Finding your soul mate (if you believe in that sort of thing) is one of the most daunting tasks we face. From the big-picture qualities you’re looking for — like personality, values and long-term goals — to the circumstantial factors like proximity, current emotional capacity and readiness to commit, it can seem nearly impossible to find someone to date, let alone consider a future with.
Geography, too, plays a significant role in finding the right match. If you live in a city with fewer people in your age range, you might find it tougher to find a mate. However charming it is to live in a small town, they often offer a minuscule dating pool.
FindTheHome wanted to identify where singles should be living for both the opportunity to find a partner and plenty of fun date activities. To do this, we consulted Dun and Bradstreet data and compiled a singles index that aggregated the following:
- Percentage of people who’ve never been married.
- Restaurants per 10K people.
- Movie theaters per 10K people.
- Bars per 10K people.
- Museums, zoos and botantical gardens per 10K people.
- WalkIQ, which measures the walkability of an area.
Cities had to have a population of 25,000 people to be considered in the rankings. Many of these cities are college towns, where the population is inherently younger and less likely to be previously married. Here, we highlight the 20 best places to look for love.
Note: Index factors were omitted for cities where the value equals zero.
#20. New Jersey: Camden
Singles Index: 85.3
Population: 77,294
Percentage of People Who’ve Never Been Married: 59.6%
Restaurants per 10K People: 18.8
Bars per 10K People: 2.97
Movie Theaters per 10K People: 0.1
Museums, Zoos and Botanical Gardens per 10K People: 1.3
WalkIQ: 85
#19. New York: Albany
Singles Index: 85.3
Population: 98,142
Percentage of People Who’ve Never Been Married: 58.7%
Restaurants per 10K People: 37.6
Movie Theaters per 10K People: 0.7
Bars per 10K People: 9.1
Museums, Zoos and Botanical Gardens per 10K People: 1.4
WalkIQ: 89
#18. Massachusetts: Cambridge
Singles Index: 85.3
Population: 106,844
Percentage of People Who’ve Never Been Married: 57.1%
Restaurants per 10K People: 39.8
Movie Theaters per 10K People: 1.5
Bars per 10K People: 6.1
Museums, Zoos and Botanical Gardens per 10K People: 2.5
WalkIQ: 98
#17. Illinois: Urbana
Singles Index: 85.6
Population: 41,760
Percentage of People Who’ve Never Been Married: 65.5%
Restaurants per 10K People: 39.8
Bars per 10K People: 4.6
Museums, Zoos and Botanical Gardens per 10K People: 0.7
WalkIQ: 61
#16. Indiana: Bloomington
Singles Index: 85.6
Population: 81,963
Percentage of People Who’ve Never Been Married: 64.2%
Restaurants per 10K People: 31.9
Movie Theaters per 10K People: 0.5
Bars per 10K People: 3.6
Museums, Zoos and Botanical Gardens per 10K People: 1.5
WalkIQ: 71
#15. Indiana: West Lafayette
Singles Index: 85.6
Population: 30,843
Percentage of People Who’ve Never Been Married: 66.6%
Restaurants per 10K People: 33.9
Movie Theaters per 10K People: 0.3
Bars per 10K People: 2.31
Museums, Zoos and Botanical Gardens per 10K People: 1.5
WalkIQ: 60
#14. Texas: San Marcos
Singles Index: 85.8
Population: 51,289
Percentage of People Who’ve Never Been Married: 66.9%
Restaurants per 10K People: 33.5
Movie Theaters per 10K People: 1.7
Bars per 10K People: 6.7
Museums, Zoos and Botanical Gardens per 10K People: 1.4
WalkIQ: 64
#13. Washington: Pullman
Singles Index: 85.9
Population: 30,851
