Haven’t met your match while online dating? Maybe it’s time to move.
Whoever said online dating is easy never agonized over the perfect profile photo, tried to write a clever bio, or dodged creepers, scammers, and catfishers. In today’s world, online dating is war—you never know who’s real or fake, and finger swipes and snap decisions determine fates.
But don’t give up hope! Before you resign yourself to a life of cats and knitting, read on. We at All Home Connections have a little tip: we did the research, and turns out that when it comes to online dating success, it’s not who you are—it’s where you live.
Our Methodology
How’d we determine which states are best and worst for online dating? First, we compared each state by opportunity, safety, and demographics. From there, we broke up each key component into relevant metrics, and weighed the percentages of each based on importance:
- Safety Rank (weight: 25)[1]—violent crime and communicable diseases
- Demographics Rank (weight: 35)[2]—gender balance, % of singles, % with Bachelor’s degree, median earnings, and unemployment rate
- Opportunity Rank (weight: 40)[3]—owning a smartphone or computer, interest in online dating platforms, and online dating success rate
We then calculated the weighted average of the 3 indicators per state, and translated that to a scale of 1-51 to determine the best and worst places to find love online.
Best States for Online Dating
Are you single and ready to mingle? We identified the most popular dating app in each state to make your life easier:
- New Hampshire—Tinder
- Massachusetts—OkCupid
- Rhode Island—PlentyOfFish
- Connecticut—Bumble
- Maine—PlentyOfFish
Sounds like Maine and Rhode Island have it made—you can take your date from PlentyOfFish to go eat plenty of fish. It’s a win-win situation.
We’re definitely noticing an East Coast trend here—and with such a high concentration of universities, singles, and higher median earnings, it makes sense. If you’re not an East Coast fan, don’t worry—Washington and North Dakota aren’t far behind.
Worst States for Online Dating
Let’s discuss our list of the worst states for online dating, and the best app to use if you’re going to risk it anyway:
- Arkansas—PlentyOfFish
- New Mexico—eHarmony
- Mississippi—PlentyOfFish
- Louisiana—Bumble
- South Carolina—eHarmony
These states ranked at the bottom of our list in all three categories due to lack of interest, lower percentages of singles, and higher unemployment rates. If you live in the Deep South and are dealing with slim pickings online, you might have more luck dating the old-fashioned way.
Moral of the story? Love is out there—just make sure you’re in the right place to find it.
Online Dating Ranks by State
|
Final Rank |
State |
Final Score |
Safety Rank |
Opportunity Rank |
Demographics Rank |
|
1 |
New Hampshire |
6.65 |
3 |
6 |
10 |
|
2 |
Massachusetts |
7.75 |
22 |
3 |
3 |
|
3 |
Rhode Island |
7.75 |
11 |
2 |
12 |
|
4 |
Connecticut |
9.65 |
7 |
18 |
2 |
|
5 |
Maine |
10.95 |
1 |
4 |
26 |
|
6 |
North Dakota |
12.1 |
16 |
1 |
22 |
|
7 |
Washington |
12.15 |
18 |
13 |
7 |
|
8 |
Minnesota |
12.9 |
9 |
17 |
11 |
|
9 |
New York |
13.35 |
28 |
8 |
9 |
|
10 |
New Jersey |
13.4 |
8 |
25 |
4 |
|
11 |
Pennsylvania |
13.4 |
20 |
7 |
16 |
|
12 |
Wisconsin |
14.8 |
19 |
5 |
23 |
|
13 |
Vermont |
15.25 |
2 |
15 |
25 |
|
14 |
Iowa |
16.8 |
15 |
9 |
27 |
|
15 |
Maryland |
17.9 |
39 |
16 |
5 |
|
16 |
Wyoming |
19.65 |
6 |
27 |
21 |
|
17 |
Virginia |
20.05 |
13 |
35 |
8 |
|
18 |
Delaware |
20.45 |
42 |
10 |
17 |
|
19 |
Ohio |
20.5 |
26 |
14 |
24 |
|
20 |
Nebraska |
21.3 |
17 |
12 |
35 |
|
21 |
Oregon |
21.4 |
14 |
29 |
18 |
|
22 |
District of Columbia |
21.9 |
51 |
22 |
1 |
|
23 |
Colorado |
22.45 |
24 |
28 |
15 |
|
24 |
California |
22.5 |
35 |
23 |
13 |
|
25 |
Michigan |
23.05 |
32 |
21 |
19 |
|
26 |
Illinois |
24.3 |
36 |
26 |
14 |
|
27 |
Indiana |
24.5 |
27 |
19 |
29 |
|
28 |
Montana |
24.85 |
23 |
11 |
42 |
|
29 |
Arizona |
29.15 |
37 |
20 |
34 |
|
30 |
Hawaii |
30.25 |
21 |
45 |
20 |
|
31 |
Kentucky |
31.3 |
10 |
37 |
40 |
|
32 |
Utah |
31.45 |
5 |
51 |
28 |
|
33 |
Missouri |
32.45 |
41 |
24 |
36 |
|
34 |
West Virginia |
33.05 |
12 |
34 |
47 |
|
35 |
Idaho |
33.15 |
4 |
41 |
45 |
|
36 |
Alaska |
34.2 |
50 |
49 |
6 |
|
37 |
South Dakota |
35.3 |
31 |
33 |
41 |
|
38 |
Kansas |
35.5 |
25 |
46 |
31 |
|
39 |
Georgia |
36.8 |
38 |
42 |
30 |
|
40 |
Florida |
36.85 |
29 |
32 |
48 |
|
41 |
North Carolina |
37.2 |
33 |
40 |
37 |
|
42 |
Nevada |
37.4 |
47 |
30 |
39 |
|
43 |
Texas |
38.9 |
34 |
48 |
32 |
|
44 |
Oklahoma |
39.8 |
40 |
36 |
44 |
|
45 |
Alabama |
39.9 |
44 |
39 |
38 |
|
46 |
Tennessee |
40 |
46 |
31 |
46 |
|
47 |
South Carolina |
41 |
43 |
38 |
43 |
|
48 |
Louisiana |
42.35 |
48 |
47 |
33 |
|
49 |
Mississippi |
45 |
30 |
50 |
50 |
|
50 |
New Mexico |
46.6 |
49 |
43 |
49 |
|
51 |
Arkansas |
46.7 |
45 |
44 |
51 |
Need faster Internet speeds, so you can swipe right even faster? We can help you out there.
[1]Source: 2016 reports from: FBI, CDC
[2]Source: United States Census, Bureau of Labor Statistics
[3] Source: United States Census, Pew Research, Google Trends