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Besides your looks, personality and employment status, your location can influence your odds of finding a romantic partner. Everyone has different priorities when searching for love, but certain places are simply more conducive than others to dating.

In states with low cost of living, for instance, your income might stretch a lot further, which means cheaper or more frequent dates, depending on what you value more — or your level of stamina. With a bit more financial leverage, on the other hand, you might appreciate a state with relatively more attractions guaranteeing new experiences for both you and your potential other half. But dating is also a numbers game, so a state with a higher proportion of single adults automatically improves your prospects.

Which states combine all of those qualities and more? To answer that question, WalletHub’s data team compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 23 key indicators of dating-friendliness. Our data set ranges from “share of single adults” to “movie costs” to “nightlife options per capita.” Read on to see the complete ranking, expert dating advice and a full description of our methodology.

To see how your zip code affects your chances of a happily ever after, check out WalletHub’s Best & Worst Cities for Singles report.

1. Main Findings
2. Ask the Experts
3. Methodology

Main Findings

Embed on your website<iframe src="//d2e70e9yced57e.cloudfront.net/wallethub/embed/31667/geochart.html" width="556" height="347" frameBorder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe> <div style="width:556px;font-size:12px;color:#888;">Source: <a href="http://ift.tt/2k1Noq9;  

Overall Rank	State	Total Score	Effective	Annual	Difference	Annual	Adjusted
1	Alaska	5.69%	$3,066	-46.85%	$4,237	6
2	Delaware	6.02%	$3,246	-43.74%	$3,830	1
3	Montana	6.92%	$3,728	-35.37%	$3,561	3
4	Wyoming	7.45%	$4,015	-30.40%	$4,312	2
5	Nevada	7.72%	$4,161	-27.86%	$4,028	7

 

Ask the Experts

Your marital status can affect, among many things, where you choose to live and how you spend your money. For additional insight on such topics, we turned to a panel of experts for their thoughts on the following key questions:

1. What should singles be looking for when choosing where to live?
2. When, if ever, is it appropriate to ask someone you are dating about their finances, including credit score and amount of debt?
3. What tips do you have for saving money when dating?
4. Should local authorities work to make states more attractive to single professionals? If so, how?

Methodology

In order to identify the best and worst states for singles, WalletHub’s analysts compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across three key dimensions: 1) Dating Economics, 2) Dating Opportunities and 3) Romance & Fun.

We evaluated those dimensions using 23 relevant metrics, which are listed below with their corresponding weights. Each metric was graded on a 100-point scale, with 100 representing the most favorable conditions for singles who are actively dating. Data for metrics marked with an asterisk (*) were available at the city level only, and in such cases we calculated a weighted average based on the size of the city population.

We then calculated the overall score for each state and the District based on its weighted average across all metrics and used the resulting scores to rank the states and the District accordingly.

Dating Opportunities – Total Points: 50

• Share of Single Adults: Double Weight (~12.5 Points)
• Gender Balance of Singles: Double Weight (~12.5 Points)
• Online-Dating Opportunities: Full Weight (~6.25 Points)
• Mobile-Dating Opportunities: Full Weight (~6.25 Points)
• Online-Dating Participation: Double Weight (~12.5 Points)

Dating Economics – Total Points: 25

• Average Beer & Wine Price*: Full Weight (~2.5 Points)
• Movie Costs*: Full Weight (~2.5 Points)
• Beauty-Salon Costs*: Full Wight (~2.5 Points)
• Haircut Costs*: Full Weight (~2.5 Points)
• Median Annual Household Income: Full Weight (~2.5 Points)
• Housing Affordability*: Full Weight (~2.5 Points)
• Job Growth Rate: Full Weight (~2.5 Points)
• Overall Well-Being Index: Full Weight (~2.5 Points)
• Unemployment Rate for Single Population: Full Weight (~2.5 Points)
• Underemployment Rate: Full Weight (~2.5 Points)

Romance & Fun – Total Points: 25

• Restaurants per Capita: Full Weight (~3.13 Points)
• Number of Attractions*: Full Weight (~3.13 Points)
• Nature Parks and Other Similar Institutions per Capita: Full Weight (~3.13 Points)
• Fitness & Recreational Facilities per Capita: Full Weight (~3.13 Points)
• Movie Theaters per Capita: Full Weight (~3.13 Points)
• Music Festivals per Capita: Full Weight (~3.13 Points)
• Nightlife Options per Capita*: Full Weight (~3.13 Points)
• Crime Rate: Full Weight (~3.13 Points)

 

Sources: Data used to create this ranking were collected from the U.S. Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Department of Housing and Urban Development, United Health Nation, Council for Community and Economic Research, Esri's Updated Demographics - 2016 estimates (Market Potential: GfK MRI), TripAdvisor, Gallup-Healthways and Garfiq.

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