Best and Worst Cities for Dating

Hooking that hottie is hard enough without the odds stacked against you, so the city researchers at Sperling's BestPlaces have identified for you "America's Best and Worst Cities for Dating."

The study is based on criteria that includes percentage of singles ages 18-24, population density, and dating venues per capita such as concerts, coffee shops, bars, bowling alleys, etc., and includes 80 metro areas in America. We teamed up with AXE Deodorant Bodyspray, which specializes in the dating game, to find out which city is revered as the D.C. (Dating Capital) of the U.S.

Land of the Longhorn

Yee haw! Austin, Texas, tops the list of best cities to play the dating game. Is the city you call home the place to find that special someone?

Best Cities for Dating

• Austin, TX
• Colorado Springs, CO
• San Diego, CA
• Raleigh/Durham, NC
• Seattle, WA
• Charleston, SC
• Norfolk, VA
• Ann Arbor, MI
• Springfield, MA
• Honolulu, HI

Worst Cities for Dating

• Kansas City, MO
• Wichita, KS
• Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN
• Detroit, MI
• Louisville, KY
• Greensboro/Winston-Salem, NC
• Atlanta, GA
• Pittsburgh, PA
• Houston, TX
• Charlotte, NC

Interesting Facts from the Top Ten

"Large cities that everyone associates with socializing, like Los Angeles and Miami, did not rank particularly high, scoring lower in categories like coffee shops per capita and flowers bought as gifts," said Bert Sperling, president of Sperling's BestPlaces.

"But cities like Austin (No. 1), Colorado Springs (No. 2) and Ann Arbor (No. 8) were not a complete surprise - they are heavy-populated college towns and it's easy for young singles to get together."

• Austin, TX
  Taking home the grand prize, Austin scores relatively high in everything, from frequency of dating partners to the number of establishments to meet people. Austin also has the highest percentage of 18-24-year-olds and knows how to have fun as they spent more money out socializing than any other area. Austin residents also had the highest expenditures on alcohol purchased away from home.
• Colorado Springs, CO
  Ranks in the 99th percentile for socializing at bars and also scores high in the dining out category
• San Diego, CA
  Scores high in the diversity index, which rates the likelihood of randomly meeting someone of a different race or ethnicity, and, of course, San Diego is off the charts when it comes to outdoor recreational opportunities
• Raleigh Durham, NC
  Has a large 18-24-year-old population and a high amount of online daters in the area
• Seattle, WA
  No surprise here - Seattle has the largest amount of coffee shops (great places for meeting people or gathering to rehash the previous night's activities). It also has the highest percentage of online daters.
• Charleston, SC
  Ranks second in the amount of lingerie shops per capita (behind Columbia, SC)
• Norfolk, VA
  Came in near the top due to the exceptional amount of flowers that were brought as gifts for a special someone. Online dating was also high, in the 83rd percentile.
• Ann Arbor, MI
  Scores in the 98th percentile for percentage of singles and ranks high in the dining out category as well
• Springfield, MA
  Springfield scores high in many categories, among them are percentage of singles, health clubs per capita and bars per capita in the area

FULL STORY HERE

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