually tell us?
These rankings should be taken for what they are: an analysis of search behavior rather than a controlled survey asking Americans which professions they find attractive.
Drew Renna, Head of Brand and Creators at Hidden, argues that's part of what makes the results interesting. “What people search for privately and what they'll admit out loud are two very different things,” Renna said.
There are obviously many reasons someone might perform one of these searches, so the results shouldn't be interpreted as definitive proof of what Americans find attractive.
So maybe Van Halen didn't need 700 search terms and five years of Google Trends data after all. They figured it out back in 1984.