What areas of our fine city are the most promising for single men? What about single women?
She ruled in beauty o’er this heart of mine,
A noble lady in a humble home,
And now her time for heavenly bliss has come,
‘Tis I am mortal proved, and she divine.
“Soleasi Nel Mio Cor” by Petrarch
Yes, ’tis Valentine’s Day, and we couldn’t resist indulging in a little bit of Petrarch, the fine 14th century Italian poet and legendary romantic. But we must wonder – would Petrarch’s love life have been any different with the ZIP code at his disposal?
Looking For Love, Data in Tow
In its latest bit of statistical gymnastics, the folks at Trulia conducted a study of gender ratios in some of the nation’s most popular metropolitan areas (excluding those 65 or older) to find which areas were more populated by single men or single women – and which area, therefore, was the better dating ground for which gender!
Before we look at Trulia’s national findings, though, we should mention how Chicago’s numbers skew – it’s looking like ladies should pay a visit to the West Loop, and men should stop by the Near North Side.
The West Loop, Trulia found, contains the highest ratio of men to women in the entire city, while the Near North Side contains the highest ratio of women to men.
Men Flock to Downtown, Women to Residential
But what of the rest of the nation? Las Vegas, unsurprisingly, has the greatest ratio of men living alone per women living alone, with 1.34 men for every women; Vegas is followed by Honolulu, Palm Bay-Melbourne, Gary and San Jose.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, Bethesda, Maryland has the highest ratio of women to men, with 1.20 ladies living on their own to every one gentleman. Following closely behind are Washington D.C., Boston, New York and Raleigh.
So why are those ratios in those respective cities? Jed Kolko, Trulia’s chief economist, said much of it comes down to the metropolitan area’s characteristics. Whereas areas with large downtowns tend to have a high ratio of men to women, areas with more residential leanings and retail centers lean more towards women.