INDIANAPOLIS — Is the Circle City boxing in your love life? According to new data, Indianapolis is firmly planted in the bottom half of dating cities in the U.S.
In fact, not only did Indy come up short to 49 other cities and metros in the U.S., but it wasn’t even the highest-ranking city in Indiana to make the list of America’s Best (and Worst) Cities for Dating. Gary beat out the Hoosier capital by landing 27th on the list, far above Indy’s lowly 60th position.
Researchers at Sperling’s BestPlaces used several factors (and U.S. Census data) to create the ranking, including percentage of singles ages 18-24, population and number of dating venues per capita (coffee shops, bars, etc). Some rankings are surprising: mega metros like Los Angeles, Chicago and San Francisco sit in the middle of the pack, owing to low scores of dating places per capita, in addition to gift-buying trends.
One of the contributing factors to Indy’s low score is that only 8.8 percent of the city’s population is between the ages of 18-24, ranking among the lowest of cities on the list.
Some of the rankings are surprising with mega metros like Los Angeles, Chicago and San Francisco sitting in the middle of the pack, owing to low scores of dating places per capita.
Indy was able to muscle out nearby Louisville, which came in at 76th, but found itself easily outmatched by Cinncinatti, which landed in the upper half at rank 22.
So how did the rankings go outside of Indianapolis? Here are the top 10 and bottom 10 places to make a love connection.
Best dating cities
- Austin, TX
- Colorado Springs, CO
- San Diego, CA
- Raleigh/Durham, NC
- Seattle, WA
- Charleston, SC
- Norfolk, VA
- Ann Arbor, MI
- Springfield, MA
- Honolulu, HI
“Cities like Austin, Colorado Springs and Ann Arbor were not a complete surprise,” said Bert Sperling, president of Sperling’s Best Places. “They are heavy-populated college towns and it’s easy for young singles to get together.”
Worst dating cities
- 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
“In these cities, there are relatively few young singles and the towns are so spread out, it can be difficult for them to find each other,” said Sterling. “Some are using this study as a call to action to provide places where people can hang out and get together.”
Think you might need to relocate to help your love life? You can find all 80 of America’s Best (and Worst) Cities for Dating here.
