Austin Deemed One Of The Best Cities For Singles

AUSTIN, TX — Well, hello, all you lovebirds out there. Happy Valentine's Day! Just in time for the love-suffused holiday, a study has emerged of the best metros for dating in which Austin emerges with high marks — among the top three spots for dating satisfaction!

So if you're single and don't want to be, finding yourself feeling oppressed by all of today's overt displays of love, don't fret. With a bit of effort, you can find that special someone in Austin given the city's dynamics that are conducive to amore.

That's the takeaway from Apartment List researchers who lovingly crunched the numbers. But let's get to it and highlight some of the findings. The study notes that Austin's abundance of young, educated residents makes it a hotbed for dating among singles. Newer tech hubs like Austin do well in the love game, according to analysts.

"In Denver, Austin and Washington, D.C., love has no ceiling because there are more partners from which to choose," researchers wrote. Austin ranked fourth overall in the best cities for dating, with 56.5 percent of singles — both men and women combined happy with the dating life in Austin.

Male renters surveyed in the Apartment List survey elevated Madison, Wis., Charleston, S.C., and Denver to the top three spots for dating satisfaction given their responses. "Overall, metros with plenty of young, educated workers and newer tech hubs earn high marks for dating," researchers wrote. Overall, 62.1 percent of single men in Austin were happy with the dating scene, the study found.

For women, it's a slightly different story. The ladies were 55.5 percent overall happy with dating in 4th-ranked Austin. Those local findings mirror national trends as overall, men tend to view their dating experiences more positively than women.

"This pattern does vary at the metro level," researchers noted. "Men are more satisfied than women with dating opportunities in 18 of the 29 metros studied. In six metros, including Atlanta, Baltimore and Las Vegas, there is less than a two percentage point gap between men and women’s satisfaction."

Across the country as a whole, 46 percent of men rated themselves satisfied, compared to 41 percent of women.

Again, the specter of the tech hub looms large in the landscape of romance. Many of the locations where women are more satisfied with dating than men are tech hubs that attract young workers, including the San Francisco Bay Area, Denver, Portland and Seattle, researchers said. While still in the nascent phases of development, Austin is fast becoming a high-tech hub with such employers as Dell, Oracle, Google and other industry players with a sizable presence in the capital city.

"Perhaps women are more satisfied because of the greater share of educated men to date — and sweep them off their feet," researchers theorized.

Some other key findings of the study include:

• Overall, 42% of respondents were satisfied with their dating opportunities. Singles were most satisfied in Madison, Charleston and Denver.
• Men are more satisfied with dating opportunities than women: 46% of men gave positive responses, compared to 41% of women.
• "There are better dating opportunities for those with higher levels of education: 46% of those with a Bachelor's degree or higher rated themselves as satisfied, compared to 40% of those without a Bachelor's degree.

To see the full report, click here.

>>> Top image via Shutterstock, map graphic via Apartment List