A new study by FetishFinder takes an in-depth look at the best and worst cities for dating in the U.S. Unfortunately, Los Angeles wound up on the lousy end of that list—a fact that, to be quite honest, doesn’t surprise us given the (mostly rightful) constant complaints we hear about being single around these parts.
To come up with the list, researchers collected data on six key factors while analyzing the 20 largest cities in the U.S. The metrics include the population of single people, the likelihood of marriage, the annual divorce rate, the rate of individuals actively searching for a relationship, quality of life and cost of living.
New York—which boasts the highest population of single individuals—actually topped the ranking, with Los Angeles coming in second.
“Despite its glamorous reputation, the City of Angels has one of the lowest likelihoods of marriage, the second highest divorce rates and the second lowest quality of life among the cities on the list,” reads the study. “These factors combined make it generally difficult for the average person to date in Los Angeles.”
If you want to make things a little bit easier, we’ll point you in the direction of our list of best bars for singles in Los Angeles—and if you’ve already landed a date, the top first date ideas around town and, perhaps most importantly, our dissection of the biggest red flags when dating in L.A.
We’re here to say: Do not despair! There’s always hope and it could always be worse: You could be single in New York, for example.
The 10 worst cities in the U.S. for dating
1. New York
2. Los Angeles
3. Philadelphia
4. Chicago
5. San Antonio
6. Fort Worth
7. San Diego
8. Houston
9. Phoenix
10. San Jose