When It Comes To Dating, Here Are The Best And Worst Cities For Gen Z

Dating can feel impossible no matter where you are, and each city presents its own unique challenges. Don’t believe me? Try changing up your location preferences on Hinge, and you’ll notice really quickly how every place has its quirks. A recent study by Top 10 (a site that ranks different categories by... you guessed it, the top 10) analyzed the best and worst cities in the United States for Gen Z dating, and the results are worth looking at — even if you’re not willing to pack up your bags and make a new city your home.

For each city’s dating scene, the study ranked them based on five factors: number of cocktail lounges per 100,000 people, number of dating events per 100,000 people, total cost of “date night,” number of Google searches for generation-specific dating sites, and percentage of the generation that is single.

The study made separate best and worst lists for four different age ranges: Boomers (best: San Antonio, Texas; worst: San Jose, California), Gen X (best: New Orleans, Louisiana; worst: San Jose), millennials (best: Seattle, Washington; worst: San Jose, California), and Gen Z (best: Richmond, Virginia; worst: Salt Lake City, Utah). To the mayor of San Jose, all I will say is ouch.

So, let’s discuss the findings for Gen Z and what they mean for the future of your dating life.

The Best

According to the study, the east coast has the best dating prospects for Gen Z, but it’s not that straightforward. Each city has its own unique challenges and benefits, and even the “best” city doesn’t guarantee romantic success. (But I digress.)

Per the study, Richmond is the best city for Gen Z dating. It earned 38.1 points out of a possible 50. “This city has the highest search volume for the Gen Z-targeted dating app, Lolly, and has a relatively high percentage of single Gen Z members of the population,” according to the press release.

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania came in second place with a score of 37.3. The study credits Pittsburgh’s large percentage of singles and affordable date night prices with that ranking.

Here’s the full list:

1. Richmond, Virginia
2. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
3. Raleigh, North Carolina
4. Hartford, Connecticut
5. Cleveland, Ohio
6. Portland, Oregon
7. Providence, Rhode Island
8. Seattle, Washington
9. Sacramento, California
10. Memphis, Tennessee

The Worst

Salt Lake City, Utah tops the “worst” list for Gen Z dating, mostly because a huge portion of the Gen Z population is already taken. (According to Insider, as of 2019, “On average, men in Utah get married at 26.2 years old and at 24.2 for women.”)

Coming in second on the list is New York City. And anyone who has ever paid for a date in NYC probably has a good guess as to why — the city is ex-pen-sive! Those $16 cocktails don’t pay for themselves.

Here’s the full list:

1. Salt Lake City, Utah
2. New York, New York
3. Nashville, Tennessee
4. Las Vegas, Nevada
5. Washington, D.C.
6. Saint Louis, Missouri
7. Dallas, Texas
8. Miami, Florida and Birmingham, Alabama
9. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Of course, there’s no pressure to take this dating data™ and move your entire life to Richmond. (You don’t need to leave Salt Lake City urgently, either.) Just keep these stats in mind when navigating the dating pool. It’s ultimately a numbers game, after all.