SEATTLE, Feb. 11, 2013- Zillow® has released its first "In the Move for Love Index" naming the best cities for young singles to relocate for love. For both men seeking women and women seeing women, Worcester, Mass., tops the list. Milwaukee, Wis., is best for young women looking for a man, and for single gay men, Miami topped the list of cities to find love.
Zillow ranked the 150 largest U.S. cities based on the Zillow Rent Index versus the median income, walkability and the ratio and abundance of single males to single females under 35. The resulting cities are geographically diverse, with median rents ranging from $800 to $2,500 per month.
"Today's society is more transient than ever, and when young singles are considering where to move next it makes perfect sense to consider how easy it will be to meet that person of their dreams," said Zillow Chief Marketing Officer Amy Bohutinsky . "We took a scientific approach to something that's typically been assumed more art than science; we looked at demographics, median income, rent prices and a number of other factors to pinpoint the best places for singles under 35 to move."
Methodology
Disposable Income: Assuming young people who are moving to a new city are more likely to rent, Zillow compared the Zillow Rent Index[i] (median rent price) to the median income[ii] because when a higher proportion of take-home pay can be spent on dating, the likelihood of finding a match increases. For young singles looking for love, housing costs represent a big portion of their monthly take-home pay.
Size of the Dating Pool: Cities with a higher proportion of single people to married people scored higher in the index.
Competition: To further determine where men and women had better odds of scoring a date, Zillow examined the ratio of single men to single women. In the rankings, the more lopsided the ratio, the less competition. For heterosexual singles Zillow used the overall ratio of men to women in the city. For gay singles Zillow looked at Census data on gay cohabitating households, as a proxy for the overall gay population.
Walkability: Assuming singles have a better chance of meeting "the one" when they are out and about, walking to bars, restaurants, shops and attractions, Zillow looked at a city's Walk Score® as a gauge to determine the ease of meeting new people.
Transplant Rate: Because it can be easier to meet other singles if many are new to town, the Zillow analysis factored in the percentage of a city's total population that is single and relocated within the past five years from a different county, state or country. Areas with high rates of single transplants scored higher in the index.
Results
Top 10 Cities to Find Your Valentine for Men and Women | |||||
Men Seeking Women Under 35 | Women Seeking Men Under 35 | ||||
Rank | City | Zillow Rent Index | Rank | City | Zillow Rent Index |
1. | Worcester, Mass. | $1,302 | 1. | Milwaukee, Wis. | $962 |
2. | Glendale, Calif. | $2,548 | 2. | Miami, Fla. | $1,727 |
3. | Irving, Texas | $1,208 | 3. | Denver, Colo. | $1,468 |
4. | Cleveland, Ohio | $834 | 4. | Charleston, S.C. | $1,435 |
5. | Memphis, Tenn. | $857 | 5. | Tucson, Ariz. | $989 |
6. | Tulsa, Okla. | $888 | 6. | Plano, Texas | $1,713 |
7. | San Diego, Calif. | $2,116 | 7. | Baltimore, Md. | $1,247 |
8. | Philadelphia, Penn. | $1,060 | 8. | Santa Ana, Calif. | $2,097 |
9. | Buffalo, N.Y. | $810 | 9. | Durham, N.C. | $1,168 |
10. | Springfield, Mass. | $1,255 | 10. | Rochester, N.Y. | $893 |
Men Seeking Men Under 35 | Women Seeking Women Under 35 | ||||
Rank | City | Zillow Rent Index | Rank | City | Zillow Rent Index |
1. | Miami, Fla. | $1,727 | 1. | Worcester, Mass. | $1,302 |
2. | San Diego, Calif. | $2,116 | 2. | San Diego, Calif. | $2,116 |
3. | Philadelphia, Penn. | $1,060 | 3. | Cleveland, Ohio | $834 |
4. | Worcester, Mass. | $1,302 | 4. | Denver, Colo. | $1,468 |
5. | Santa Maria, Calif. | $1,547 | 5. | Des Moines, Iowa | $1,009 |
6. | Des Moines, Iowa | $1,009 | 6. | Colorado Springs, Colo. | $1,219 |
7. | Colorado Springs, Colo. | $1,219 | 7. | Springfield, Mass. | $1,255 |
8. | Cleveland, Ohio | $834 | 8. | Kansas City, Kan. | $734 |
9. | Arlington, Texas | $1,252 | 9. | Aurora, Colo. | $1,323 |
10. | Baltimore, Md. | $1,247 | 10. | Dallas, Texas | $1,134 |
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