4 Arizona cities crack top-50 best for singles, Phoenix ranked 23 in study

PHOENIX — Valley residents have reason to believe love is possible this holiday season, as Phoenix was among four Arizona cities that made the top 50 best for singles.

In a Dec. 3 nationwide study by WalletHub, they surveyed over 180 cities to see which were most receptive for people seeking dating and marriage relationships. U.S. cities were stacked up based on three criteria: economics, fun and recreation and dating opportunities.

Tucson led the way for Arizona at 16th and after Phoenix’s 23rd-place showing, Chandler, Tempe and Scottsdale rounded out top-50 appearances at 28th, 40th and 44th, respectively.

Data revealed Atlanta was the best spot for singles, edging out Las Vegas (63.77 points) by a mere 0.04 points. Seattle (61.07), Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (60.52) and Tampa, Florida (60.52) were remaining trio in the top five. Though Atlanta’s economic ranking was in the bottom 50% (140th), it was carried by second and fifteenth-place finishes in fun and recreation and dating opportunities.

How did cities earn points and what were the three categories worth?

WalletHub awarded American cities up to 100 points for their level of single-friendliness. Dating opportunities aptly was weighted the most at 50 points, while economics and fun and recreation were each worth 25.

Key subcategories included share of single population (one of 35 subcategories and worth 12.50 points alone), singles gender balance (also 12.50), number of attractions, city accessibility, restaurant-meal costs and weather.

How did Phoenix, other Arizona cities perform across singles’ categories?

Phoenix was given 56.36 points in the recent study, performing averagely in economics (97th) but was helped by top-40 finishes in fun and recreation (37th) and dating opportunities (23rd).

Tucson, the top Arizona state, nearly mirrored the state capitol, coming in 93rd in the economic category and raking in top-50 level points in the remaining two categories.

Gilbert, which was ranked 122nd overall and second-worst of nine Arizona cities (Peoria, 167th), interestingly presented the second-lowest percentage of singles of all 182 U.S. cities and the highest number of online-dating opportunities. Chandler had similar success in online-dating, coming in a tied for fifth with Santa Clarita, California.

Concerning economics, Chandler was the top-performing Arizona city in third place and four others, led by Glendale at 19th, were among the study’s top 30 finishers.

Brownsville, Texas, Port St. Lucie, Florida and Pearl City, Hawaii occupied the undesirable bottom three on the WalletHub listing. Though Brownsville and Port St. Lucie offered singles solid economic prospect (ninth and 60th, respectively), all three cities were ranked in bottom 20 for fun and recreation and dating opportunities.

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