With Valentine's Day quickly approaching, and soon romance will be in the air, a new report says that Texas is among the top states in the country for singles ready to mingle.
According to a study by finance website WalletHub, the Lone Star State was named the fourth best state in the U.S. for single people that are seeking out romantic partners.
Texas was classified among the top echelon of singles-friendly states by ranking high up in three major categories, which WalletHub utilized to determine the rankings of each state on its list.
The categories were "Dating Opportunities," "Dating Economics" and "Romance and Fun." Each category ranking was based on numerous metrics related to them respectively.
Texas ranked fourth in Romance and Fun, which is indicative of the types of romantic activities that the state offers. The report found that Texas ranked number one overall for its large amount of restaurant options and movie theaters, which are two highly popular places for people to go for dates. Other attractions in this category included bars, amusement parks, music festivals and more.
In the Dating Opportunities category, Texas found itself placing 12th overall because of its high rankings in online-dating (23rd place) and mobile-dating (17th place) opportunities, which reflects today's more modern approach of utilizing technology for dating purposes. Other metrics the category took into account included the amount of single adults, people's openness to engage in relationships, gender balance of singles and more.
Finally, the report ranked Texas 21st out of 50 American states in the Dating Economics category, which is related to the general affordability of each state. Texas notably ranked ninth in terms of median annual household income, which indicates that the average resident has the necessary earnings to be used for dating purposes. Additional metrics included the average costs for beverages like alcohol and Starbucks coffee, movie costs, housing affordability, unemployment rate, etc.
WalletHub utilized data from a variety of sources to put together its findings for the report. Among these sources were the U.S. Census Bureau, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Trip Advisor, and much more.