10 Most Attractive Cities to Move to If You’re Single (and Renting)

Do you find love and are single? Living somewhere can have a significant impact on your ability to find love.

While movies and TV shows suggest that big cities are the way to go (the Sex and The City series portrays Manhattan as the center of the singles universe), our most recent index ranking suggests that you might be more successful as a single in a much smaller metro area. Using data from the U.S. Census Bureau, our economists ranked the 100 largest metro areas in the country. They did this by looking at factors like the share of affordable rental housing based on a single person’s income, the average rent price, the number of rental listings per single person, and the percentage of singles in the area. Take this: The city of Wichita, Kansas, tops our list of the greatest places to be.

Why Wichita?

The reason it wins is that Wichita offers a large selection of reasonably priced rental properties. Less money spent on expensive rent means more money for dates and club nights. In Wichita, a single person can rent a home for as little as $966 per month. In contrast, the average monthly rent for an apartment in Carrie Bradshaw’s Manhattan is close to $4,045 a month.

Had Carrie relocated to Kansas, she could have married much sooner. Of course, she could have afforded more Cosmos and Manolos.

Kansas City’s main metropolitan area ranked #1 despite not having one of the highest percentages of single people, mainly due to its amazing affordability. It has the largest percentage of rental properties that are affordable for singles among all the metros that were examined. This gives single residents more money to spend on dating and social events, which can raise the possibility of finding a match.

“Working remotely has made housing opportunities more accessible across the nation. “Singles who are free from an office can relocate to areas with a thriving singles scene and more affordable housing.” At a time when rents are roughly 16% higher nationally than they were a year ago, metro areas like Wichita are particularly alluring because your housing dollar goes farther there.

See which other cities that are great for singles made our list by reading on.

10. Massachusetts’s Boston

With a population of over 4 million, the Boston metro area is home to numerous colleges and universities, earning it the nickname “giant college town” with all of the energy that comes with so much youth. Naturally, there are a lot of single people in the metro, making it a great place to find love. The only drawback is that, with a median rent of $2,788, Boston is the least expensive city on our list of the top ten. You can always go to Wichita if that blows your budget.

9. Washington, D.C.

With 6.4 million people living in the metro area, the nation’s capital offers a wide variety of places to live and people to date. Out of all the places on our list, D.C. is one of the top 20 metro areas with the largest percentage of single people. With the average rent of $2,231, you’ll have extra cash for dinner at Dupont Circle or romantic dates at the Wharf overlooking the waterfront.

8. Seattle, Washington

Fun fact: The 1992 romantic comedy Singles, which followed the dating experiences of Generation X, was filmed in Seattle. This metro area of over 3.5 million people in the Pacific Northwest remains popular among singles even after a generation has passed. With an average rental cost of $2,265 per month, Seattle ranks as our second most expensive metropolis. However, the metro area with the second-highest median income for single people is also home to Amazon, Starbucks, Microsoft, and Boeing.

7. Texas’s Dallas

First, the good news: Out of all the metro areas in our top 10, Dallas has the highest percentage of single residents. In this more than 7.6 million-person metro area, you can’t swing a cowboy hat without hitting someone else. The bad news is that, in Dallas, the average monthly rent is $1,791, while the average income for single individuals is only $40,000. This implies that you’ll have to hunt for inexpensive date spots.

6. Texas’s Houston

This large Gulf Coast city comes in at number six on our list and ranks fourth for the proportion of reasonably priced rentals per person. The average rent in this 6.6 million-person metro area is $1,575. As the fourth-largest city in the country, Houston offers urban living at a less expensive price than cities on the East and West coasts.

5. Texas’s San Antonio

San Antonio is well-known for its Riverwalk entertainment district, which features brewpubs, restaurants, and bars. The average monthly rent in San Antonio is $1,469. With four Texas cities on our list, including San Antonio, the Lone Star State is the nation’s singles paradise.

4. Colorado’s Denver

Beautiful views of the Rocky Mountains, a thriving foodie and brewpub scene, legal marijuana, and a high proportion of single people can all be found in The Mile High City. In addition, the average monthly rent in this metro area of over 3 million people is just $1,988. So put on your hiking boots and polar fleece jacket and head out to find love.

3. Wisconsin’s Milwaukee

The highest proportion of singles on the top 10 list reside in this Midwestern metropolis. Add to that the abundance of breweries in the metro area and the average $1,186 monthly rent, and your chances of finding love over an IPA are pretty good.

2. Texas’s Austin

After Wichita, the capital of Texas rounds out our list at the top. It’s home to the University of Texas, a thriving music and cultural scene, and a booming tech-driven job market. The metro area of more than 2.4 million people is teeming with single people. The monthly rent is about $1,869.