Ann Arbor, Mich.: The city of relatively inexpensive love.
If you’re single and lonely this Valentine’s Day, you may want to head up north, maybe to Ann Arbor, Mich., because according to a study by Kiplinger’s Personal Finance, the city’s combination of unmarried households, median income and the simple costs of going out is unmatched in the country.
Kiplinger’s editors wanted to know which U.S. city is the best for singles. But they didn’t want to look at just which areas of the country have the highest percentage of the unattached. Instead, they factored in things like income, cost of living and how much it takes to go on a date.
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All the cities included in their top 10 have household income above the national average as calculated by the U.S. Census ($49,536) and the percentage of unmarried households are higher than the national average (49.4%).
Coming out on top: Ann Arbor, a great college town with unmarried households making up 54.4% of the population, a cost-of-living score of 102.2 (the average is 101), a median household income of $59,065 and – arguably the best part about the city – an average date-night tab of $23.76.
The city, home to the University of Michigan, also has a high percentage of well-educated singles: 51% of the city’s adults hold at least a bachelor’s degree, according to Kiplinger. Ann Arbor has a sizable portion of young people, thanks to the city’s undergrads and graduate students: One in four is between 20 and 34. Plus, Ann Arbor’s strong tech, medicine and education sectors keep residents’ salaries well above the national average.
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Rounding out the top 10 are:
2. Bloomington, Ill.
3. Santa Cruz, Calif.
4. Baltimore
5. Los Angeles
6. Philadelphia
7. Trenton, N.J.
8. New York City
9. Durham, N.C.
10. Iowa City, Iowa
So if you’re single again this year, maybe it’s going to take more than switching up your usual bar. Maybe it’s going to take an ever bigger move.