Looking for your significant other in Georgia? According to a new analysis, Atlanta is the best city for singles. Entering the capital’s dating scene might even come with health benefits.
Financial website WalletHub compared 182 cities to determine the best place for singles, meaning never married, divorced or widowed. The 150 most populated cities, plus at least the next two most populated from each state, were compared across threedimensions: economics, fun and recreation, and dating opportunities.
A city would gain a high economics score, for instance, by having affordable beer prices or low average meal costs. Each dimension was given a score based on 35 metrics, like restaurants per capita and walkability. Those weighted scores were then tallied to form each city’s final ranking.
Here were WalletHub’s top five cities overall, in order: Atlanta, Las Vegas, Seattle, Pittsburgh, and Tampa, Florida.
No. 1: Atlanta
A major advantage of being single in Georgia’s capital? There are lots of fun date spots, enough to earn it second place in the country for fun and recreation. It also tied with Las Vegas, New Orleans, Chicago and San Francisco for having the most nightlife options per capita.
“In particular, it’s among the best cities when it comes to the number of shopping centers, spas and social clubs per capita,” according to WalletHub financial writer Adam McCann.
“In addition, living in Atlanta gives you a deeper dating pool to swim in compared to other cities,” he continued. “Over 69% of the city’s population is single (never married, widowed or divorced), the eighth-highest percentage in the country.”
The city scored 63.81 overall, out of a possible 100.
Las Vegas
Las Vegas is great for singles for one major reason: nightlife. From bachelor parties to festivals, Nevada’s most famous city is always bustling with nighttime activities. Las Vegas having an impressive entertainment scene is hardly shocking news, but WalletHub researchers discovered the city offers another major advantage for singles: savings.
“While you might think that dates in Las Vegas would be especially expensive, it actually ranks in the lower half of the country for most dating-related expenses,” McCann reported. “It’s also relatively cheap when it comes to getting your appearance ready for a date — the city has the sixth-lowest haircut cost, 13th-lowest fitness club membership cost and 45th-lowest beauty salon cost out of the more than 180 cities in our study.”
Las Vegas scored 63.77 overall.
Seattle
Seattle is a happening city for singles, earning high praise from WalletHub for its great date locations (restaurants, clubs, etc.) and mobile dating opportunities. It’s one of the fastest-growing big cities in the country and ranks 18th for its high median household income.
Anyone interested in a dating pool of high earners willing to explore one of the country’s most entertaining cities should definitely consider WalletHub’s No. 3 pick, with an overall score of 61.07.
Pittsburgh
Three places behind Atlanta, Pittsburgh outranked 60% of WalletHub’s top five picks for dating opportunities. The Pennsylvania city ranked highest for it economy among the top five, making it a potentially better spot for daters looking to save.
At 23rd, Pittsburgh did rank lowest among its top competitors for fun and recreation. The city finished with an overall score of 60.52.
Tampa, Florida
Tampa, Florida, was just 0.03 points from overtaking Pittsburgh for fourth place, having earned significantly higher marks in its fun and recreation ranking. At 110th, it beat out Atlanta in the economic rankings by 30 placements. It scored 60.52 overall.
Is being lonely bad for your health?
Atlanta’s top spot as the best city for singles could be good news for Georgia’s lonely hearts for an unexpected reason: physical health. According to research out of Penn State’s College of Health and Human Development and Center for Healthy Aging, loneliness can be harmful to a person’s health on a daily basis.
The study, published in Health Psychology, found short-term feelings of loneliness were associated with general fatigue, headaches and nausea in a group of 1,538 participants.
“These findings suggest that day-to-day dynamics of loneliness may be crucial in understanding and addressing the health effects of loneliness,” senior study author David Almeida told Penn State. “Increasing feelings of social connection even for one day could result in fewer health symptoms on that day. Such a daily focus offers a manageable and hopeful micro-intervention for individuals living with loneliness.”
The symptoms waxed and waned as the participants reported higher and lower levels of loneliness, with long-term health risks appearing. According to the American Heart Association, loneliness and social isolation can increase a person’s risk of experiencing a heart attack by 29% and stroke by 32%.
For anyone looking to date more, Atlanta might just be the best place to do it, according to WalletHub.
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