How South Carolina Ranks Among Best States To Date

As summer turns to fall and single people start thinking about being alone during the holidays, BetSouthCarolina.com looked at the best and worst states for dating. For single South Carolinians, the results were not promising. South Carolina came in 49th on the chart, in front of only Kentucky and Nevada. Ironically, Nevada is the easiest state in the country to get a date, you just have to pay for it.

The BetSouthCarolina.com results fly in the face of a 2022 survey by US News, which said that South Carolina had three of the top 25 metro areas in the country for singles – Myrtle Beach, Columbia and Charleston. But realistically, both results could be correct, as the vast acreage of South Carolina is not metro. We typically stick to South Carolina sports betting on this site. but bear with us as we indulge in this research for the time being.

Best and Worst States For Dating

Rank	State	Dating Index (51 max)
1	DC	48.33
2	ND	40.67
3	RI	37.70
4	WY	37.67
5	AL	36.33
6	OH	34.67
7	NY	33.33
8	NE	32.67
9	IL	32.33
10	MN	32.25
11	PA	32
12	VT	31.70
13	MI	31.67
14	ME	31.33
15	MA	29.33
16	NH	29.25
17	DE	29.15
18	MO	29.67
19	WV	28.33
20	AL	28.50
21	SD	28.33
22	HI	27.67
23	MD	27.33
24	OK	26.33
25	WI	26
26	CT	25.67
27	AZ	25
28	VA	24.70
29	MT	24.67
30	NC	24.33
T31	NM	24
T31	LA	24
33	WA	23.75
34	CO	23.67
35	KS	23.33
36	TN	22.67
37	UT	22
38	NJ	21.67
39	AR	21
40	GA	20.67
41	IA	19
42	ID	18.67
43	CA	18.50
44	OR	18.33
45	TX	18
46	FL	17.33
47	MS	17
48	IN	14.67
49	SC	12.67
50	KY	12.33
51	NV	11.67

What Gives In South Carolina?

There are around 1.5 million singles in South Carolina with 50,000 more women than men, that’s nearly 30% of the state’s population. Two of the most popular dating sites in the state are eHarmony and ChristianMingle, but those users tend to look more for a life partner than a dating partner. Hookup sites are also popular, but those users are looking for relatively brief dates.

While there are lots of dining/dating options in the metro areas, it’s harder in the rural areas to find things to do: A Google search of dating events in the state offered entertainment ideas in Myrtle Beach, Columbia and Charleston, but not much anywhere else, although Greenville is offering a number of speed dating events, including Tantra Speed Date, described as “yoga for your love life.” Despite the name, Tantra Speed Dating is non-sexual, it’s the kind of speed dating where you hear wind chimes and a sitar even if none are present, and make confessions of respect and devotion to people you met five minutes ago. To quote John Lennon, whatever gets you through the night.

As for South Carolina’s demographics, 69% of the state is white, and 26% is Black, so that leaves only 5% to encompass everybody else. 89% of residents graduated from high school, 30% from college, although South Carolina alums barely consider Clemson a college, and vice-versa. When it comes to religion, however, South Carolina is Top 10: US News says 78% of residents are Christian, only 3% practice non-Christian faiths, and 19% are just going their own way. But alone.

Methodology

Using data from Google Trends, Statista, and Forbes Business, BetSouthCarolina.com created weighted rankings by which to rate the state for dating. BetSouthCarolina.com used Statista to find the percentage of single-person households in each state, Google Trends for the average search volumes of inquires “date ideas,” “first date activities near me,” and “florists near me” by state, and Forbes Business for data on the average annual income for a single person in each state and created the Dating Index.

Author

Howard Gensler

@DNTattle

Howard Gensler is a veteran journalist who has worked at the Philadelphia Daily News, TV Guide and the Philadelphia Inquirer, and now lends his expertise to the South Carolina betting market.