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The 20 best cities for singles

Posted at 12:49 PM, Dec 30, 2015
and last updated 2015-12-30 12:49:13-05

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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

Compare Places on FindTheHome

Percentage of the Population that is Single by County