“The population growth rates being thrown around here, however, are inflated by an order of magnitude, and it is highly unlikely that a 2-3 year marriage age gap within this growth regime alone is the primary reason men get significantly more shidduch opportunities than women.”
It’s probably the only reason. People have created other reasons for those who respond better to emotionalist theories. The charedi population is actually growing very rapidly, but even a moderate growth rate would cause people to take notice.
It also depends what you consider a significant number of singles. If there were 1,000 girls in a given year who couldn’t find a match, would you consider that significant within the context of the American yeshivish community? Would you consider it outlandish to assume that that community grows by over 1,000 people over the span of 3 years?