Thinking of moving to a new city? Lots of lists will help you find places with the lowest (or most outrageous) housing prices and highest incomes, but for young people looking to meet someone, there are more things to consider than pure affordability.
Rent.com partnered with Onboard Informatics to rank cities based on factors like quality of nightlife, restaurants, lifestyle (what percentage of residents do things like attend concerts and cultural events), and, primarily, the percentage of single adults.
Here's what they found.
Methodology: All indexes were ranked on a scale of 1-1000. This list is based on cities with more than 50,000 rental dwellings, a high concentration of single adults and an overall population greater than 100,000. More details here.
San Francisco, CA
It may be expensive, but the City by the Bay is safe, ranks high on lifestyle, and the average income is off the charts. Best of all? 39% of town is single.
The Good
Single Adults: 39%
Non-Family Households: 58%
Average Household Income: $104,540
Safety Index: 822
Lifestyle Index: 736
The Bad
Median Rental Rate (1BR): $2,920
Nightlife Options Index: 374
Restaurant Option Index: 236
Manhattan, NY
When it comes to nightlife, lifestyle, and great food, nobody tops the Big Apple. Like SF, cost is a (huge) factor, but if you can afford it, there's nowhere better.
The Good
Single Adults: 38%
Non-Family Households: 60%
Average Household Income: $125,205
Safety Index: 896
Lifestyle Index: 781
Nightlife Options Index: 1000
Restaurant Option Index: 1000
Frequent Coffee Shop Goers Index: 1000
The Bad
Median Rental Rate (1BR): $3,800
Washington, D.C.
It's a company town, but that town is very single and very safe. Average salaries are also high, but there isn't much nightlife or fine dining to spend that disposable income on.
The Good
Single Adults: 38%
Non-Family Households: 58%
Average Household Income: $93,637
Safety Index: 776
Lifestyle Index: 652
The Bad
Median Rental Rate (1BR): $2,300
Nightlife Options Index: 173
Restaurant Option Index: 228
Boston, MA
The Hub's restaurant and nightlife options don't exactly compare to New York, but it's a safe, fun city where one-third of the adult population is single.
The Good
Single Adults: 33%
Non-Family Households: 55%
Average Household Income: $76,661
Safety Index: 719
Lifestyle Index: 671
The Bad
Median Rental Rate (1BR): $3,150
Nightlife Options Index: 192
Restaurant Option Index: 224
Seattle, WA
The second West Coast city on the list boasts lots of restaurant goers, good cultural events, and rentals in the neighborhood of affordable—at least for a big city.
The Good
Single Adults: 30%
Non-Family Households: 57%
Average Household Income: $88,211
Lifestyle Index: 732
Frequent Restaurant Goers Index: 616
The Bad
Median Rental Rate (1BR): $1,584
Nightlife Options Index: 302
Restaurant Option Index: 199
Philadelphia, PA
Philly can't stand up to higher-ranked towns in most categories, but the rent isn't too bad, more than a fourth of the population is single, and the nightlife is better than all but a few cities on this list.
The Good
Single Adults: 26%
Median Rental Rate (1BR): $1,295
Safety Index: 686
Nightlife Options Index: 502
The Bad
Restaurant Option Index: 340
Frequent Restaurant Goers Index: 439
Minneapolis, MN
The most notable of the Twin Cities has lots of singles and lots of rental housing. Nothing too special as we approach the back of the list, but Minneapolis stands her ground in most categories.
The Good
Single Adults: 25%
Non-Family Households: 57%
Median Rental Rate (1BR): $1,395
Lifestyle Index: 643
Frequent Restaurant Goers Index: 555
The Bad
Nightlife Options Index: 149
Restaurant Option Index: 108
Portland, OR
Portlandia's home is safe, fun, and great for people who like to eat out. The rent is also relatively low compared to other listed cities.
The Good
Single Adults: 24%
Median Rental Rate (1BR): $1,335
Safety Index: 632
Lifestyle Index: 668
Frequent Restaurant Goers Index: 585
The Bad
Nightlife Options Index: 383
Restaurant Option Index: 168
Jersey City, NJ
Jersey is safe and good for restaurants and culture, but the price of rent might make you think twice.
The Good
Single Adults: 23%
Average Household Income: $77,804
Safety Index: 766
Lifestyle Index: 623
Restaurant Option Index: 512
The Bad
Median Rental Rate (1BR): $2,480
Nightlife Options Index: 421
Chicago, IL
Chi-Town has the cheapest median rent on the list, with high nightlife and lifestyle ratings to boot. It's also safer (on the whole) than you probably think.
The Good
Single Adults: 23%
Median Rental Rate (1BR): $1,150
Safety Index: 665
Lifestyle Index: 604
Nightlife Options Index: 869
Restaurant Option Index: 507
The Bad
Frequent Restaurant Goers Index: 475
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