Percentage of People Who’ve Never Been Married: 68.7%
Restaurants per 10K People: 23
Movie Theaters per 10K People: 1.3
Bars per 10K People: 4.9
Museums, Zoos and Botanical Gardens per 10K People: 1
WalkIQ: 57
#12. California: West Hollywood
Singles Index: 86
Population: 35,053
Percentage of People Who’ve Never Been Married: 60.5%
Restaurants per 10K People: 76.1
Movie Theaters per 10K People: 2.3
Bars per 10K People: 18.2
Museums, Zoos and Botanical Gardens per 10K People: 5.2
WalkIQ: 99
#11. West Virginia: Morgantown
Singles Index: 86.2
Population: 30,133
Percentage of People Who’ve Never Been Married: 66.3%
Restaurants per 10K People: 49.3
Movie Theaters per 10K People: 0.3
Bars per 10K People: 9.8
Museums, Zoos and Botanical Gardens per 10K People: 1
WalkIQ: 78
#10. Michigan: Mount Pleasant
Singles Index: 86.2
Population: 26,095
Percentage of People Who’ve Never Been Married: 68.0%
Restaurants per 10K People: 30.1
Bars per 10K People: 7.3
Museums, Zoos and Botanical Gardens per 10K People: 1.1
WalkIQ: 76
#9. Illinois: Carbondale
Singles Index: 86.4
Population: 26,374
Percentage of People Who’ve Never Been Married: 69.9%
Restaurants per 10K People: 34.7
Movie Theaters per 10K People: 1.5
Bars per 10K People: 9
Museums, Zoos and Botanical Gardens per 10K People: 2.7
WalkIQ: 67
#8. Florida: University
Singles Index: 86.5
Population: 30,926
Percentage of People Who’ve Never Been Married: 75.1%
Restaurants per 10K People: 34.9
Movie Theaters per 10K People: 0.3
Bars per 10K People: 3.6
Museums, Zoos and Botanical Gardens per 10K People: 0.3
WalkIQ: 46
#7. Virginia: Blacksburg
Singles Index: 86.5
Population: 43,204
Percentage of People Who’ve Never Been Married: 73%
Restaurants per 10K People: 23.3
Movie Theaters per 10K People: 0.5
Bars per 10K People: 1.6
Museums, Zoos and Botanical Gardens per 10K People: 1.4
WalkIQ: 55
#6. Georgia: Statesboro
Singles Index: 86.6
Population: 29,630
Percentage of People Who’ve Never Been Married: 72.2%
Restaurants per 10K People: 50.5
Movie Theaters per 10K People: 1
Bars per 10K People: 3.4
Museums, Zoos and Botanical Gardens per 10K People: 0.3
WalkIQ: 65
#5. New Jersey: New Brunswick
Singles Index: 86.9
Population: 55,804
Percentage of People Who’ve Never Been Married: 67.4%
Restaurants per 10K People: 34
Movie Theaters per 10K People: 0.2
Bars per 10K People: 6.3
Museums, Zoos and Botanical Gardens per 10K People: 1.4
WalkIQ: 96
#4. Maryland: College Park
Singles Index: 87.6
Population: 31,387
Percentage of People Who’ve Never Been Married: 75.7%
Restaurants per 10K People: 29.2
Bars per 10K People: 2.9
Museums, Zoos and Botanical Gardens per 10K People: 1.3
WalkIQ: 77
#3. Michigan: East Lansing
Singles Index: 87.9
Population: 48,611
Percentage of People Who’ve Never Been Married: 77.5%
Restaurants per 10K People: 26.2
Movie Theaters per 10K People: 0.4
Bars per 10K People: 3.5
Museums, Zoos and Botanical Gardens per 10K People: 1.2
WalkIQ: 80
#2. New York: Ithaca
Singles Index: 88.1
Population: 30,399
Percentage of People Who’ve Never Been Married: 77%
Restaurants per 10K People: 44.3
Movie Theaters per 10K People: 1
Bars per 10K People: 13.3
Museums, Zoos and Botanical Gardens per 10K People: 1.7
WalkIQ: 86
#1. Pennsylvania: State College
Singles Index: 88.7
Population: 42,066
Percentage of People Who’ve Never Been Married: 81.3%
Restaurants per 10K People: 31.7
Movie Theaters per 10K People: 0.2
Bars per 10K People: 6.2
Museums, Zoos and Botanical Gardens per 10K People: 0.5
WalkIQ: 87
