Best Cities for Singles--according to hard data!

The other day, I was emailing with my adorably baby-faced friend King Andover*, who moved to San Fran recently. He was telling me he thinks meeting women out west is harder than in New York. "You people in the Big Apple have the best singles scene!" he said.

It sure doesn't feel that way to me. And I wondered if there was any truth to King's take on things ...

After researching it a bit, I found out he's half-right and half-wrong, according to the amazing map below constructed by the team at THE CREATIVE CLASS GROUP. It tells you almost exactly how many more single men than women there are in certain parts of the country ... and how many more women than men in others!

As you can see, there are **200,000+ more single women than men in the Manhattan area!** (Sheesh! Ladies: if it feels especially hard here in Gotham, now we know why). The map also makes it clear why my friend King thought dating in NYC was such a breeze as compared to SF: There are A LOT more single men out there --and in all of California, for that matter--than there are women. Personally speaking, I will say that the last time I was in Cali--about two years ago--I did find that dudes in L.A. seemed a lot more outgoing and flirtatious and interested in relationships than the men here in Brooklyn! Understandable, considering there are almost 90,000 more single guys than chicks in the LA area.

I wonder how your city measures up ...

After finding this amazing map, I decided to interview the urban expert behind it: Richard Florida, author of the international bestseller THE RISE OF THE CREATIVE CLASS as well as a new book called WHO'S YOUR CITY?. He explains some of the reasons there are such crazy differences in the dating pool across the country--and talks about which regions are best for men and women.

BEST CITIES FOR SINGLE MEN AND WOMEN, STRAIGHT AND GAY

ME: Where should single women move to meet men? What about the single guys?

RICHARD: If you are a single man or a single woman the odds of meeting a significant other vary dramatically across the country. Generally, women tend to have an advantage in the American West and Southwest, while men fare better in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast. Many regions in the American West have grown substantially over the past two or three decades, offering jobs in everything from the high-tech industry to construction. And as numerous studies show, men are initially more likely to move long distances for economic opportunity-out west, for example-while women are more likely to stay closer to home and family. As a reader of my blog put it, "The West still holds a 'Gold Rush' mentality for young men."

ME: Oh, I see. So because men are leaving certain regions-like the Mid-Atlantic and the Southeast-to head west, they're creating a gender imbalance. Is that right?

RICHARD: Yes.

ME: Is there anything counter-intuitive about the map? Like, should straight women remember that the surplus of single men in, say, San Fran, might be somewhat deceiving, since a large number of them are gay?

RICHARD: I think you are onto something here. Cities like San Francisco where the gay population is twice the national average may propose a challenge for single straight women looking for mates. But nevertheless, generally speaking, the West presents women the best opportunity to find a mate.

ME: What are the best cities for single gay men and women?

Gay men seem to be clustering in San Francisco, the District of Columbia, and Portland, Oregon. For lesbian women, Ashville, North Carolina is a hot spot.

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*King Andover is his porn-star name.