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The 20 best cities for singles

Published  December 30, 2015 10:27am CST
Tribune Media Wire



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:







              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