Best cities for singles -- size matters!


Forbes has cornered the market on list-building, and one of their most interesting (and controversial) ratings is the top cities for singles.

Using a wide range of data from sources such as Harris Interactive and the AOL CityGuide, Forbes ranked candidate cities on seven criteria: coolness, cost of solo living, culture, job growth, online dating, nightlife, and the proportion of singles. Subjective data reflects the opinions of those surveyed. For culture, Forbes compiled the number of high (art museums, for example) and low-brow (roller derby?) entertainments available.

The top ten cities (the italics are my reactions):

  1. San Francisco-Oakland - #1 for culture. What do you suppose Oakland contributed?
  2. New York - #1 for nightlife, #24 in cost of living alone.
  3. Los Angeles - #2 in culture, tied with NYC for cost of living. Can that be right?
  4. Atlanta - #6 in job growth, #7 in cost of living, #1 in humidity.
  5. Chicago - #4 in culture and nightlife, #1 in hot dogs.
  6. Washington - #6 in culture and nightlife, #1 for illicit affairs with members of Congress.
  7. San Diego - #4 in online dating, #1 in homeless singles.
  8. Seattle - #11 in job growth ... mostly as baristas.
  9. Dallas-Fort Worth - #5 in job growth, renting rooms to travelers stranded at their airport.
  10. Philadelphia- maybe they should drop 'brotherly' from their slogan?
Any such study is bound to overlook some criteria. Among those I think Forbes missed here are the PSDI (Pizza shop density index), the ASBHHD (Average Sports Bar Happy Hour Duration) and the HHWR (High Heels Walkability Ratings). But there's always next year.

See the entire list at Forbes.com.

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